Pebble Beach Golf Links

This was the first golf course I have played in the USA and the one that spiked the desire to visit the states for golfing purposes in the first place, the fact that I was able to do it during it centennial year celebration, just made the experience that more memorable.

For years the course resides on the highest places in most public and overall golf course rankings, therefore, suffice to say, it is very well known and documented, from a layout, condition and other perspectives. For this purpose, I will not focus or comment to much on that aspect in this review, more competent people have and will continue to do so over and over again, what I would like to describe is how the “Pebble Beach Links” experience as a whole was for me, a semi-skilled golf enthusiast, who has played a few high ranked courses in the past.

When I started with my hotel booking and tee time reservation process (I do all this tasks myself), the first thing I noticed was the preference the Pebble Beach Resort has for “over the phone” reservations, I don’t even think that I was able to find a reliable booking email address on the page. Personally, I preferer email communication since, if done professionally, it eliminates or reduces misunderstanding due to poor connection, language barrier or other hindering factors, plus, it gives me the time and flexibility to compare and adjust time for other stops I might have on my trip. Nevertheless, for a resort that is in high demand, I understand that the limited slots available might be gone before the reply over email would come. In all cases, the reservation agent I was dealing with was professional, friendly and really did his best to accommodate my wishes. I stayed at the resort for two nights, played four golf courses and had to do in such a way that would not prevent me from catching my flight onwards, all in the busiest season for the resort (during my stay there was a prominent car show in the area so the accommodation spaces were limited and tee times extremely hard to get). I should mention that I did my booking just a bit over a month in advance, for such a resort, this is considered last minute. All in all, I can would say this was a positive experience.

When arriving at the resort, I drove there from SJC, you realize the size of it all, it is by no means a small enclosed community, rather a large part of the peninsula with beautiful private residencies scattered all over the estate, amenities etc., basically more like a gated upscale part of a city rather than just a golf resort (the opposite of Bandon Golf Resort, that has, at least as far as I could see, only resort accommodation and golf courses). After a 15-minute drive on the resort roads, I arrived at my hotel, I stayed at Casa Palmero. The room was clean, spacious enough and equipped with the standard devices. It also had a nice little private garden with a jacuzzi. In my mind, before arriving, I was comparing Pebble Beach Resort, from a price/desirability/golf ranking perspective with destination such as Tara Iti and Kauri Cliffs in New Zealand, Adare Manor in Ireland, The Old Course in St. Andrews. That being said, comparing the accommodation with similarly priced ones that I have visited, I was not particularly impressed, don’t get me wrong, it is a please complex, just, in my opinion, did not stand out (not accounting for the location, that is obviously excellent).

After a good night’s sleep, it was time for the actual reason why I came there – golf. Now, the resort has 4 associated golf courses; Pebble Beach Links, Spyglass Hills, Links at the Spanish Bay and Del Monte GC. They each have their own clubhouse but share, at least for the most part, the practice facilities. The range is a short shuttle drive away from Pebble Beach Links (you can use your own car to move around as well), the commute time needs to be accounted for if you plan on hitting some practice shots before your tee time, it should not take you more than 15 to 20 minutes in both directions, the shuttles do not run on a schedule but on a need be basis. The facilities are up to the standards you would expect, so high, nicely maintained and spacious enough to accommodate for a short warm-up session. I would not necessarily say they can accommodate for a bigger number of golfers wanting to do some serious practice, in that case, based on what I observed, it could get crowded. There is a nice coffee place at the location, so refreshments are easy to come by.

As I returned to the course, I realized that the first tee is actually positioned in the center of the accommodation/dinning/shopping area and the 18th green in hidden behind one of those buildings, I found that quite interesting comparing to other course designs I have seen. When the course was built, I would imagine you had a nice view of the ocean and the 18th green from the first tee as well. At this point I do have to note that all the buildings are designed, build and placed very nicely and incorporate beautifully in the area, furthermore, with their liveliness, they help to create what I experienced as a positive and dignified atmosphere, it may also have something to do with the fact that it was still relatively early in the morning and guests/golfers/traffic was not at its peak.

In any case, what followed were 4 and a half hours of really fun golfing. I was lucky to have had a great flight, everyone was keeping the pace and joking even if the shoots did not land where they were supposed to, it was a very relaxed atmosphere combined with a beautiful sunny day from the first strike onwards, which is not a given in this area, even though it may not rain much, it is very common that thick fog covers the seaside area, expanding though PB links, Spyglass hill and Spanish bay Links golf courses, I got to experience that the next day. For the course itself, I have to say I was very surprised about the condition it was in, despite the high number of players, the course is very well maintained, sure, the landing areas are a bit tired and have more divots, but not to the extend where it would disturb ones game. Greens were in an even better condition, surprisingly, hardly any pitch marks or noticeable worn-down areas, in my opinion, for a course that is almost always fully booked, that is very impressive, I would only make a small note regarding the firmness of the greens, they were relatively soft. Since it was only about a month after the US open was played on it, there were large areas on the fairway that were regrooving the grass, the thing is, for the pros, they make the fairway significantly narrower than for us amateur golfers, and after the open, they have had to cut down the rough and threat the soil and regrow it, those areas were more or less unplayable, basically, just patches of grass. It did not hurt the game, you get a free drop from them, but it did make the course less visually appealing, I would assume it is much more visually appealing without the large brownish patches, especially when you see the wildlife peacefully and ignorantly strolling around. Nevertheless, for a person who will likely not play the course any time soon, it was a great feeling to walk the fairways that so many legends did before, enjoy the views and soak in the spirit of the game being played at one of golf’s most publicized and marketed locations, and to be honest, I think that is precisely what Pebble Beach links is, a very nice course with some spectacular holes (the stretch from 3 to 9 and then 17&18) is just gorgeous, with an even better marketing machine behind. To put it in other words and to paraphrase the mugs you can buy at one of the shops in the resort, bucket list course.

I had the suspicion before arriving at the resort and it just got confirmed while staying there, that is, you do not go to Pebble Beach Links in order to play the best designed, maintained, interesting or challenging course on the planet, better ones exist (one of them, in my opinion, is another PB resort course, Spyglass Hill), you come here for the whole experience and the atmosphere, that is what makes this place special, at least in my unprofessional opinion. I would best compare it to St. Andrews, the old course is surly not the best one I have played, but the entire package, the town, the vibe etc., that is what makes this type of destinations special, and they are truly a joy to visit one or twice in a lifetime.

Pebble Beach has some stunning holes and a few well ok holes but they are all in perfect condition despite the fact that they send out a ton of hackers on it everyday... 510 dollars just to show up or make it 2 nights at the hotel for almost 2000 dollars(incl 2 rounds, one at Spyglass Hill) is just super expensive and therefore makes it inaccessible for a majority of golfers which is a shame. But I still wanna go back... So many reviews on this course so I don't know what to add? The 97 yard downhill par 3 is actually pretty tough with a 3 club wind in your face! My friend hit a bucket of balls on the range just to practice that shot just to duff it when he's actually there... Well a fabulous once in a lifetime course which I will probably return to one day!

En av de absolut häftigaste golfupplevelser jag varit med om.

Men smakar det så kostar det. Här är vi i 500 dollarsregionen.

Å andra sidan hade jag gjort det igen om jag fått chansen.

17 mile drive, US Open-historik och världens kanske vackraste bana gör detta till en oförglömlig dag.

Une semaine avant l’at&t, avec un soleil éclatant et des conditions parfaites, je suis arrivé sur le parking sans réservation. 1h30 plus tard je posais ma balle sur la 1ere tee box de Pebble Beach. Un rêve de golfeur qui se réalisait.

Le parcours est un vrai challenge et un index assez bas est mieux pour l’apprécier à sa juste valeur. L’enchaînement 6-10 est l’un des tous meilleurs au monde. Le rythme a été bon et j’ai pu marché (je n’aime pas les voiturettes) avec mes partenaires d’un jour, des canadiens fort sympathiques avec qui nous sommes allés déjeuner après nos 18 trous.

J’ai même eu le droit de retourner sur le parcours pour prendre qq photos et le staff était tjs très sympathique.

Alors à 525€ il faut voir ca comme un « trip of a lifetime » mais c’est une journée qui restera à jamais graver dans ma memoire!

Iconische baan. Met 595 USD greenfee duur, maar als je in de buurt bent, kan je als gepassioneerd golfer niet weerstaan aan de lokroep van een toplinks baan aan de Pacific. Onthaal super gedienstig, je wordt ontvangen als een echte VIP. Ik had geen clubs bij, moest dus setje huren voor 95 USD. Hiervoor krijg je wel de allerlaatste taylormades. Op de range vind je gratis practiceballen mooi opgestapeld in een piramide. De gratis shuttle brengt je in twee minuutjes hierheen. Ook je familieleden of vrienden zijn trouwens welkom, dit is een ‘public course’. Ik had een teetime kunnen krijgen om 15.20, en met zonsondergang om 20.20 leek me dit ruim voldoende. Er werd me echter bij de reservering benadrukt dat er geen garantie was op uitspelen voor donker van alle holes. Nadien begreep ik waarom, de eerste par 5 die je tegenkomt - supermooi langs de oceaan - laat goede spelers toe om de green aan te spelen in twee waardoor het vaak even wachten is voor de green vrij is, met als gevolg file. We stonden op deze hole met vier Flights te wachten om af te slaan, alle Flights zijn trouwens fourballs. Nadien volgt dan de iconische korte par 3, je speelt naar beneden richting eilandgreen boven oceaan. Het zou de meest gefotografeerde hole ter wereld zijn, en terecht! Ik speelde hier een sandie par. De ene mooie hole volgt de andere op, en af en toe loopt er een jong hert over de fairway. De fairways en greens zijn zeer goed onderhouden, greens zijn top. Er wordt aangeraden om met een caddie te spelen om de greens te kunnen lezen, ik vond het al duur genoeg zo, en was toch in staat om het aantal drieputts te beperken. Uiteindelijk speelde ik 16 boven de baan, wat gezien mijn hcp uitstekend is. Hole 18 moesten we trouwens in het donker spelen. Al bij al is de ervaring zijn geld waard en is Pebble Beach golf links zijn plaats op de Bucket list van elke gepassioneerde golfer waard!