Pebble Beach insider tips

Okay I played Pebble Beach twice, Spyglass Hill twice and the Links at Spanish Bay once back the second week of June/2015. What I found out from one of the caddies is you do not have to stay at one of the Pebble Beach properties to play golf.

Pebble Beach owns 3 Hotels, the Lodge, Palmero Lodge and the Inn at Spanish Bay. To be guaranteed a tee off you have to book a room for a minimum of 2 nights at one of the properties. Lowest cost is the Inn at Spanish Bay for $670 U.S. per night (maybe worth $250 at the most) PLUS your golf fee at Pebble of $495 (no discount). The other properties are more expensive to stay at.

Last year I went to Pebble and stayed at the Inn at Spanish Bay to be guaranteed a tee off. Nice Hotel but grossly overpriced. This year I went down as a single and stayed at the Monterey Plaza Hotel (quite a nice hotel equal to anything Pebble has to offer). I had no trouble getting on any of the courses.

You can book Spyglass Hill 30 days in advance. Links at Spanish Bay 6 months in advance and Pebble "one day in advance". I booked Spyglass and Spanish bay one week before I went and they had lots of tee times available much to my surprise.

When I arrived I called Pebble Beach to book a tee off there and much to my surprise they booked me a tee off 3 days in advance and had a number of open spots. Now to do this as a twosome or threesome would be very difficult but as a single you can save a truckload of money by staying at another hotel and booking Pebble as a single and you have a 90% chance of getting on (according to the caddies I had). You still have to pay $495 U.S. for Pebble, $385 U.S. for Spyglass and $275 U.S. for Links at Spanish Bay.

Caddies cost $80 per round that is billed to your credit card when you check in at the pro shop. The caddies also expect a tip (usually $100 U.S. as they do not seem to be happy with anything less). Caddies much to my surprise really offer a lot of help and assistance and are well worth it at least once.

Was it worth it? YES!! It is a golf pilgrimage to the holy land of golf and is so very special you will remember it for the rest of your life.

$100 tip?? After I already paid $80 for the service and at least $275 for the round of golf? Is the caddie's last name Woods or Mickelson?

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Originally Posted by mjf

$100 tip?? After I already paid $80 for the service and at least $275 for the round of golf? Is the caddie's last name Woods or Mickelson?

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You'd probably only do this at Pebble, so it's actually $495, plus $80, plus $100 tip. There are a few blind shots or at the very least non-intuitive shots you need to hit, so a caddy is very useful. If you are going to Pebble you aren't there to pinch pennies, it's probably a once in a lifetime thing and you want to get the full experience, which includes a caddy. They help read all putts, lots of insight and full of trivia as well. It's awkward for about 1.5 holes and then you get very used to tossing your ball to your caddy to get cleaned before every putt, walking up to the green with just your putter in hand, dropping your putter by your bag and walking to the next tee box ....

The guy is out there 5 hours with you and $100 is the going tip rate so if you are going to play, factor that in.

I think the caddies have to expect that some people have pinched pennies to have this 'once in a lifetime' experience and that an extra $100 on top of the caddie fee is exorbitant for those people. I've golfed several times with a caddie including at St. Andrews and Pinehurst #2 and they got the average / recommended gratuity as recommended by the course's website. I'm sure my caddies would have preferred to caddie for you though. :)

For reference, from the Pebble Beach website:

Recommended Average Gratuities
(Gratuities can be higher or lower than the average and should be based on the level of service provided by the caddie)

Double Caddie - $25 to $50 per bag
Single Caddie - $35 to $55 per bag
Forecaddie - $30 per bag