Last weekend, I traveled to Monterey for the first time and had the chance to play Pebble Beach, Spanish Bay and Del Monte. I used to laugh at people who were dumb enough to pay $500 to play a golf course. That price just seemed so absurd to me. My opinion changed now that I've stayed at The Lodge and experienced Pebble myself. I'm still not sure I would be willing to pay that much for golf (I was extremely fortunate on this trip to have the whole thing covered because of some connections there). However, I completely understand why someone would be willing to pay that much. It really is spectacular. From beginning to end, there wasn't a hole I disliked. Television does not do justice to the scale of the place, the size of the cliffs (huge), the size of the greens (tiny), and the atmosphere of the location.
I started the trip with a round at Del Monte, a course I knew nothing about. It ended up being the perfect opener for a guy from New England who hasn't swung a club in 5 months. A very walkable course, open, small greens ... a very relaxing round. In the last few weeks, the area has been submerged by rain, and all of the courses were soaked. The first four holes at Del Monte were played in a monsoon, but then the sun came out and the rest of the day was perfect. I played Del Monte in a 5-some, and the round took about 5 hours. We were the only ones on the course, and we stopped for at least 30 minutes to hide under trees during the downpour (by the way, trees in Monterey suck for rain coverage ... that's one area where New England has California beat in my limited experience).
I played Pebble on saturday and had the same experience. Pouring rain on the first tee. It lightened up on the 2nd, and by the 3rd hole had stopped completely. By the time I got to 18, the sun was out. I played Pebble in a 3-some and we got around in 4.5 hours. Pebble is my new favorite course, surpassing the old number 1, Yale.
On Sunday, I teed off at Spanish Bay at 7:40. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The scenery on some of the holes was breathtaking. However, take away the ocean and I would say Spanish Bay is just an average course. Not bad at all, but very tight, target golf. Fortunately, the ocean is there, and it is a spectacular backdrop to 7 or 8 holes. I played Spanish Bay in a 4-some and finished in 4.5 hours.
In all, it was a great trip. The Lodge was great. Pebble was the best. The people couldn't have been nicer. I went into Monterey with friends to watch NCAA basketball and fell in love with the town. It really is an incredible place. Although I know Pebble has been photographed to death, below are a few pictures from the trip.
