Pebble Beach & Monterey ~ Golf Courses
Del Monte Golf Course is the oldest course in operation west of the Mississippi. Designed by Charles Maud in 1897, this inland course has a classic feel with a fairly tight layout. While playing shorter than most it will challenge your course management skills as the fairways are plotted with mature pine, oak and cypress trees. The greens are guarded by an array of bunkers and hold multiple tiers that are hard to read. Del Monte Golf Course is currently owned by the Pebble Beach Company so you can expect a well maintained facility with the highest level of customer service.
This challenging course was the original host of the California State Amateur to which it is still played. Del Monte Golf Course is also one of three courses which the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational tournament is played.
Located along the beautiful coastline of the Monterey Peninsula, Pacific Grove Golf Course is a well-maintained municipal course that offers old-world charm. Pacific Grove Golf Links is actually two nine-hole courses. It was Initially designed as a nine-hole course by former U.S. Amateur champion Chandler Egan in 1932. The front-nine leads you through tree-lined residential area of Pacific Grove. The re-routing caused by the opening of the back-nine in 1960 created an interesting start to the course which is characterized by beginning the round with two par three holes (#1 and #2) followed by two par fours (#3 and #4) and then two par fives(#5 and #6.)
The famous golf architect Jack Neville, who also crafted Pebble Beach Golf Links, designed the back-nine to perfection in 1960. The natural terrain of the rocky peninsula appears untouched, as if the only task required to create this course was to sow the seed. The 12th through 15th offer classic links style golf on the very tip of the Monterey Peninsula, surrounded by Pacific Ocean. The back-nine surrounds the Point Pinos Lighthouse, which opened on September 28, 1855, making it the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast. Hole #16 offers an elevated tee box with panoramic views that plays down to the rugged coastline with Crespi Pond (a fresh water pond pictured in the photo above) to the right of the green. Pacific Grove Golf Links has a reputation for being one of the best municipal golf courses in the State of California and is dubbed “the poor man’s Pebble Beach” for good reason! It can be crowded on the weekends but weekdays are almost always open.
Pebble Beach Golf Course was designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, opening on February 22, 1919. The original layout has changed very little over the years. Prior to the 1992 U.S. Open, Jack Nicklaus made a some alterations, including rebuilding the 4th, 5th and 7th greens. The most resent change occurred in 1998 when Jack Nicklaus designed a replacement for the par 3, 5th, which is now positioned along the cliff above the beach at Stillwater Cove.
Ranked the #1 public course in America by Golf Digest Magazine along with a #1 rating among the “Top 100 Courses You Can Play in the U.S.” by Golf Magazine, Pebble Beach Golf Links is arguably the greatest course in the world. With the amazing combination of unmatched coastal beauty, remarkable architecture and legendary golf history, it is hard to disagree. Featuring nine holes (#4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #17, #18) directly on the bluffs over looking the majestic Pacific Ocean, Pebble Beach is one of the greatest meetings of land and sea ever created by mother nature. Holes #8, #9, and #10 are positioned on cliffs over looking Carmel Bay and are considered the most difficult stretch of holes on the course. Course management is imperative to playing well at Pebble Beach Golf Links. With narrow fairways and well-protected postage-stamp greens, golfers experience a wonderful challenge throughout the round.
Pebble Beach has played host to a number of world-class tournaments over the years as well as co-hosting the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am with Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shores Course and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. A total of 11 USGA championships have been contested at Pebble Beach Golf Links, five of which where U.S. Open championships held in 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000 and 2010. Pebble is also scheduled to host it’s sixth U.S. Open in June of 2019.
Poppy Hills Golf Course offers a spectacular layout created by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. in 1986. This hidden gem is located in Pebble Beach, California, hiding under the radar compared to its world renowned neighbors. Positioned deep in the Del Monte Forest, Poppy Hills Golf Course feels like it is worlds away from civilization. Pine tree lined fairways require accurate, premeditated drives to set up your approach to large undulating greens that are well guarded by bunkers. The front-nine zig-zags on a ridge in front of the clubhouse with many dog-legs and one pond that comes in to play on #5 and again on #7. As you journey to the back-nine, you will find yourself moving deep into the Del Monte Forest. The solitude combined with the echos of singing birds will make you question your location. The 10th hole is a magnificent par five with a carry over a large pond that boarders half the green, so make sure you take enough club. One interesting fact about the course is that it has five par three holes and five par five holes, compared to most other golf courses that normally have four, at the most!
Nuzzled among the undulating sand dunes on the western tip of the Monterey Peninsula sits The Links at Spanish Bay. Designed in 1987 by a team comprised of Robert Trent Jones Jr., Tom Watson and Sandy Tatum, The Links at Spanish Bay was modeled after an authentic Scottish course. With the prevalent marine layer, rolling sandy dunes, blistering wind and rugged coastline, Spanish Bay golf course evokes the original Scottish feel of the game. Tom Watson who shot a 65 opening day said, “you can almost hear the bagpipes,” and you actually can most evenings as a bagpiper serenades the sun as it sets into the Pacific.
A majority of the front nine, including the closing five holes, are played among the sloping dunes. Views of the Pacific Ocean are dramatic while the extremely undulating, multi-tiered greens, will have you testing your imagination. Throughout the links are patches of environmentally sensitive areas which are off limits to golfers in order to protect the endangered dune vegetation. Course rules allow for a free drop if you end up astray in the protected locations. When the northwest trade winds are up, it makes for a challenging round.
Golfers are required to lodge at one of Pebble Beach’s hotels if they want to book a tee-time more than one month in advance.
Combining beautiful vistas of the open ocean surrounded by fog overhead and an immaculate course at your feet, Spanish Bay Golf Links is truly a wonderful golf experience.