Pasatiempo Golf Club Hole By Hole Review - Play With Pete Invitational Pasatiempo

Pasatiempo Golf Club hosts the Play With Pete Invitational on Tuesday, May 19th and the players will learn from their very first shots this is a thinking golfer's playground that tests your swing and interrogates your decision-making.  Pasatiempo is one of the most enduring masterpieces of golf course architecture the game has ever known.

Architects and historians consider it one of the finest expressions of golf course design ever created.  And this Crown Jewel showcases the purest and most influential ideas of legendary architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie arguably even more fully than his other famous Golden Age designs Augusta National Golf Club and Cypress Point Club.

Across the years Pasatiempo has gathered the stories of all who played here beginning with the first shots hit on Opening Day in 1929 by founder Marion Hollins and celebrated amateur Bobby Jones.  Major champions Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Tom Watson, and Tiger Woods have all competed here.  And on May 19th four players will become part of Pasatiempo's storied 97-year history in the 2026 Play With Pete Invitational at Pasatiempo.

Pasatiempo's architecture is poetic mayhem.  It is MacKenzie at his most brilliant.  It is also Mackenzie at his creative peak.  Endlessly undulating greens, rugged natural bunkering, strategic lines of play, and elevation changes and property movement make this Mackenzie gem equal parts Shakespeare and tornado.

I'm going to take you through a detailed hole-by-hole course review of Pasatiempo here to get you ready for PWPIPasatiempo.  This review includes pictures pre-2024 Jim Urbina restoration.  The two-year Urbina project rebuilt Pasatiempo's greens and bunkers back to their original Mackenzie sizes and shapes so what you see in this review won't be exactly what you see during PWPIPasatiempo.

However this review will still show when you play Pasatiempo Golf Club it's like stepping onto a living chessboard carved into its rugged land.  Every hole has personality that tempts your imagination.  Every green complex has attitude that seems to whisper, "Think you've got me figured out?"  At Pasatiempo the question isn't merely "Can you hit the shot?"  The question is "Do you have the nerve to try it?"

I'll update this review after PWPIPasatiempo concludes with post-restoration pictures and descriptions.  For example the 11th green has increased over 1,000 square feet in size, and the three-tiered 16th green now has a pinnable front locations making it even more diabolical.  Dr. Alister MacKenzie.  Play With Pete Invitational.  Down the rabbit hole we go.

HOLE NO. 1, Par-4 (Gold 458 Yards/White 440 Yards)

Your pilgrimage to Pasatiempo begins with a stimulating tee shot on the 458-yard opening hole. The fairway bunker is camouflage (MacKenzie artistry) for a long approach into a skinny green.

 

 

 

Troublesome back-left and front-right bunkers are drawn into the green’s sloping banks. Don't expect a gentle start to your round. No. 1 is the fourth toughest hole on the course, and two holes later you get the second toughest at Pasatiempo.

 

 

 

Here are a few more looks at the fairway and green-side bunkers on the opening hole. A taste of what’s to come with hazards carved into banks and mounds, and elaborate, undulating greens that can fall into or fade away from spectacular bunkering.

HOLE NO. 2, Par-4 (Gold 430 Yards/White 403 Yards)

You have a more wide open fairway on the downhill, dogleg 430-yard, No. 2 at Pasatiempo, but want to avoid the sprawling natural hazard left.

 

 

 

It's an intimidating line off the tee. You want to hit a fade if possible or aim at the big Oak tree right. The fairway slopes right to left, and even if you miss the bunker, left is a bad spot to be. Many think this is one of the most challenging holes on the front nine.

 

 

 

 

 

Three sloping bunkers protect the narrow, undulating green. Miss anywhere on approach and it’s a very tough lie with mounding everywhere.

A more looks at the glorious and formidable Alister MacKenzie green complex and bunkering on the par-4, No. 2 at Pasatiempo.

HOLE NO. 3, Par-3 (Gold 222 Yards/White 200 Yards)

The 222-yard, No. 3 at Pasatiempo is one of the greatest par-3’s anywhere. A cross bunker creates an optical illusion on this uphill shot to a shallow green set on a diagonal.

 

 

 

And five severely angled, upsloping bunkers hem in the green that slopes back to front. Good luck.

 

 

 

Here are a few more different views of No. 3 at Pasatiempo. Tough green to hit, fade one in if you can. Low trajectory shots have no chance to hold. And missing the green anywhere means you're pretty much guaranteed a memorable adventure.

HOLE NO. 4, Par-4 (Gold 378 Yards/White 360 Yards)

The 378-yard, par-4, No. 4 at Pasatiempo is the widest fairway you see so far. Two right fairway bunkers are in play for shorter hitters, and one further up left for longer hitters.

 

 

 

Five bunkers fortify and surround the small green, which has edges sloped towards the middle.

 

 

 

Here are a few more pics from around the green on No. 4 at Pasatiempo.

HOLE NO. 5, Par-3 (Gold 190 Yards/White 172 Yards)

Five bunkers protect the 190-yard, par-3, No. 5 at Pasatiempo, but it’s the center bunker that determines strategy.

 

 

 

Short is a tomb. Too far left is tough putt from highest point on the green. Too far right and the back-to-front slope can easily carry your ball off the green.

 

 

 

 

Here are a few more views of the swarming bunkers circling No. 5 at Pasatiempo, as well as an early 1929 look at this hole just prior to opening.

HOLE NO. 6, Par-5 (Gold 567 Yards/White 510 Yards)

You have a tight, visually intimidating drive on the 567-yard, No. 6 at Pasatiempo. Big hitters can reach in two but this is really a 3-shot hole. The entire left side is OB and the fairway slopes significantly right to left with a left fairway bunker hidden off the tee.

 

 

 

Your second shot on this par-5 is slightly uphill with a right bunker and mounding in the landing area 50-yards out. The green falls off into two left-side bunkers with a large sprawling bunker cut into the right bank of a deep but narrow green.

 

 

 

MacKenzie lived in this white house off the left fairway on No. 6. A plaque honors his life and genius with a statue of a young golfer in his front lawn.

 

 

 

Alister would sometimes put out full bars near the fairway for anyone wishing to imbibe during a round

HOLE NO. 7, Par-4 (Gold 347 Yards/White 335 Yards)

It’s a claustrophobic tee shot on the 347-yard, par-4, No. 7 at Pasatiempo. The tall, narrow shoot of huge trees runs almost up to the green.

 

 

 

Bunkers are some of the deepest on the course, including a huge 25+ yard bunker pinching the right fairway in the landing zone.

 

 

 

Your approach is slightly uphill to a diagonal skinny green that’s flatter in front with more slope in the back. Two front right bunkers and one back left are easier to find than escape. Sticky fescue ensnares misses back left and can exasperate.

HOLE NO. 8, Par-3 (Gold 176 Yards/White 158 Yards)

The 176-yard, par-3, No. 8 at Pasatiempo is what golden age golf design greatness looks like. Squeezed by two bunkers on both sides, the green slopes both right to left and back to front.

 

 

 

 

Miss above the hole and it’s doom. Miss short and slope will take your ball off the green.

 

 

 

Here are a few more views of the bunkers and green complex.

HOLE NO. 9, Par-5 (Gold 492 Yards/White 471 Yards)

The 492-yard, par-5, No. 9 brings you right into the Pasatiempo clubhouse porch. Similar to No. 18 at Bethpage Black you have to thread a tee shot between fairway bunkers left and right. Fade is ideal with OB left.

 

 

 

Your second shot is uphill to a wider fairway without much trouble.  Approach from the right side to avoid the large front bunker. Three more bunkers left and back and unkept native grass deeper also protect the spacious green.

 

 

 

 

Take your par and then brace yourself for one of the most thrilling back-nines anywhere in the world.

HOLE NO. 10, Par-4 (Gold 437 Yards/White 437 Yards)

How’s a blind tee shot over a barranca to an elevated, almost 90-degree dogleg fairway sound for dramatic? That’s what the 437-yard, No. 10 at Pasatiempo starts you off with. And it just gets tougher from there. Ideal aim here is just left of the three big trees.

 

 

 

Big hitters can try to draw it around the corner. Or play for position right, but too long and you risk running through the fairway. No matter your second shot strategy, it’s likely from a tough hook lie with the fairway sloping down and right to left.

 

 

 

Run your shot down the right for the safest approach. You’ll still need touch with a bunker off the back edge. Cavernous bunkers in a swale will eat you alive if you miss left.

Even if you safely hit the green significant undulations make every putt tough.

HOLE NO. 11, Par-4 (Gold 390 Yards/White 377 Yards)

The 390-yard, No. 11 at Pasatiempo is an all-world challenge with two demanding uphill shots. Right is open and safer off tee but leaves a longer approach to a more angled green. Left is closer with a better second shot angle but the entire side is a hazard (barranca, creek) up to the bridge.

 

 

 

It’s a wicked approach over the barranca.

 

 

 

The green slopes back to front some 15 feet above the fairway with two front right bunkers you have to carry and two very deep back left bunkers if you miss. The knob front-left can propel your ball anywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few more views of the bunkers and green on No. 11.

HOLE NO. 12, Par-4 (Gold 371 Yards/White 371 Yards)

A draw off the tee on the dogleg, downhill 371-yard, par-4, No. 12 at Pasatiempo is ideal, but too far left and tall coastal pines will block your approach.  

 

 

 

The barranca left is the same one you hit over on No. 11.  

 

 

 

Don’t leave your approach short. The green slopes down to a creek and hollow were you’ll find all kinds of tribulation. A sweeping bunker runs along the left, and two more protect the right, which falls off so quickly you need a ladder to enter and exit

HOLE NO. 13, Par-5 (Gold 532 Yards/White 484 Yards)

The fairway tumbles right to left with lots of slope on the 532-yard par-5, No. 13 at Pasatiempo. Carry the left bunkers off the tee for proximity advantage or play it safer out right.

 

 

 

Steer clear of two enormous bunkers 20 to 60 yards from the green on your second shot.  

 

 

 

Bunkering around the large green is spectacular and visually stunning. The putting surface is completely surrounded with slope in the front and even more in the back.

HOLE NO. 14, Par-4 (Gold 426 Yards/White 382 Yards)

An open fairway on the 426-yard, No. 14 at Pasatiempo gives you options off the tee. Left is the better angle and closer on approach but a trench almost six feet deep is savage.

 

 

 

Right is safer, but you have to carry a fairway & large greenside bunker from further away.

 

 

 

The green sits at a diagonal and is protected by a bunker left and two others right front and middle. The putting surface slopes left to righ with a lot of movement on the edges, and back pin placements are especially tough

HOLE NO. 15, Par-3 (Gold 142 Yards/White 120 Yards)

The downhill 142-yard, No. 15 at Pasatiempo is the shortest par-3 on the course but it's far from simple.

 

 

 

Challenging and rugged, it’s somewhat comparable to MacKenzie’s No. 12 at Augusta with bunkers front and back, and a forced carry over a hazard (barranca).

 

 

 

Four front bunkers and one gargantuan (35 yards wide) bunker in the back are sloped into the banks of the green. The narrow, diagonal putting surface has a lot of undulation and slopes sharply both left and right. Reaching safely is no guaranty of making par.

HOLE NO. 16, Par-4 (Gold 392 Yards/White 367 Yards)

The 392-yard, No. 16 at Pasatiempo is a thrill ride sure to burn indelibly into your memory. First is the hair-raising, blind tee shot to a crowned fairway tumbling with slope. Wetland is left if you overcook it. A brush of trees right if you drive thru the fairway.

 

 

 

Your second shot on the world-famous par-4 is ferocious with an intimidation factor that won’t relent. You'll have a downhill, sidehill lie over a gully and the largest bunker on the course (45 yards long) into a perched, three-tiered Sitwell green. Piece of cake.

 

 

 

The very steep green is some 60 paces front to back and a majority of the front slopes like a waterfall. The front, right bunker can be a final resting place, free-falling about 30 feet below the hourglass shaped putting surface.

 

 

 

No matter how you slice it, No. 16 is sheer savagery 

HOLE NO. 17, Par-4 (Gold 372 Yards/White 361 Yards)

The 372-yard, par-4, No. 17 at Pasatiempo is an uphill, straightaway drive, with two right fairway bunkers the only real trouble off the tee. 

 

 

 

The left side of this penultimate hole gives you a better view of the elevated green on approach.  There’s a sharp drop off if you miss long or right of the elevated, bunker-less green. The putting surface is deep and slopes back to front. 

 

 

 

Take an extra club to ensure you reach, but too long and your ball disappears into the great beyond

HOLE NO. 18, Par-3 (Gold 173 Yards/White 145 Yards)

Your Pasatiempo golden age adventure wraps up with the outstanding 173-yard, par-3, No. 18. It’s another a dramatic shot over a barranca (the same one you encountered on No. 10) to a wide but shallow green that’s narrowest to the left.

 

 

 

Two spectacular front left bunkers, and two in the back protect the green on No. 18.

 

 

 

And it hits home now how no two bunkers ever looked the same at Pasatiempo. There’s a lot of movement to the green with more great undulation, and missing anywhere is a tough final up-and-down.