To play Pine Valley is a dream of mine

The North Course at Los Angeles Country Club has long been one of the top private golf courses in not only Southern California, but the country. When I was recently invited to play it fulfilled a goal I had and allowed me to scratch off one more course off my dream list of places to play.

The course is incredible and I certainly felt like I was playing someplace special the minute I drove up to the gate.

Golf Digest and Golf Magazine both put out a list of the top courses in the country and Los Angeles Country Club is ranked 31st in Golf Magazine’s list.

Former major league baseball player, Bobby Grich, told me once that he had the magazine’s list and it was a goal of his to play every course on it.

That is certainly an admirable ambition and I think every golfer has a similar objective they want to achieve.

“Augusta National and Pine Valley are on my list to play just because they always seemed to be the No. 1- and 2-ranked courses every year,” UC Irvine men’s golf coach Paul Smolinski said. “That would certainly be a dream come true to play those.”

For many it remains a dream. One of the courses on my list is Cypress Point in Monterey. The private course is supposed to be spectacular and I have heard the descriptions of it many times.

Smolinski has played Cypress twice and it was a matter of knowing someone to get on the course.

“I was pretty lucky to be able to play Cypress twice,” Smolinski said. “I am a PGA professional and knew another PGA professional who knew one of the assistant professionals there and he got us on.”

It was two rounds of golf that he will always remember.

“It’s the best course I have ever played,” Smolinski said. “It was incredible. No two holes look alike and it was a great day. It’s one of those things where it is tough to take it all in. Time seems to go by so fast. You want time to stand still.”

That is definitely how I felt when I was fortunate enough to play Augusta National. When I was covering the Masters they used to have a lottery for the writers. We all put our names in a hat and every year a certain number would be selected to play the course the day after the tournament.

My first Masters was 1998 and I brought my clubs in case I got selected. They posted the names on Sunday morning and at first I didn’t even want to look at the list I was so nervous.

When I saw my name I just stared at it for a couple of minutes, not believing it. That night I was so excited I barely slept and kept visualizing the holes in my head. In the morning I stepped onto the first tee at 7:18 a.m. and spent the next five hours fulfilling a golf memory I will always cherish.

The next challenge for me is getting on to Pine Valley. The private golf course in New Jersey has to be one of the most exclusive clubs in the country.

Smolinski has his sights on it as well and, just like myself and others, is trying to figure out a way to play there.

“You can only play as a guest of a member and it is one of those things where you know someone who knows a member there,” Smolinski said. “I haven’t lobbied anyone directly but I have let it be known to certain people that I would like to play there.”

As have I, with little luck. But just like the goal of breaking 70, I haven’t given up. One day it could happen.

JOHN REGER’S golf column appears Thursdays. He may be reached by e-mail at nolimepublishing@aol.com.