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.