Some phone calls are better than others. Got a phone call from a friend a couple of weeks ago stating "the email just came out". Meaning Pebble Beach tee times were now available. The next couple h... Continue »

Some phone calls are better than others. Got a phone call from a friend a couple of weeks ago stating "the email just came out". Meaning Pebble Beach tee times were now available. The next couple hours were spent calling friends and coordinating tee times for the next month including today's round at Pebble Beach.

Couldn't have picked a better place to end the year of golf. Check in was a little in the slow side mainly because it was busy as usual. Other than that everything was smooth. We took the shuttle up to the all grass range which is supplied with TP5/x balls. From there we did some practice putting back down in the main area then met our caddies.

Our normal caddies were on vacation and they recommended some friends. Mitch and John were absolutely phenomenal! Knowledgeable and a total blast. We had a decent amount of rain the past couple of days so the course was wet. I had a total of 10 yards runout all day! Seriously, I had 4 drives that plugged in their initial landing spot. Other than that the fairways were a perfect ten as were the tee boxes.

Greens were naturally soft so they held well struck approach shots. They rolled smooth and a medium fast pace which was a touch slower than normal. Greens are small and I was fortunate to keep the ball below or even with the hole which made putting manageable

Sand traps were the weak link only because they were still wet from last nights rain. Rough was lush and only about 2-3 inches thick.

Pace of play: who cares?! It's the greatest walk in golf so there's no reason to rush it. Plus we were behind Henrik Stenson so even more reason to relax and take it all in.

It's just a phenomenal experience no matter how many time you play it. Posted some pictures on the GK app while waiting for Stenson!

Took advantage of an email special from PB Resorts, $1050 for a round at PB and Spyglass and two nights accommodations at the Inn at Spanish Bay. Pebble was the first course to play. We had an 8:30 ... Continue »

Took advantage of an email special from PB Resorts, $1050 for a round at PB and Spyglass and two nights accommodations at the Inn at Spanish Bay. Pebble was the first course to play. We had an 8:30 tee time so we arrived at 7:00, wanting to take it all in and get a good warmup. It was still relatively dark and the lots were empty so we had a bit of confusion as to where to go. Once we sorted that out, all was ok.

They shuttle you down to the range so plan ahead for that. Pretty cool how the distances to the targets were accurate (I scoped them). One problem I have is that when you have an unlimited supply of range balls to hit, one can get over zealous and hit too many! I went on to a 2nd "pyramid" before I went to hit a few chips.


We chose to walk the course, after all, irrespective of how we would play, we wanted to enjoy the experience. $95 plus gratuity. It is recommended to have a one strap carry bag but don't worry if you don't, they can switch there for you. I found the right rough off the 1st tee but had only 105 yards left. I drew a horrible lie as it was sitting down in a bit of a hole in front of a huge clump. Jimmy (caddy) asked how we were playing, ie down or winter rules, etc. I chose to play it down. Though I hit the green, it hurt.

I found that the greens were firm but held nicely. Fortunately, I really had only a few trickier putts, one of which I made but I felt they weren't too difficult. My preference was to make my own reads and then have Jimmy confirm or not. For the most part, we were on the same page; I went through with 28 putts.

On those days when the weather is perfect and views are stunning, it's hard to concentrate on golf and not fall behind. A course attendant dropped by for a friendly reminder on the 3rd hole. I totally understand that pace of play is important but my fellow players in my group had a horrendous 2nd hole, which caused for a bit of a delay. That happens.

For any first timer coming here, I recommend taking it all in and getting a caddy. Our friends in our other group chose to ride (CPO) and take a forecaddie. They did not get the same level of assistance than we did. Jimmy was helpful in reading greens, distances and more important, how long or short it will play, and finding balls when needed (yeah, it was a lot).

There was a little bit of work going on in preparation for the AT&T but when crews saw that we were hitting, they were courteous and stopped. What an experience! The course was incredible, from teeing areas, fairways, rough, bunkers, greens and penalty areas. Everything immaculate. I had the tough spot on the 1st hole rough but hey, I was in the rough so sometimes we draw a good lie and sometimes we don't.

On greens, I felt that Bayonet's were tougher, especially from above the hole. Controlling the speed is key and I felt it was fair here, you just need to pay attention, get good advice and have soft hands! Jimmy was excellent at advising me where to hit, very detailed. Perhaps the level of detail is contingent on the player and/or ability but being able to know where to hit makes all the difference in having a round with 28 putts compared to 38.

At the conclusion of the round, an attendant hands out the collectible bag tag and then shuttles you back. I didn't want to leave.....

Played Pebble on January 13 and was a little concerned about the weather with a chance of rain, but to my delight there was no rain and the weather was beautiful, that is if you like overcast and 50 d... Continue »

Played Pebble on January 13 and was a little concerned about the weather with a chance of rain, but to my delight there was no rain and the weather was beautiful, that is if you like overcast and 50 degree weather. My caddie was Jerry Franklin and he was a great guy. From all the reviews that I read about the course they were all spot on. I was paired with 2 other guys from Seattle and their families. At times there were about 10 people with us but everyone was very respectful. The course was in great shape and you can see workers setting up stands for AT&T. The rough was a little challenging because I was playing a yellow srixon and it made it difficult to find sometimes. The course is tougher to walk than most people think especially if you're taking a cart because of the walking back and forth. I was in the bunker on two when Jerry to said hit only 160 because of another bunker/hazard and the sand was pristine. On 7, I had a 60 degree from 95 yards and was in the bunker to the right, I was very fortunate to save par from there. The greens were fast at times and slower at times and there were more breaks than I realized. All 18 holes to me were standout and it was enjoyable time that I will never forget. It's a shame they don't allow you to play the course without staying there but If you ever get the chance I highly recommend it...

Played Wednesday, January 2. Not much to add to the last review except that in addition to being a little bumpy, the greens were very firm. No check on chip shots that I saw and I was playing with t... Continue »

Played Wednesday, January 2. Not much to add to the last review except that in addition to being a little bumpy, the greens were very firm. No check on chip shots that I saw and I was playing with two sub-5 handicappers. Spectacular weather, albeit cold, and course conditions were very good. It was quite green. Interesting that there is a sand base at the driving range but the course has a tougher dirt base.

We had a forecaddie for the four of us, which is a less expensive option to the caddy experience. The bags were on carts (cart path only). He found balls, gave direction and distance, raked bunkers, and read putts. I think the greens are fairly difficult to read so that was valuable. The only birdie I made was a triple breaker, downhill putt that he read to perfection. Mark "Benjie" Benjamin. Highly recommended. You never know though. Another foursome in our group had a caddy who said he was legally blind and did not look for balls. Weird qualities in a forecaddie.

second round on the monterey peninsula over past weekend. i had avoided coming here given the high greens fees, but honestly i'm not sure why i waited so long. the course was spectacular and worth i... Continue »

second round on the monterey peninsula over past weekend. i had avoided coming here given the high greens fees, but honestly i'm not sure why i waited so long. the course was spectacular and worth it just for the experience alone, even if just once. practice area is excellent, including the range area and short game area. need to take a shuttle and your clubs with you. the first tee was a bit chaotic as mentioned in a previous review, a lot of people milling around, golf bags everywhere. didn't really seem needed to check in with the shop if you had a time, just let the starter know about 10 minutes beforehand. course was in very good condition, a step below spyglass but still very nice compared to some pictures i had seen and some videos i had watched prior to coming. tee boxes were flat and mowed to perfection, fairways were well covered and not too lush, not too tight. rough was grown out but was just short enough so that you didn't lose your ball. hit it hard out of there though, really thick and grabbed your club. i was in about oh...12 or 13 bunkers and they were amazing to play out of. hit some really good ones out of the soft sand that you could get under and pop up with good spin. greens were difficult to read, a bit of that bumpy poa made them just a bit unpredictable too. i didn't get a caddie, but it didn't seem to help the putting of others in my group. putts seemed to be either super fast or super slow. i walked 18, and by the end i was starting to tire a bit. next time probably take less stuff in my bag or just get into d%mn ed shape. still not convinced about a caddie. i'm glad i finally made the trip, and am already scheming as to when i can get back for revenge against the course. the scenery of holes 4-10 made it worth it, honestly the holes coming back are pretty good too. next time instead of staying on property i'll probably just call up a week or two in advance and find an available time.

Okay, so I got out here again seven and a half years after my first visit. I played Friday, December 21. First twosome out with a guy from NYC. We both got caddies. First thing the caddies tell us i... Continue »

Okay, so I got out here again seven and a half years after my first visit. I played Friday, December 21. First twosome out with a guy from NYC. We both got caddies. First thing the caddies tell us is that they are beginning to grow the rough in, narrowing the fairways, in preparation for the 2019 US Open. Grandstands are beginning to be constructed as well. I remember seeing somewhat nicer conditions last time out in May, 2011. It was not bad by any means. There were quite a few fairway divots this time around. Still, most all of them were sanded in. The greens were near perfect, rolling smooth and fast, especially downhill. The tees, fairways, and rough were as nice as can be. The rough was thick and wet. Since I don't hit a very straight tee shot, I was hacking out all day long. The bunkers were pretty much immaculate and I visited almost one per hole. The sand was light and easy to hit from. I didn't play well, but it's Pebble, right? I still had a great time on this iconic golf course. Our pace of play was about 3 hours and 20 minutes. It could have been quicker, but why rush? I highly recommend saving your dollars and try to get out here at least once. People come from all over the world to play here and since it's practically in your back yard, you should do it. My caddy said to check out the site The Dukes Club: https://www.pebblebeach.com/golf/del-monte-golf-course/membership/. For $360 you get Del Monte GC, Spyglass Hill GC, and The Links at Spanish Bay at near half off for you and up to three friends, up to 30 day advance booking, plus other discounts and perks. I was happy to get back out here and maybe in about 5 years I'll do it again. My wife found a great deal due to the Pebble Beach Centennial and we stayed at The Inn at Spanish Bay for two nights, plus I got a round at Pebble and another at Spyglass, all for about $1400. The customer service and attention to detail is great all over the Pebble Beach properties, whether you are golfing, eating, or staying in their hotels. Just be prepared for the price tag because nothing is cheap on property. You will pay at least 20% to 40% more for everything you buy.

50th birthday bucket list round.

First off - all the hype about the views and the overall spectacle of playing here is true. I'd say it's worth the 5 bills just for that (at least one time). Otherw... Continue »

50th birthday bucket list round.

First off - all the hype about the views and the overall spectacle of playing here is true. I'd say it's worth the 5 bills just for that (at least one time). Otherwise, read on:

Check-in/warmup: All smiles from the front desk people. Range is awesome but is about a quarter mile up the hill, so bargain on having to take the little shuttle that runs every few minutes to get up there. Alternatively, park at Pebble, check in, then drive up to the range then back down in time for your tt. There's plenty of parking and that way you don't have to worry about the shuttle turning up in time. Also, the range seems to open earlier than stated (which is around sunrise) so don't be shy about getting up there early especially if you are in one of the first groups off.

Starter/first hole: It's a bit chaotic on the first tee as there is not much space there and they make pretty much all golfers who are using a caddie switch there clubs to an old crappy Pebble Beach golf bag with a single strap as the caddie carries 2 bags and is servicing 2 players throughout the round (more on this later). So there's a fair bit of confusion as they dump your clubs in the new bag while you ferret around to find all the other essentials in your own bag like balls and tees and transfer those over to the course bag. They ask if you have a 0-5 handicap if you want to play the tips (blues) but don't seem too fussed how well you play when you hit off the other tees. We played the next set which is golds that tip out at about 6450 which is plenty of golf course here.

Caddies (or other options): I took a caddie and am generally glad I did as some holes you would have no clue on the sight-line off the tee (I am thinking of #3, 8, 11, 14 and#6 on the second shot which basically plays off a down-sloping fairway up a cliff about 60 feet tall that you don't get any sense of scale from watching it on tv. Also, caddies are good at reading most putts as the breaks on the greens are usually subtle and frequently go the opposite way from what you see. That said, even the caddies got confused by the green speeds and conditions (more of this in a minute). Here's my beef with the caddie sitch though - each player pays 92.50 plus tip for what I thought was your own caddie. But like I mentioned, the caddie carries 2 bags and services 2 players. Pebble Beach don't make this clear on their website, promotional materials or when you call to reserve one. (They do mention the issue with single strap bags - which no-one uses nowadays - but I suspect they would transfer your clubs to their bags regardless of whether your bag had one as this no doubt also cuts down on weight which I think is their main concern). Aside from being poorly advertised, having one caddie for 2 players is a pace of play issue. Many holes are very wide from side-to-side, so if you and your playing partner are on opposite sides of a hole after your tee shots, then the caddie is 100 yards away tending to your partner as you stand idle waiting for him when you could be hitting away. I noticed that the 4 groups in front of us did not use caddies and they were going much faster. In fact, because we were fifth out and the groups in front were racing away, we got barked at by a grumpy marshal a few times even though we were keeping pace with the course and were not getting pushed from behind. As I say, while I appreciated the caddies help and knowledge (and good humor in putting up with us) I would not bother if I were to play here again. Nor would I recommend a cart as it's cart path only on all the Pebble Beach courses and they all feature wide fairways necessitating a long walk from path to ball on many occasions.

Course conditions: wet, heavy and slow at first.
Fairways: very nice but it's clear they get a lot of play (and they don't want you sanding divots your self or really replacing any sod other than the biggest scalps, according to our caddie - maintenance does that themselves.) Consequently, there are a fair amount of divots in landing areas. It's overseeded rye over bent grass for the winter. (8.5)

Tees: near perfect, level, evenly cut with just the usual divot areas on par threes. There is often a fair distance between the blues and the golds, but there is often not much between gold and white so I would recommend playing gold if you are any sort of decent player as you will get your monies worth from them. I saw no pro tees further back than the blues, so I presume they play the max distance of ~6900 yards too. (9.5)

Rough: brutal, they are growing it up for the ATT in Feb and for the US Open in 2019. So it was generally one of those situations where you couldn't see the ball until you stepped on it. Plus it was heavy and wet for most of the round. Avoid at all costs. (10)

Sand was perfect. The course is heavily bunkered especially around the small greens so you will likely some time at the beach here. (10)

Greens: disappointing. From the moment we stepped on the first green, even the caddies remarked on how it was bumpy (and slow). Lots of footprints and quite a few poorly repaired pitch marks. On quite a few occasions our caddie misread the speed on downhill putts and was amazed the ball didn't make it to the hole. Even though we played earlier, overall the greens had that 'sprouty' poa annua quality and look throughout (that is typically not visible with greens like this until later in the day). Additionally (and this was the case at all the Pebble courses) a light top dressing of sand was visible on many greens and I saw evidence of slit cuts (probably a few weeks old) on several. (7.5)

Although disappointed in the putting surfaces and how they organize the caddie sitch, in spectacular weather like we enjoyed this is almost a surreal experience. You can't help but thinking about all the famous footsteps you are walking in and the great shots that have been hit here. Plus, if you have only seen it on TV, then you don't really get a sense of scale or how awesome the approach on 8 is, for instance. Layout-wise, 4-10 and 17/18 are all ocean holes. The other 9 holes are more traditional in nature and while handsome in most cases (such as #2) they have an otherwise more standard feel to them (unlike at Spyglass where every hole feels like a classic).

As for score, it's a really tough track so don't worry about that part. You can score well on some holes but many just utterly punish bad shots (I am thinking of 6, 8-10 and 14) so you can rack up triple and quad bogies easily and quickly). First time for me and I shot 95, which I thought was a fair reflection on the state of my game and how it stacked up to the course.

Worth the green fee? Sure, one time at least. I won't forget it, that's for sure.

I have been to Monterey plenty of times & played many of the other offerings on the peninsula, but I have only been to Pebble Beach once – during the 2000 US Open. I remember rolling up to Pebble thi... Continue »

I have been to Monterey plenty of times & played many of the other offerings on the peninsula, but I have only been to Pebble Beach once – during the 2000 US Open. I remember rolling up to Pebble thinking I wouldn’t ever consider paying $500 to play any golf course & after walking the course, I would pay 4x that amount. The place is simply stunning.

Smash cut to 18 years later – I won a free round at Pebble Beach in my Golf Group’s Annual Member-Guest tourney in March of this year, so finally got a chance to play it on 11/10. First off the tee at 6:40am & our 4-some was set up with a caddie for each person. Just an amazing morning – zero wind, about 60 degrees & climbing and no fog. There was definitely smoke from the fires up in Northern California, however the air quality was okay.

Being first off, we set the pace at around 3:45. We were about 2-holes ahead of the next group throughout the round. They are hosting the Taylormade Invitational this week, so the conditions were immaculate: from the tee boxes to the greens & everything in between. Soup to nuts, a solid 9.5. Caddies were really knowledgeable & fun. We finished our round with the obligatory lunch & drinks in the Taproom & it is everything it’s cracked up to be & more. The food & service were outstanding & the ambiance is second to none. Just an amazing, Bucket-List Day!

Pebble Beach is always an enjoyable walk even if golf does get in the way! Played yesterday which was the day after Pebble hosted the US Amateur. Course was in great shape as expected. Greens were ... Continue »

Pebble Beach is always an enjoyable walk even if golf does get in the way! Played yesterday which was the day after Pebble hosted the US Amateur. Course was in great shape as expected. Greens were a perfect 10 not a bump or pitch mark to be found. Part of this is due to the caddies always looking to fix un-repaired ball marks as they go about their regular duties. Greens were rolling at a medium/fast pace, Except for downhill putts which were lightning fast as always. Greens at Pebble are small and single tiered. Just keep the ball below the pin and your set. Unfortunately i was constantly above the hole which made for a challenging day.

Fairways were the lone weak part of the course. Still rated at an eight but with the heavy traffic over the weekend there were some thin areas creating some tight lies.

Sand traps were bliss and tee boxes were a 9.75.

The rough was ROUGH! Very, very tough. Whereas the rough was lush, it was so thick that I have a New appreciation for the pros. My shoulders hurt today from swinging so hard trying to get out of the thick stuff! And that was just from the lies right off the green. Seriously, I finally factored in 10-15 extra yards from around the green when preparing my pitch shots.

Very challenging to say the least but also rewarding when pulling off a great shot.

The last time I played pebble I made the mistake of worrying about my score. This time I went back to being relaxed and enjoying the view while golf got in the way. It's the only way to play this course which is much tougher than the yardage suggests.

Having a good caddie helps tame the course. My caddie this time was good. No real complaints. The harder the putt the more accurate his read was.

As posted in one of my other reviews, my only complaint is the lack of restrooms. Only one bathroom on the course which is accessible after the 9th and 12th greens.

I'll be playing again in December or January and can't wait!!