Suspicion at Spyglass Hill

By Michael Dove

Golf-loving driving range attendant at Pebble Beach golf course, Walter “Chipper” Blair enjoys the simple joys of golf but vindictive Dorothy Golberry has become the President of Hastings Lumber. Golberry wants to cut down all the trees at all the golf courses in the Del Monte Forest, home of Spyglass Hill golf course. His wife, teaching pro Jenny Nelson, takes on a protégé and gives golf lessons to cute Cindy Springer. Pebble Beach General Counsel, Richard Stein, makes Cindy and Jenny social media stars and Cindy rich with N.I.L endorsements. The reader will enjoy this fun, golf-related suspense and mystery novel. Will Chipper and Stein save the Del Monte Forest and the golf courses? Will Cindy make the local college golf team? You will be immersed in the lifestyles of the rich and famous in this beautiful area; all the favorite haunts and restaurants. Great golf, intrigue, and mystery. Nothing is as it seems in Suspicion at Spyglass Hill.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 25, 2024
• ISBN: 9781663259912

Michael Dove

Michael Dove is an author, columnist, and community influencer in Monterey County, California. He played NCAA Division 1 golf at the University of California at Berkeley where he also earned BA and MBA degrees. He is a scratch golfer and nationally ranked runner. He has won a national Jefferson Award for his community volunteer service.

Book preview

Copyright © 2024 Michael Dove.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

844-349-9409

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5990-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5991-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024901058

iUniverse rev. date: 01/23/2024

Contents

Foreword

Author’s Note

Changes

The Ben And Aileen Morris Foundation

Heading To Seattle

Not Home On The Range

The Hastings Lumber Company

Spyglass Hill

The General Counsel’s Office

Customer Service

Short Game Lesson

Suspicion

Irene Mcvay

The Hay

Duncan And Cindy

The Morning Routine

Yelp Reviews

Golberry

Duncan And Jim

Duncan And Cindy

The Cindy Project

Back At Spyglass

Takahashi, Irene, And Emily Hastings

Pebble Beach Driving Range

Cindy’s First Lesson

The Cindy Project Post #2

Sloane And Stein

Cindy At Spyglass

The Cindy Project

Lumberjacks On My Range

Duncan

Dinner Party Planning

The Hastings’ Cocktail Hour

Dinner Is Served

Dessert

Officer Henderson

Richard Stein

Booked

Angus

Stein’s Surprise

Playing Lesson

Car Week – The Concours

Steve Burkowski

Golberry

Pebble Beach Corporation Negotiations

Bayonet And Black Horse Golf

Golf Central – Jenny Or Cindy

Golf Channel – Cindy Golf Swing

Golf Channel – Suspicion At Spyglass Hill

Busy Day

The Trucks Are Rolling In

Takahashi

Cease And Desist

Cypress Point Surprise

The Hay

First Round

General Golberry

Richard Stein

Round One Recap

Stein And Sammy

Round Two Black Horse

Round Three – Spyglass Hill

Suspicion At Spyglass Hill

Mr And Mrs Beef Judson

Tree Down

Get This Done

Warren Servatius

The Hay

The Day After

Calm In The Forest

Afterword

OTHER BOOKS BY MICHAEL DOVE

CRIM 279

THE RUNNING LIFE (WITH DONALD BURAGLIO)

PARADOX AT PEBBLE BEACH

CONFUSION AT CYPRESS POINT

SURPRISE AT SPANISH BAY (COMING SOON)

This novel is entirely a work of fiction and my imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or people would be totally coincidental. This book can be read alone but it is the third in a series of three novels and the reader should probably start with the first in the series called Paradox at Pebble Beach followed by Confusion at Cypress Point.

The greatest meeting of land and water in the world.

- Francis McComas

Spyglass is amazing. Especially how you come out of the chute in the trees and make a left turn. It’s so dramatic down to the sea. You’re in this forest, and then all of a sudden you’re staring at waves and birds and ocean. You go out for the first five holes and it doesn’t matter what your golf game is, because you’re standing there thinking to yourself, ‘Seriously, is there a better place on earth than this?’

- Jill McGill

FOREWORD

THE HOLES AT SPYGLASS HILL

Robert Louis Stevenson was said to have traversed the dunes that became Spyglass Hill, and the location was his muse for the buccaneers and buried gold in his classic novel Treasure Island. When Spyglass Hill was built with the help of the Northern California Golf Association in 1966, the name of the course was inspired by Stevenson’s book. NCGA Executive Director Bob Hanna even went so far as to name most of the holes after Treasure Island people and places. What do all these names mean?

No. 1: Treasure Island (595 Yards, Par-5)

Original Hanna description: The 1st green is actually an island in the sand. To hit the green in par figures is to be rewarded.

Treasure Island reference: The quest for buried treasure takes place here.

No. 2: Billy Bones (349 Yards, Par-4)

Original description: Like the character in the book, he appears early and doesn’t stay long, but is long remembered.

Treasure Island reference: The hard-drinking old pirate who perishes is on the lookout for the One-legged man.

No. 3: The Black Spot (172 Yards, Par-3)

Original description: There is no alternative. Either the player hits the green or is in the sand and on the spot.

Treasure Island reference: Pirates are presented a black spot to officially summon them for judgement. Black Spot is also the title of Chapter 3. In it, Billy Bones receives the Black Spot, and ultimately can’t escape death.

No. 4: Blind Pew (370 Yards, Par-4)

Original description: Unless the tee shot is perfectly placed, the second shot to the green is absolutely blind.

Treasure Island reference: The blind murderous beggar and pirate who delivers the Black Spot to Billy Bones.

No. 5: Bird Rock (197 Yards, Par-3)

Original description: A one-shotter directly toward Bird Rock.

Treasure Island reference: None. One of the most popular stops on 17-Mile Drive, where sea lions now sunbathe.

No. 6: Israel Hands (446 Yards, Par-4)

Original description: Now we meet the pirates in the woods, and No. 6 is a real rogue.

Treasure Island reference: A reckless pirate serving as coxswain on the ship Hispaniola. Long John Silver’s second-in-command.

No. 7: Indian Village (529 Yards, Par-5)

Original description: In keeping with the local lore, a difficult five par and many a player may be captured in the Indian Village.

Treasure Island reference: None. It is the neighboring picnic grounds just west of the 7th hole.

No. 8: Signal Hill (399 Yards, Par-4)

Original description: Again, a local name. No. 8 is all uphill and could be a signal to a good or bad round.

Treasure Island reference: None. It’s the high dunes that separate Spyglass Hill and Cypress Point.

No. 9: Captain Smollett (431 Yards, Par-4)

Original description: Captain of the whole front nine and a tough taskmaster.

Treasure Island reference: The rules-enforcing captain of the voyage to Treasure Island.

No. 10: Captain Flint (407 Yards, Par-4)

Original Bob Hanna description: Silver’s parrot may well be echoing pieces of eight in the ears of the money players.

Treasure Island reference: The pirate captain of the Walrus who buries the treasure on Treasure Island. Flint’s quartermaster Long John Silver also names his parrot Captain Flint in mockery.

No. 11: Admiral Benbow (528 Yards, Par-5)

Original description: Eleven green will provide safe refuge to those who bravely negotiate the sand.

Treasure Island reference: The inn that protagonist Jim Hawkins and his parents run.

No. 12: Skeleton Island (178 Yards, Par-3)

Original description: The shape of the green and the lake guarding it lead the way to the treasure.

Treasure Island reference: Also known as Treasure Island. The perils of seeking the treasure meant risking death.

No. 13: Tom Morgan (460 Yards, Par-4)

Original description: A pirate if there ever was one. One of the most deceiving holes on the course, longer than it looks.

Treasure Island reference: A pirate and mutineer on the Hispaniola who is left marooned on Treasure Island.

No. 14: Long John Silver (560 Yards, Par-5)

Original description: This double dogleg five par will dominate the whole card.

Treasure Island reference: A cunning, sly, peg-legged pirate with a parrot on his shoulder. He’s the cook on the voyage to Treasure Island who is the secret leader of the mutineers.

No. 15: Jim Hawkins (130 Yards, Par-3)

Original description: The only kindly hole on the course. Just a little bit of a shot, but…

Treasure Island reference: The protagonist adolescent boy through which the tale of Treasure Island is told.

No. 16: Black Dog (476 Yards, Par-4)

Original description: The most scurrilous of them all; a name well deserved. Not many will be able to cope with the length of this infamous par four.

Treasure Island reference: The pale pirate missing two fingers who is an old shipmate of Billy Bones.

No. 17: Benn Gunn (325 Yards, Par-4)

Original description: Liked by all; a friendly character, not too long but full of suspicion.

Treasure Island reference: A reformed pirate who has been marooned on Treasure Island for three years by himself.

No. 18: Spyglass (408 Yards, Par-4)

Original description: The home hole toward the sign of the Spyglass.

Treasure Island reference: Spyglass is the location of the largest hill on Treasure Island. Spy-Glass is also the name of a tavern owned by Long John Silver.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Many years ago, I was leading the Northern California Golf Association Public Links championship late in the second and final round by one stroke. I was one under par for fifteen holes at Spyglass Hill. Spyglass played much tougher in those days than it does now, with many more trees and heavier rough. The pros refused to play the blue tees.

On the sixteenth hole, a 476-yard par 4, and aptly named the Scurrilous Black Dog, I hit a perfect drive down the middle to the top of the hill. My second shot with a two iron was well hit but drifted a bit right of the green and kicked behind a large pine tree with a six-foot-wide trunk. The tree was no more than ten feet off the right side of the green. Unfortunately, I was completely blocked from chipping to the green. I had to hit out left, then chipped on and missed a five-foot putt for double bogey. I lost the championship by two strokes.

I hate that tree.

68649.png

CHANGES

Roger Hennessey, head golf professional at Pebble Beach, ambled over from the pro shop, across the large practice putting green, and into the Lodge. He was headed to the executive offices for his weekly meeting with James Swain, the VP for golf operations for the Pebble Beach Corporation. Hennessey, after fifteen years of walking into the Lodge, still had his sense of wonder and awe when he looked through the lobby and saw the eighteenth green and Carmel Bay, with its dark blue water behind it, shining in the afternoon sun. It was a rare sunny day in the Del Monte Forest, void of the usual fog and clouds. The view was magnificent. There were several tourists having drinks in the large lobby. They paid Hennessey’s salary by playing golf and staying in the expensive hotel.

After a relatively quiet few months involving his employees and assistant pros and a very successful U.S. Women’s Open behind him, he was looking forward to an uneventful meeting with his boss. He couldn’t think of any issues that might come up. Roger was content and secure in his job. He didn’t like changes and was constantly happy with his life at one of the most prestigious golf courses in the world.

Swain greeted Roger warmly; they had a great relationship and saw each other socially as well as keeping up a wonderful working relationship. While Roger had become a bit portly, Swain was an avid runner and fitness enthusiast, who constantly tried to get Roger to be more active. Swain said, Hey, Rog, how are ya this afternoon? Did you do any running today?

I’m too busy and work too many hours to do any running. When do you have time? I work from sun up to sun down. No time to run.

I work sunup to sundown, also. I get up at four thirty and run before work on the golf course then shower in my shower room here.

How about building a shower room in the pro shop then? I’m not a big executive like you. I do actual work. I get my exercise walking around in the pro shop every day or lifting merchandise around. I hardly ever get to rest or play golf. I never have time to exercise at leisure.

Swain changed the subject, It seems that things have calmed down with Chipper Blair and Jenny Nelson. It’s hard to fathom how trouble seems to find them all the time; an attempted murder by car on our driving range and then the deaths of those two lumber people who lived in the Forest. What were their names?

Hennessey said, Steven and Wells Hastings. Both bad guys, apparently. Chipper and Jenny just happened to be in their way. Wasn’t their fault. If you think about it, how crazy is it that they were attacked twice at Cypress Point: once by truck and once by rifle? How crazy can that be? Probably the craziest thing that has ever happened at Cypress Point. I think we’re well past that now. Nothing but calm seas now.

Swain said, You know, the Corporation just pledged a few million to women’s golf and hosting USGA championships, both men’s and women’s, on a continuing basis well into the future. We’re very proud of that commitment.

Chipper and Jenny’s new Foundation has given more than the Corporation to local golf programs and schools. Isn’t that kind of embarrassing for you?

It hasn’t come up in any of our executive meetings, actually. What they do is their own business. We give hundreds of millions to local charities through the ATT and Pebble Beach Foundations. We’re not in competition with them. Good for them. I just hope they don’t get into any more trouble that involves the golf courses in the Forest. That brings me to what I hope will be an easy change for you and for them.

Uh-oh, Roger sighed.

We are going to try the range ball machine again at the Pebble driving range. We don’t need Blair there anymore. The new model of the range ball machine is much better and more reliable than the older versions we had in the past. The model we purchased has great reviews from other courses. We’ve got a maintenance guy that can take care of it, and if it has an issue, it sends its own message out that it needs repair. We don’t even have to examine it regularly. Very reliable.

What about Chipper? He loves it at the range. He does a good job there.

There’s really not that much to do, is there? He’s got a cushy job. He can hit balls most of the day. I’ve been over there several times, and there is no one hitting balls but him. We don’t need him there.

I don’t want to fire him. I can’t do that.

You don’t have to, really. Move him over to Spyglass Hill. We can use a range guy there, and some help in the clubhouse too. We’ve got a few summer hire kids we are going to use to pick up balls on the range late in the day. Maybe when summer is over, he can move back to picking up balls. He can do both ranges if he wants. He ought to think about going back to school and getting a degree or something. Why does he even want to work? The guy has hundreds of millions of dollars he got from the old Scotsman that died.

Roger said, He has a bachelors and masters from Stanford. BA in economics and MBA in finance. He just wants to hit golf balls.

Swain said, That’s a shocker.

Roger thought to himself that Chipper wasn’t the best dealing with people. A clubhouse job might end in disaster. He would have to tell him again to try harder and don’t get customers upset. He agreed that Chipper would move to Spyglass Hill and told Swain. Now he was going to have to break the unfortunate news to Chipper.

Swain followed up with another change, You’ll like this one, Roger. We’re going to nominate Jenny Nelson this year for Golf Digest’s best teaching pros in America list. She gets rave reviews. I’ve watched her give a few lessons, and she is really remarkable. I’m doing the write-up for the nomination myself. I’m pretty sure she’ll make the list this next year. There are only a few women in the top-fifty teaching pro list.

That’s wonderful commented Roger.

It’s going to help the Corporation, too, as we’re going to publicize her more. It doesn’t hurt that she is a beautiful young woman, as well. Do you know Butch Harmon and Chris Como charge fifteen-hundred dollars an hour for lessons? David Leadbetter only gives half-day lessons and charges thirty-five-hundred dollars. Really crazy. It’s a crazy business. No one on the top-fifty list charges less than two-hundred-fifty dollars an hour. Just like a plumber. He laughed. She gets a salary and all her lesson money now, but we want to change her lesson rate and take a cut for being the publicity agent and allowing her to teach here.

What do I tell her?

Tell her we’re doing the nomination and advertising her lesson rate now at three-hundred dollars an hour. We’ll take one hundred and she’ll get two hundred and whatever tips people give her. That’s still way more than she gets now at her one-hundred-dollar-an-hour rate. She’s a bargain. How about using Chipper for the one-hundred-dollar lesson rate? I’ve heard he’s a good stick. Maybe he can give short game lessons. They don’t call him Chipper for nothing.

I’m not sure either of them will like that. Chipper can be caustic. Doesn’t like hacks. Isn’t afraid to tell people to give up the game. Jenny will be honored but won’t like it either. What if no one wants to take a lesson at that rate? Five lessons at one hundred dollars is five hundred. Zero lessons at three hundred dollars each is still zero.

This is Pebble Beach. We’re full of rich people. Rich golfers. People will pay. All it takes is a little marketing. She doesn’t have a choice, really. My way or the highway. Good luck, Roger. Nice to see you. Same time next week. Have a good week. Get some exercise.

68649.png

THE BEN AND AILEEN MORRIS FOUNDATION

Jenny Nelson didn’t want any drama but already knew before the second quarterly meeting of the Ben and Aileen Morris Foundation that Irene McVay and Richard Bradenton would both be at the meeting. It wasn’t a mistake to ask Bradenton to be on her Board of Directors; he was President of Cypress Point Golf Club and a Director of the Community Foundation of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation as well, but because Irene and Bradenton’s short relationship ended badly it would be very uncomfortable with having both of them in the meeting. Irene had discovered Richard was married and having a relationship with her at the same time. She hadn’t yet gotten up the courage to go talk to Big Bill O’Shea and see if he would take her back.

Jenny waited in their replica Dreel Tavern, downstairs in Chipper’s estate, off the fourteenth fairway at Pebble Beach Golf Course. She sipped on a chardonnay and waited for her Board of Directors to join her. Chipper Blair was greeting them at the front door, and all of them knew the way to the bar downstairs. As each arrived, they went behind the bar by themselves and poured their drinks of choice. She watched as each came in: attorneys Judith Hitten and Richard Stein (Stein was the General Counsel of the Pebble Beach Corporation), Monterey County Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Sloane, Pebble Beach pro Roger Hennessey and Richard Bradenton. Irene McVay was the last to arrive and came into the bar with Chipper. She sat as far as she could from Bradenton. Chipper, as usual, sat way in the back and let Jenny lead the meeting. She was the CEO.

Hitten opened her briefcase and distributed five-hundred-dollar checks to each Director as payment for attending the meeting, as stipulated in the Foundation by-laws. Several immediately tore them up as an indication they did not need payment to serve on the Board.

Jenny started, Thank you all for coming tonight. I know your schedules are very busy, and I appreciate you being here and helping us make decisions that help local golf and local golfers. After our first allocation of approximately three million dollars that we will continue to give each year to local schools and golfers, now we can thank Judith for opening our grant application process online. We received a surprising number of applications in the past few months. We have another approximately twelve million dollars to give each year and that doesn’t even touch our principal. I never realized how much money that is and how hard it is to grant that much money. Judith and Chipper and I have reviewed all applications to date and have eliminated many we felt were not applicable or were frivolous. Some were laughable. What I’ll do in this meeting is to present the ones we feel are worth bringing to your attention with a short summary, and we’ll have a brief discussion, if you want, and then vote on approval or disapproval.

Bradenton raised his hand and then commented, Jenny, next time it might make the meeting shorter if you give us the list and summary ahead of time, then we can review and be ready to make comments and decisions.

Irene whispered, but loud enough for everyone near her to hear, Asshole. Mr. Big Shot thinks he knows it all.

Jenny said, I think that’s a good idea, Richard. We’ll do that next time.

Irene, who wasn’t one to keep her opinions to herself, said, Jenny. Jenny. Jenny.

Bradenton then commented, Also, I think that the committee should see all the applications, so we can decide what is frivolous and what is not. We may have different opinions than you and Judith.

Irene pulled no punches at this one, Richard, you chauvinist pig and philanderer who cheated on his wife God knows how many times, should let our CEO, Jenny, do what she wants. Who do you think you are to question her and Judith’s judgement?

Bradenton said, Aah, the woman scorned. You aren’t being very professional, Irene. What credentials do you have to be on this Board of Directors? You’re just a rich dowager. A good-looking rich dowager, though.

You pig. Irene replied.

Jenny took control and said, Let’s stick to business, please, or I’m going to have to get rid of both of you. I have the right to do that, you know! Chipper gave her a thumbs up from the back of the room.

She continued, If you must know, the ones we felt were frivolous and not applicable didn’t meet our criteria for applications. We received an application from the Links Club in Carmel, that is basically a bar with golf simulators, saying they wanted one million dollars to start a youth program in the daytime. Crazy. We had one from the Monterey County Weekly newspaper that they wanted one hundred thousand dollars a year to have a weekly golf column in their paper. I had a friend that did an application to their yearly Monterey County Gives program for scholarship money last year, and they turned him down because they said they had too many charities listed already. They had two hundred and seventeen. Would two hundred and eighteen have made any difference? We had several from outside Monterey County and as far away as New Jersey, for some reason. The best one was from In-N-Out Burger in Seaside saying they wanted one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars to have a secret menu item called the Pebble Beach Burger. More crazy.

Richard Stein said, I don’t think that is so crazy. If In-N-Out Burger had a Pebble Beach Burger, I would have sued their asses for millions. Deep pockets, you know.

Jenny said, OK. Let’s get down to business. We got a one-time request for three million dollars from Bayonet and Black Horse golf courses in Seaside to build a par three course for kids. They sent in a realistic budget estimate and they already have the seventy acres needed.

Bradenton said, That doesn’t seem nearly enough to build a par three course, does it?

They are budgeting six million for the project, and we would be paying half of it. They would pay for all future upkeep and costs. They would let kids pay for a nominal amount. There are par three courses at the Hay in Pebble Beach and in East Salinas. Seaside would be a perfect place to have one. Lot of kids, mostly lower income. They also said they would provide clubs and balls. Kids just have to show up.

This seems wonderful, Chipper said, Ben Morris would be more than proud. Can we attach his name to it in some way? The vote was unanimously in favor. All hands went up immediately when Jenny called for a yea vote.

Jenny then brought up some similar proposals; both the Salinas Californian and the Monterey Herald newspapers asked for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars per year to put a full-time golf reporter on staff. These were approved. The Monterey County Weekly asked for four hundred thousand a year for exactly the same proposal, and it was turned down as being too greedy.

"Rancho Cielo School in East Salinas has asked for two hundred thousand dollars a year to institute a golf program for their students: lessons and clubs for all,