Pebble Beach Resorts®

Course was dry but refused to allow carts off cart paths. Rough hadn’t been mowed so lost of ball were lost in plain sight. Pace of play was awful. No course Marshall in sight and no push to move slower groups.

Having heard a few quibbles over the years about the course in terms of green conditions and the "lackluster" interior holes, I feel compelled to write a review about my experience playing Pebble for the first time. The area had just received 10 inches of rain over the past two weeks prior to my round, but despite the fairways being a bit soggy the course was in great shape. We played the gold tees with lift, clean, and place rules in the fairways. The greens were true, and even in the wet conditions were almost treacherously fast on downhill putts.

I have played all of the Bandon courses, Bethpage Black, Torrey Pines South, Whistling Straits, Chambers Bay, and PGA West Stadium Course, and Pebble beats them hands-down as my best overall golf experience ever. I just can't explain how solid the course design is, and how well that design dovetails with the natural landscape of the headlands. And don't let anyone tell you the "inland" holes bring this course down. Holes 1-3 slowly build you up, each having their own interesting design features. Holes 1 and 2 in particular have scarily narrow greens with challenging bunkering on each side, and hole 2 is a solid par 5 that under dry conditions will provide great risk/reward options (and the trees and traversing bunker/trench at about 80 yards out provide a unique design feature). Hole 3 is a great looking dogleg left par 4 that gives you a decision to make on how aggressively you want to attack the dogleg, and provides yet another challenging/narrow green.

Then holes 4 and 5 lead you into the oceanside holes, with 4 being a nicely bunkered uphill par 4 with a diabolically small green perched at the end of a ravine. I loved hole 5, and was surprised at how little I remember seeing this one on TV. The shallow green is nicely angled with any miss right taking you off the cliff. I don't need to say anything about holes 6-10, other than the fact that hole 6 might be my favorite par 5 ever (absolutely love the unique design features on that hole) and the second shot on hole 8 is easily the most memorable second shot on a par 4 in my life.

Holes 11 and 12 are solid, with 11 requiring the proper placement of the tee shot to enable any hope of getting close to the pin on the approach, and 12 is a solid par 3 with an angled green that has little room for a miss. Holes 13 and 14 were challening, with 14 being my second favorite par 5 on the course. And these "inland" holes give you an expansive view of the ocean and holes 8-10 below.

Holes 15 ane 16 have yet new and different design features that give them their own character and as usual require proper placement off the tee, especially 16.

Again, not much needs to be said about 17 and 18, execept that I liked how 18, despite being more narrow than you think from beach to OB by the fairway tree once you walk up the fairway and get a close look, is pretty doable if you can manage a subtle draw. Do the wet conditions getting home in two was not an option, but I would love to be tied for the lead going into 18 and having to decide whether or not to go for that green in two.

All in all, Bandon Dunes may have a more consistent seaside wow factor (that's a strong maybe), and Bethpage may be equal in terms of layout and course design, but Pebble for me provides the combination of the two that makes it unequaled. You can feel the history of the course, particularly with the small size of the greens, but this course holds up to the modern game and requires solid course management and good ball striking. I would hate to see this course under US Open conditions...dear god with US Open rough and greens any miss with an iron would be dearly punished. The price is obviously not easy on the pocket book, but if you are a true golf junky you simply have to squirrel away $50 a month for a year and make the pilgrimage...you won't regret it.

Thanks team Del Monte for providing a great and challenging course. Staff was great and the course is in great shape. Looking forward to the next rounds here.

Going into playing this course I was excited, with all the history there but after playing the round I was very disappointed and will never play this course again. Staff was rude and seemed like there was a rule for everything. Can’t take a cooler, can’t take the cart to your vehicle. Never saw one beverage cart. The conditions at my local muni course are better than this place. Save your money and stay away. Layout of the course is boring.

Extremely slow pace of play. Marshall did nothing. Left after 15 holes with 3 groups on the tee.

No driving range to warm up. Also, after 2pm, they will not allow carts or even push carts. Had to walk all 18 carrying heavy bag. Slow play and had to wait at every hole and shot which took 4+ hours to play 18. Holes ares stacked next to each other creating very tight playing.

If you like sand dunes and endless views of the Pacific, Spanish Bay can't be missed!!!

The 1st hole sets the tone for the day. This gentle downhill par 5 takes you right to the ocean. Arguably a tie with Sheep Ranch for the best starting hole.

Tough, target course. The variety of holes and quality of amazing routing helps you forget the beating you are taking. Love how the course stays by the ocean for most of the front nine, then goes inland, and then back to the Pacific to finish.

With the drought it’s hard to complain but for a Pebble Beach Resort the fairways were in pretty rough shape. Pace of play was miserable. Believe T Times are every 10 minutes so you’re waiting every shot until you reach the green.

That’s golf during Covid.

Good Course Layout, course just needs some attention

I won’t repeat what everyone else writes.

It is beautiful, hole 1-5 ocean side, holes 6-18 tree lined.

It’s tough but fair from the forward tees - meaning you have a chance to get on greens in regulation on a number of holes. Everyone (male golfers) I spoke with said it’s the hardest course they’ve ever played. I did not experience that.

The course feels very familiar from hole six to 18 because it’s tree-lined and hilly like courses back home. Perhaps it’s harder from the tips for long hitters that miss the fairways. I tend to be a fairly straight hitter.

The only negative was the greens were aerated so they were full of big aeration holes and slow. So if you plan a trip for the fall, ask when the greens will be punched.

Take a caddy if you’ve never played there and take a cart because there are some big hills and when you want to walk the fairway, your caddie will run back and forth to the cart to get your clubs.

Definitely play Spyglass Hill!!!

I was excited to play The Hay based on the hype on Golf Channel and Twitter when it opened but I was disappointed.

I get that Tiger Woods did the design and it’s Pebble Beach but as a resort guest, it’s not a good value for the experience at $65. And one really annoying fact - on Mondays you have to play off mats (which we were not told when we made our tee time for The Hay - $65 and hitting off a mat, not good!

The two interesting holes are 2 (described as like 7th at Pebble Beach but not really but it’s pretty and fun) and 4 (uphill blind shot to the green).

Yes, it’s a good practice for your shot game which I assume is why it’s located at the “practice and learning center” for Pebble Beach golf links.

My advice to Pebble Beach management- as part of the practice facility offer resort guests one free round at The Hay since you promote the practice center as free to resort guests.

One other point on the practice area, the range is the warmup for golfers playing Pebble Beach golf links (they have a shuttle from the course). Because there’s so many players, there is no grass on the driving range. The shuttle driver told me that by 8 am the grass is gone and they know it’s a problem but they can’t do anything about It with so many golfers (especially guys that take big divot and not in a line pattern)

On the bright side - Everything else about Pebble Beach resort, the courses, amenities, staff friendliness was 5 stars.

Pace of play much to slow. Not much monitoring this portion of my experience. A single ahead of me quit on the 14th hole as the group ahead of him a foursome took their sweet time, I experienced a lot of down time waiting aroung.

The greens are excellent, the fairways are marginal.