Called the oldest U.S. course west of the Mississippi River to still be in continuous operation by its owner, Pebble Beach Resort, Del Monte Golf Course is celebrating its 125th anniversary this weekend. It seems the perfect time to check out a few photos of how it was going then, and how it’s going now.
Del Monte Golf Course, in Monterey, California, opened in 1897 with a nine-hole layout designed by Charles E. Maud. An amenity of the Hotel Del Monte, it was expanded to 18 holes in 1903. It was the site of the first California Amateur Championship in 1912 and hosted the Western Amateur in 1916, among the first top-tier competitions in a long string of events that included the PGA Tour Champions from 2005-14. It still is the site of the Monterey Open and the Monterey City Amateur.
Among the remaining early courses in California, the Presidio in San Francisco actually opened a year earlier than Del Monte. But the Presidio was briefly converted to a military practice field during the Spanish-American War in 1898, leaving Del Monte with the claim as the oldest course in the state in continuous operation.
Del Monte has seen many changes through the years, as would be expected. Pebble Beach Resorts reports it was further expanded and incorporated as Del Monte Golf and Country Club in 1912, then William Herbert Fowler redesigned it in 1920. It was rerouted in the 1960s to accommodate a highway, and it reopened in 1970 with three holes – Nos. 6, 7 and 8 – designed by Roger Larson.
Today the course plays to a tight and tidy 6,356 yards with a par of 72.
Source: Golfweek https://ift.tt/GRctIlS