Can golf weather be too perfect?

We were told to pack pullovers and raingear, that the weather off Monterey Bay can turn in an instant, that it can be sunny one minute, foggy and drizzly the next. As the trip neared, however, it became quite apparent that we weren’t getting any of that. The forecast? Sunny skies, highs in the low 70s for the entire week.

Still, I only packed one pair of shorts, figuring January in Seaside, Calif., had to be long pants weather. As it turned out, the forecast was right. I never saw a cloud this past week – not one – as we played the Gene Bates-renovated Bayonetand Black Horse courses at Bayonet/Black Horse in Seaside, where the old Fort Ord Army base use to be.

I was almost disappointed, if you can believe that. Perhaps if I had come from snowy Chicago or New York, I would been happier about it, but 60s and 70s in January are common in Houston, where I live. Mind you, I said, “almost disappointed.” I certainly wouldn’t have traded it for windy, wet and cold weather.

To me golf, though, is a little like football. Weather is one of the elements, which I why I’m not a big fan of indoor football. I know guys who prefer mid-80s when they play golf; they like to be able to work up a sweat and stay loose. I don’t mind it in the 50s or 60s as long as or it’s real not windy. Somehow wearing a few layers helps me keep my swing together – at least that’s what I believe. What I don’t like is 95 and 95 percent humidity, which is what we get back home for four or five months.

So what is the perfect golf weather? Is it 72 and no clouds? Who has the best golf weather? San Diego? Hawaii? Florida? Arizona? It probably depends on the season, but my money goes to San Diego for year-round golf. This week, however, San Diego had nothing on Seaside.