Quail Lodge & Golf Club – Carmel, CA
Tucked between the mountains and coast of Carmel, you will find an amazing resort that I’m sure most of you have never heard of. Recently, I was in Northern California and had the opportunity to spend 2 nights at Quail Lodge & Golf Club. Like most of you, I wasn’t familiar with Quail Lodge and that’s understandable given the fact that most golf resorts in the area are overshadowed by Pebble Beach. Quail Lodge is a luxury resort featuring an 18-hole championship golf course, a 9-hole putting course, tennis courts and several other amenities for guests to enjoy. We happened to stay during Ryder Cup weekend so between playing rounds on the course and swimming laps in the outdoor heated pool set to 86 degrees, we thoroughly enjoyed watching the United States reclaim the Ryder Cup.
A standard king bedroom at Quail Lodge fireplace and leather couch included
Quail Lodge plays host to all types of guest from avid golfers, families young and old, and couples looking for a romantic getaway. There are 90 well-appointed guest rooms including 11 Garden Suites, 2 deluxe suites, and 2 two-bedroom fairway villas you won’t feel deserted but you’ll never feel crowded. With over 850 acres of lush fairways, oak-studded meadows and sparkling lakes all nestled in the belly of Carmel Valley you’re sure to find all the peace and serenity that you desire. For us, peace and serenity was found between the first and eighteenth hole of the Quail Lodge golf course.
The golf course at Quail Lodge was designed and built by Robert Muir Graves in 1963. If you haven’t played a lot on the west coast you might not be familiar with Graves, but he designed over 70 courses on the west coast and literally wrote the book on golf course design. After publishing his book titled “Golf Course Design”, he went on to teach at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. In fact, Graves built the Sea Ranch Golf Links on the Sonoma coast north of San Francisco in the early 70’s which has been recognized as one of the first modern examples of “natural” or “minimalist” architecture which is all the rage today in golf course design. Quail Lodge was in good hands with the footprint provided by Graves but in 2013 Todd Eckenrode completed a refresh of the course which capped off a $28 million property-wide restoration of Quail Lodge.
A view of the beautiful Quail Lodge Landscape
After our visit we were convinced that every bit of the $28 million used to renovate the lodge and golf course was well spent. The course was in absolutely pristine shape; you would have thought that a PGA tour event was being hosted by Quail Lodge that day. A lot of the work completed by Eckenrode in 2013 involved strengthening holes by adding fairway swales to breathe life into previously flat fairways on the front nine and adding contour to the 16th and 17th holes on the back nine. In addition to those changes, bunkers were rebuilt and repositioned all featuring beautiful tufts of fescue that enhances the courses naturalist feel. The most important part of the redesign including removing several ponds and water features and replacing them with drought tolerant landscaping which not only fits the local landscape but reduces the amount of water needed to maintain the course and helps in California’s fight against on-going droughts.
The Quail Lodge course is a walkable Par 71 that plays 6,464 yards from the back tees, however it’ll feel much longer as several holes will play directly into wind as you make your way around the course and thru the valley. In particular, the Par 5 first hole which plays 542 yards can be a tale of two stories, in the morning without wind it was an easy 2-putt par, in the afternoon with the wind howling it was a tortious double bogey. All three of the par 3s on the front nine are a challenge, averaging over 200 yards in distance with various hazards. The most memorable hole is also the most difficult, the par 4 4th hole will offer the most serve elevation changes on the course as you make your way from the tee box down into the depths of the valley to hit your approach shot into an elevated green. To have any shot of getting home in regulation you’ll need a solid drive and an even better approach shot.
As you make the turn and tee off on the 10th you’ll have to pinch yourself as things only seem to get better. Make sure to have your camera handy as you’ll want to take a few shots of this hole from both the tee box and green. As you make your way thru the valley and alongside the mountains you’ll feel like the back nine plays much shorter than the front 9 even though on the scorecard it’s 46 yards longer. Much of that extra yardage on the scorecard is just because the back 9 only features two par 3s where the front featured three. Birdies will be more abundant on the back as you’ll find several accessible par 4s with four of them playing well under 400 yards. Halfway thru the back nine you’ll find back to back par 5s on the 14th and 15th. As you finish the 18th you’ll walk off the green to the front of the clubhouse where members park and the staff is ready to take your bag off your hands and wipe down your clubs.
Quail Lodge will melt the heart of any romantic and please any golfer
Quail Lodge & Golf Club Course Rating 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Quail Lodge & Golf Club is a versatile resort with the ability to thrill any golfer and melt the heart of any romantic. Whether you’re looking to play a round of golf with friends or escape for a weekend with the love of your life, you won’t be disappointed at Quail Lodge. The golf club does an excellent job of making members feel special yet still allowing the public access to the course. With an easy to walk layout, I highly recommend walking the course as you really get a feel for the elevation and landscape that doesn’t always translate when riding. One thing to keep in mind, there is no on-course beverage service so make sure to slip a couple complementary bottle of waters into your bag before you start the round.