Punch Shots: Best PGA TOUR Venue to Play This Year

 With the PGA Tour kicking off this week at CordeValle, we asked our travel experts which public-access course on the 2013-14 schedule is the best. Jason Deegan: CordeValle Golf Club It’s too bad that the CordeValle drops off the PGA TOUR calendar next year. The 7,360-yard course has hosted the Frys.com Open since 2010, but the event will move to the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa in 2014.

Be sure to check out this year’s telecast because it might be the last time CordeValle gets primetime coverage before the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open comes to northern California. CordeValle, which kicks off the new 2013-14 season on the PGA TOUR this week, continues to fly under the radar as a golf getaway. Too many golfers drive by on their way to the Monterey Peninsula not realizing just what their missing in the secluded hills of San Martin 30 miles south of San Jose. The Robert Trent Jones Jr. design and the villas of the Rosewood Resort seem to melt into the scenic pastoral surroundings without intruding upon them. They’re both understated, yet luxurious at the same time. Jones’ yawning bunkers and tricky greens are superb. A meandering stream and several ponds don’t typically bother the pros, although they’re plenty in play for everybody else. Caddies (or a forecaddie) are required, an extra expense that is worth it. With world-class dining and a sumptuous spa to boot, there’s no resort that embodies ‘California cool’ better than CordeValle.