Pebble Beach - 2011

[poppadon56]

I'm planning a trip to Pebble Beach next year for one week, a foursome. We are flexible on arrival date. If anyone has information as to the best month, travel agent, accomodations, dining out, other courses it would be appreciated.

Also thinking of playing Spyglass and Poppy Hills, so one or two more courses in the area would be good.

Thanks,

Don

[DewDuster]

I played it in October last year. I was told by a local that is one of the nicer times down in that area, although I can't see any downside of going in the summer. Find out when they aerate, it was the late September timeframe I believe.

You can only book an advanced tee time at Pebble by staying at least 2 nights at the resort. I'm guessing you know already it's really f***ing expensive. Green fees at Pebble are $495 plus you really should take a caddy for the full experience, what's another $75 - 100. Rooms start at $600 per night. Budget around $1000 per each day you are at the Pebble area as food is not cheap either.

I just played Pebble and Poppy. From what I've heard, I would play Spyglass and Spanish Bay over Poppy, although I did enjoy Poppy. I'll probably play Spyglass and Spanish Bay this fall, so can report back then.

Pebble was a great, great experience. We had a nice clear day, just a little breeze. #7 very cool short par 3. #8 is the greatest par 4 I've ever played. The history of 17 & 18. There's 4 or 5 holes at Pebble that are nothing special offset by the ocean holes that leave you in awe.

From what I've seen, there's no real benefit of going through a travel agent, you may as well book directly, they do have some packages.

Pebble is a must do, once in a lifetime experience thing for golf fanatics and I have no regrets at dropping the stupid amount of money it cost to play there. That being said, I also went to Bandon Dunes in Oregon and actually liked it better and it was less than half the cost. Some lists have Bandon ranked higher than Pebble, all lists have Bandon in top 5 and there are 4 fantastic courses there.

Enjoy the planning and anticipation.

[Smoked Meat]

Pebble Beach is a trip every golfer needs to make! I attended a friend's wedding in Berkeley last summer (June 2009) and turned the trip into a Pebble excursion by making the 2.5 hour drive south.

poppadon56, I played the three courses you mentioned along with Pacific Grove Golf Links, the "poor man's Pebble" located outside of the Pebble Beach resort. It's a muni so don't expect much, but the back nine winds along the ocean and was designed by the same architect, Jack Neville. Plus, it's a lot cheaper at $48 prime and will probably be the lowest score of the trip.

I saved a big amount of money by getting an association membership with the Northern California Golf Association. It's available to anyone with an existing membership in their own region (GAO or Golf Quebec public player, for example) for $60. This allows you to play Poppy Hills for the NCGA member rate ($55/$72) instead of the $200 public rate. Additionally, I got discounts and free carts at both Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach by mentioning that I was an NCGA member when booking those courses. That may have been a recession deal, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Another option, especially since there are four of you, is to get a Duke's Club Membership through the Del Monte Golf Course (owned by Pebble Beach). The annual fee is $290 but you and up to three guests can play three courses for about half price: Spyglass Hill ($185 instead of $350), Spanish Bay ($135 instead of $260) and Del Monte ($42/$59 instead of $110). Obviously, this pays for itself with one foursome booking.

The Pebble Beach gate fee of $10 is waived with a Poppy Hills booking, but I never had to pay the fee even when playing the other courses. If you are made to pay it, there are two ways to get it back. One is by spending at least $25 at any resort restaurant, in which case they will deduct it from your bill. The other is by playing the Peter Hay par-3 golf course that is up the road from Pebble Beach Golf Links. You can play the 9-hole pitch-and-putt (725 yards total) unlimited for $30.

As DewDuster mentioned, you can only get advanced tee times with the Pebble Beach resort courses by staying at the resort. I chose to stay outside the resort in nearby Monterey (got a cheap motel through Hotwire) so I could only book Pebble one day in advance. Luckily, there were tee times available so I was able to get a spot. It might be more difficult for a foursome, however. You can always show up at the course in the morning and hope for a no-show, but of course that rarely happens at Pebble... Spyglass Hill can be booked one month in advance, so there should be no problem getting a tee time there.

One final tip I have is to avoid buying anything in the boutiques at Pebble Beach until you go to the store on Cannery Row in downtown Monterey. It is essentially a clearance outlet of items from all the resort courses. The same golf shirts I saw at the Pebble boutiques selling for $85 were on the Cannery Row rack for $30!

Have a great time at Pebble Beach and enjoy the 18th hole... especially if you have a fade like I do and have to aim your tee shot out in the ocean!!!

[poppadon56]

Thanks very much for the info.