Ken Woods knows the questions that are coming.
For the past 18 years, Woods has been the head pro at Pasatiempo Golf Club, an Alister MacKenzie classic nestled amongst the barrancas and ridges of Santa Cruz, California. His position is mainly an administrative one, regularly coordinating tee times with tour operators from around the world who are putting together trips for clients.
Ken Woods
Invariably, those golfers want to know about the rich history of the property, and Woods is there to play the dual role of head pro and historian.
“We get a lot of questions, but we never get tired of it,” Woods said.
Where is MacKenzie’s house? It’s left of the fairway on the par-5 sixth hole, a short wedge shot from the green. He lived there from 1929 until his death in 1934.
And what about his ashes? They were spread across the famous three tiers of the 16th green, now the home to routine four-putts.
What is the connection between Pasatiempo and Augusta National? It’s a close one. Marion Hollins, the recent World Golf Hall ...