First time playing Spanish Bay Monday!

Second 18 and part of our GK Cup Team Match with Mattias, Alex326 and dbev606.

It’s been a bucket list golf course for me a long time and it lived up to t... Continue »

First time playing Spanish Bay Monday!

Second 18 and part of our GK Cup Team Match with Mattias, Alex326 and dbev606.

It’s been a bucket list golf course for me a long time and it lived up to the hype. I heard the horror stories of how tough it is but I brought a lot of game especially off the tee so fortunately I never did feel its bite. I did struggle at times with its crazy undulating greens. I also found my share of bunkers which are nasty deep. But being there was hardly any wind with moist conditions I think you could say it was “scoring conditions”.

I snapped some photos up until hole 14. We teed off just before 3:00pm so it was race to the finish with limited sight on holes 15 – 18. Holes 17 and 18 pretty much played in the dark. Which means I need to play it again … darn … oh well :)

What a great track with so many ocean views and rugged natural terrain. Just a beautiful relaxing coast line to feast your eyes on all day. Then there are few holes on the back nine 10 – 12 that reminded me of Spyglass. Loved Spanish Bay.

Something else very cool and sorry to spoil the surprise but after you park the car and go through the proshop, the first look at the first tee with ocean background is breathtaking. You feel immediately transplanted into a Scottish links style course. Then as the day is winding down, out come the bagpipes that resonate through the course. It’s quite an experience.

As far as conditions, great shape even for how wet the region has been. I did run into some causal water and muddy spots but nothing serious. All the bunkers were in immaculate shape regardless. Greens a little bumpy, rolled medium-fast (my guess slower than normal) and I chalk that up to the late day round on soft moist greens. We played the gold tees and they were in very good condition. A little thin but full coverage and well manicured. Fairways were a little shaggy but I’m guessing that because of the rain and they did not cut them on a Monday. I might have noticed more imperfections at Spanish Bay then most since I just played immaculate Quail Lodge & Golf Club hours before. But again, Spanish Bay was in great shape and extremely enjoyable.

Check out the photos I just posted.

Highly Recommended!

3rd bucket list round played mid-week.

Newest of all the Pebble courses, this layout approximates a Scottish links style course and succeeds in doing so on many levels!

Of all the other Pebble c... Continue »

3rd bucket list round played mid-week.

Newest of all the Pebble courses, this layout approximates a Scottish links style course and succeeds in doing so on many levels!

Of all the other Pebble courses, this one by far features the most ocean holes, with only 4 that play up through the resort and in between dense forests. Unlike at Pebble, however, the association with water/ocean is a completely different affair. At Pebble, the views are framed by being in a smallish bay, while at Spanish, the vistas are of wide open ocean (particularly awesome on this day with up to 15 ft breakers coming in off the Pacific). Also, at Pebble you are raised up on cliffs that set up a different drama with the ocean holes and water - at Spanish Bay you are literally playing through beach and sand dunes on several holes.

As for conditions, they were at least comparable to Spyglass - lush fairways, perfect sand and tees, and lightly sanded, moderately fast greens. However, the lush and heavily watered aspect to the course meant that it didn't play like links golf, even if it looked authentically so. No run-out on the fairways and on the holes where you could feasibly bounce it up onto the green through the fringes, it was soft too. Lots of strategic bunkers off the tees with lighter bunkering around the greens, I found the course to be the easiest of the 3 I played this week even though the gold tees play the same distance as Pebble and Spyglass while the slope/rating is basically the same as Pebble.

After the dunes that frame most holes, the most notable feature of the design were the extremely contoured greens - this was the only part of the course that required local knowledge or a caddie. You have to land it in the correct section of the green - not easy as the plateaus were small - or else 3 putts will be common. (Although once on the correct plateau putts were usually fairly straight.)

Aside from the resort-style holes 10-13, this is the track you want to play if you crave a plethora of wide ocean views and a course that complements its most prominent natural feature.

Played 8/29/18 This is a must play! There is so much to see, it is very hard to be serious about playing! The greens were a little bumpy, they punched the greens recently. Pace of play was 4.5 hrs. Ev... Continue »

Played 8/29/18 This is a must play! There is so much to see, it is very hard to be serious about playing! The greens were a little bumpy, they punched the greens recently. Pace of play was 4.5 hrs. Everybody who worked there was amazing. Play this course! The views are spectacular. Very playable for all.

Went out mid morning in a typical Pebble summer cool damp and windy day. Tee'd off at 9:30 AM and actually it wasn't too cold. We never saw the sun all day but temperature wise it certainly managea... Continue »

Went out mid morning in a typical Pebble summer cool damp and windy day. Tee'd off at 9:30 AM and actually it wasn't too cold. We never saw the sun all day but temperature wise it certainly manageable. I'm sad to say but the course is in shambles right now. I'm not sure what has happened but the near perfect conditions a few months ago have now turned into a beat up Muni course.

The greens rolled true and fast. No pitch marks or diseases. However, they were hard as a rock and approach shots just would not stick. Greens have very small landing areas and even well struck shots that landed in the wrong part of the green would roll off.

Fairways were a HUGE disappointment. They were 45-55% brown dirt or super thin dead grass. Rarely was there a green lush lie in the fairway. Rough was patchy. A lot of the skirt areas around the greens were being prepped for new sod. Those area's were closed off GUR with a near by "drop zone".

Tee boxes were ok but nothing special as in the past. They were level but not as lush as normal. Sand traps were good for the most part. The first one I was in was perfect but the next one was thin. The others were all decent but not as nice as the first one.

A few years ago before I started playing golf, I remember noticing the huge amounts of brown grass Spanish Bay when cycling past the course. A friend of mine who works at the Spanish Bay Inn told me it was because the Pebble Beach company only has so much water for the three courses and they elect to keep Pebble and Spyglass pristine so Spanish Bay suffers. Not sure if it's true or not but it appears so by the conditions of SB.

Overall, I was very disappointed with the conditions of the course. Even at my reduced rate, it's way overpriced given the poor conditions. There is no way I would pay full pop for it right now.

Went out with some friends to enjoy a nice winter day on a nice course. Course conditions are excellent right now with perfect greens that roll at a medium fast pace but are soft and hold approach sh... Continue »

Went out with some friends to enjoy a nice winter day on a nice course. Course conditions are excellent right now with perfect greens that roll at a medium fast pace but are soft and hold approach shots. Sand traps and fairways are great as well but the tee boxes stole the show. It was like teeing up on perfectly flat smooth carpet.

We walked the course and there are a couple of long transfers between a few of the holes. Hand carts are allowed but you have to provide your own. Remember, the course is cart path only.

Being right on top of the ocean for most of the course you have spectacular scenic views of the surrounding Pacific Ocean and across the bay to Santa Cruz. In fact only three holes don't have views of the ocean.

Customer service is top notch. For some reason customer service is better here than Pebble Beach. At Pebble you get the sense that they HAVE to treat you well (and darn right they do for that price) but at Spanish Bay you get the feeling that they WANT to treat you well.

Spanish Bay also has the best clubhouse of the three. Spyglass is purely about the golf. It has an old building that seems like an afterthought more than anything else. Pebble has fantastic amenities, but you have to share them with every tourist who just came off the bus.

Spanish Bay has separated their facility so the non golfing tourists are over at the hotel 500 yards away, yet it has a fantastic restaurant / bar with outdoor seating overlooking the ocean and first hole just for the golfers.

Went out and played in the rain. We had an option of rescheduling or cancelling without being charged but being that the golf gods have smiled on us with perfect weather when playing Pebble Beach, we... Continue »

Went out and played in the rain. We had an option of rescheduling or cancelling without being charged but being that the golf gods have smiled on us with perfect weather when playing Pebble Beach, we figured we needed to pay our dues.

It rained steady for 16 of the 18 holes but the wind was manageable (actually fairly calm for the area). There was only one other twosome on the course so POP was way faster than usual

Spanish Bay Is always cart path only as are all courses in the 93953 zip code (Sans MPCC). They are designed to be walked with caddies. SB is an easy track to walk and they do allow push carts but you have to bring your own as they don't have any to rent. We actually took a cart just to have some shelter from the rain to keep dry towels in.

As others have noted the carts do not have GPS in them. It's cart path only so you're only going to get an approximate yardage and everyone these days has some type of range finder or phone app to give you yardage. Also, most peop,e get a caddie which will give you yardage

SB doesn't have a range but you're able to use the range at Pebble or Spyglass.

Greens were a lot tougher than I remembered. Severe lumps and humps to negotiate.

With the rain there was obviously a lot of standing water in spots on both the greens and fairways. Each green had a squeegee so you could clear water if you wanted to take the time.

Course conditions were very playable, especially given the weather conditions.

Customer service was excellent. They even sent the beverage cart out 3 times even though there were only 4 golfers on the course

Played today on a great sunny day w/o wind. Found the course in terrific condition and the views spectacular. Having played P B numerous times, we agreed to play here, as you can reserve 24 hours in a... Continue »

Played today on a great sunny day w/o wind. Found the course in terrific condition and the views spectacular. Having played P B numerous times, we agreed to play here, as you can reserve 24 hours in advance (actually up to 6 months ? according to staff) w/o having to stay on the property (nice). Conditions were great on the tees; no bunker issues or complaints; rough not troublesome and playable; fairways receptive and good roll and the greens were immaculate (they do repair ball marks here - they should) chipping/putting just great. Glad we chose here, as several of us had not played here in many years, when it was much younger (and we were also). It is really mature now (as well as us) and well worth playing, if you want to get away from the crowds at P B ? Customer service terrific at all levels and the food is terrific. Oh and did I mention the views :)

Played last weekend. Upon checking in, proshop notified us there were a few holes that had construction going on. Not sure why they did not mention when we booked the tee time nor that conditions ar... Continue »

Played last weekend. Upon checking in, proshop notified us there were a few holes that had construction going on. Not sure why they did not mention when we booked the tee time nor that conditions are less than ideal.

Tee box and greens were ok. Greens are slower than what i would expect and i usually enjoy faster greens when possible. Fairways had a lot of bare spots and dirt showing. Lot of patches where there is no turf at all. Quite disappointed in the condition to be honest. And the course was cart paths only... hmmmm..

Staff was great. Left our bags at the drop. Parking lot right across the bag drop. Our clubs were promptly brought to the staging area and loaded to our carts. There is no driving range, only a chipping and putting area for practice/warm up.

Carts have no GPS and yardage books are available for purchase. Bev cart are not available til 9am so make sure to load up supplies if you have an early tee time.

Keep the ball in the fairways as the rough were deep, thick and punishing.

Most of the holes run thru the coastline with amazing views from most areas. Still, i feel lacking in enjoyment from the condition of the course. Good thing we saved the best for the following day.

At the end of the round, drop by Sticks where you can enjoy the views and the food.


Hope they give this course some TLC as it can be an enjoyable course if well taken cared of.

Played yesterday July 4th as a walk on at 4:00. Played at a leisurely pace amd finished at 7:30. Never saw another golfer until hole 13 abd he was about a hole behind me. Course is in very good condi... Continue »

Played yesterday July 4th as a walk on at 4:00. Played at a leisurely pace amd finished at 7:30. Never saw another golfer until hole 13 abd he was about a hole behind me. Course is in very good condition except the fairways which are spotty at best. Some great lies and some bare lies. After the round i asked about the fairways and was told the bigger siblings get the most water because they are the money makers. Greens and traps are excellent.
I love this course and is one of my faves. Just doesnt get the respect it should. Warning!!!!! Watch where you step, deer crap isnt fun to clean from spikes.