America's Most Famous Golf Resort

The Pebble Beach Resorts have been recognized as the ultimate golf destination in the USA for many years, because of the great golf courses and superb five-star hotels. Wide World of Golf was headquarted in adjacent Carmel for many, many years and we still have a strong presence on the Monterey Peninsula, to bring you the most complete, expertly planned Pebble Beach golf packages.

Let us assure you that sometime in your life, you just have to go enjoy a Pebble Beach golf trip.  Yes it is expensive and yes it can be chilly (although the weather is greatly exaggerated), but the golf at Pebble Beach Resorts is simply the most beautiful that you can play in North America. 

The Pebble Beach Golf Links is perhaps America's most famous course, that or Augusta National GC, both because of the superb beauty and the long history of memorable championships being staged there.  From 17 of 18 holes at Pebble Beach you can see the ocean (only the 1st has no ocean glimpse) and holes 4-10 and 17-18 offer nine holes of full ocean frontage across unsurpassed, beautiful Pacific Ocean shoreline real estate.  Who can forget the famous US Open's at Pebble Beach, from Jack Nicklaus' one iron through the fierce wind on 17 to win the 1972 Open, Tom Watson's chip in on 17 in 1982, or Tiger Wood's record setting 15 shot victory (wow!) in 2000.  Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell (2010) and Texas' Tom Kite (1982) also won US Open's here at Pebble Beach Golf Links. 

Call us, sooner of later you have to play Pebble Beach!

5-Star Luxury Pebble Beach

THE LODGE AT PEBBLE BEACH - For over 75 years this exclusive hotel has been world-renowned for exemplary service, breathtaking surroundings – and incomparable golf. With award-winning restaurants, superb accommodations, extensive equestrian, tennis and fitness facilities and a promenade of fine boutiques, The Lodge provides something for everyone. The Lodge pampers its guests in 161 luxury suites and guest rooms, all tastefully appointed and supremely comfortable, and in 2000 they opened the spectacular Casa Palmero luxury spa and villa accommodations. Most rooms include a balcony, offering spectacular views of flowering gardens, green fairways or sunsets over Carmel Bay. Restaurants include the casual Gallery overlooking the first tee, The Tap Room for pub atmosphere, Stillwater Grill for fresh fish and superb views, and a new restaurant in 2012. This is one of the highest rated resorts in the world, and for good reason. WWG Rating: A+

THE INN AT SPANISH BAY - The sister hotel to The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn establishes new traditions of contemporary accommodation, gracious hospitality and unequaled recreation. Ocean, dunes, cliffs, and trees inspired the sweeping design and natural colors of The Inn at Spanish Bay. Each room has its own fireplace and French doors overlooking the ocean or pine forests. At sunset, enjoy a chardonnay or pinot noir on the porch while the bagpiper sooths the soul. The three restaurants on site range from golf club casual to “Pacific-Asian Fusion” specialties at “Roy’s of Pebble Beach” (outstanding!), and classic Italian “Peppoli” in a more discerning atmosphere. WWG Rating: A+

Pebble Beach Golf Links

This is America’s most famous course and probably needs little introduction. Opened in 1919, Pebble Beach Golf Links was designed by the virtually unknown Jack Neville (with help from Douglas Grant and H. Chandler Egan) who was handpicked by then owner Sam Morse, who saved the land from developers who envisioned a “west coast Coney Island” theme park on the scenic property. The course starts out relatively easy and then beginning with the 4th hole, a short par-four beside the trendy Beach Club, has seven straight holes along the ocean. The new 5th hole, designed by Jack Nicklaus, follows the original intended routing of the course and was secured for the Pebble Beach Company by two famous Northern California businessmen, Charles Schwab and Don Lucas, whose homes overlook the hole and Stillwater Cove. Holes 7 through 10 are probably the most famous stretch in the world, and the most challenging as well, with Nicklaus calling the difficult 8th the best in golf. The 11th hole starts the loop inland along stunning mansions before the course returns to the sea on the long par-three 17th, and the world famous par-five 18th. Bing Crosby probably did the most for the courses’ notoriety by hosting his Pro-Am there for over 30 years, before it became the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am, which remains the most famous Pro Am tournament in the world. Pebble Beach also hosted the ’72 (Nicklaus), ’82 (Watson), ’92 (Kite) and 2000 (Woods), 2010 (McDowell) US Opens, ’77 PGA (Lanny Watkins), and three US Amateurs. The 2019 US Open will be staged here again to coincide with the course Centennial. Today, it is owned by the Pebble Beach Company (principle partners Clint Eastwood, Arnold Palmer, Dick Ferris and Peter Ueberroth) along with the Lodge at Pebble Beach, Inn at Spanish Bay, many acres of land and the other resort courses at Spyglass, Spanish Bay and Old Del Monte. If there is a course to enjoy a caddie, this is it and it is a great walk! WWG Grade: A+

Spyglass Hill Golf Course

Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed this world-class course in 1966 and immediately upon opening, the celebrated columnist of the Los Angeles Times, Jim Murray, called it “500 acres of unplayable lie”. It was considered, at that time, the hardest course in the world. Over the years, the Northern California Golf Association (original owners) and then the Pebble Beach Company have made some changes to the course to make it more resort user friendly, but the overall greatness remains unchanged. The course starts off by the ocean and winds up in the quiet pine forests, and the short par 4 fourth hole and fourteenth are among the world’s best. Spyglass co-hosts the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am on the PGA Tour each year, and ranked #85 in the world by Golf Magazine. Very nice practice facility onsite and also home of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy headed by Laird Small, one of the most famous instructors in the PGA of America. WWG Grade: A+

Links at Spanish Bay & Old Del Monte GC

The Links at Spanish Bay: Opened in 1986, The Links at Spanish Bay became the second resort under the Pebble Beach Company umbrella after 11 years of difficult planning, zoning and political debate. Up to the last minute, it seemed that the “legless lizard” sensitive habitat would prohibit the construction, but when forced to produce evidence of such a critter the environmentalists could not locate any in the vicinity. However, a concession was made and much of the landscape had to be left in its natural state with “environmentally sensitive” (read: free drop) areas. To this day, the roped off areas prohibit enough space to accommodate tournament galleries and thus the reason that Spanish Bay is not in the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am rota. The links style course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. (with Sandy Tatum and Tom Watson) and originally featured real links style fescue grasses, which non-links course aficionados mistakenly thought were brown and result of poor maintenance. Guests frequently complained about the courses condition (because they could not understand hard links turf), and with the drought of the late 1980’s, the company decided to reseed with drought resistant rye and poa annua grasses. The course actually plays like a target golf course and is quite demanding from the back tees and even more demanding on the large, undulating greens. A secret to scoring well here is to leave the driver in the bag and put your long irons in the fairway. The views of the ocean, dunes and pine forests, however, are among the best in the world, and a late afternoon tee time will hear bagpipes in the distance, making for a memorable conclusion to a beautiful day of golf. WWG Grade: A-

Old Del Monte GC: Opened in 1897, Old Del Monte Golf Course is the oldest course in continuous operation west of the Mississippi. Designed by golf and polo enthusiast Charles Maud, this inland parkland course boasts a meandering layout that has challenged golfers for more than a century. The greens are among the best on the peninsula and most of the top local golfers honed their games here. It was the original host of the California State Amateur, still played on Del Monte's narrow, tree-lined fairways and small, well-protected greens, and continues to serve as one of three courses on which the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational is played. WWG Grade: B+

Booking & Prices

No two Pebble Beach packages are alike.  Our packages are customized to meet your needs and number of nights and amount of golf.  Some people want a week and some a weekend, others want 36 holes and day while some want 18 every other day.  

At the resorts, there are entry level "Garden View" rates that start at over $700 per night, including tax and Daily Resort Fees in lieu of staff tips for valet and concierge etc.  Restaurant tips not included.  Room categories go up from there, with choices of Forest View, Scenic View (partial ocean); and Ocean View (full ocean front views). Then there are suites, ranging from $1245+ per night up to $2800 per night. 

Golf is priced the same for all room categories, and note that often you must book 2 nights at one of the hotels for a Pebble Beach Golf Links tee time.  Then there are options on rental cars (SFO is 2.5 hours, SJC is 1.5 hours and MRY is 10 minutes away from Pebble Beach), and off site golf at great courses such as Poppy Hills, Bayonet, Carmel Valley Ranch, Quail Lodge, Pasatiempo and other local private courses. 

Many corporate or club groups ask us to build in meal plans, caddies, cocktail parties or banquets, and Pebble Beach Resorts does a wonderful job of all of these options.  The bottom line is, there are so many variables that the best thing to do is call 800-214-GOLF to begin discussing dates, duration and preferences!  

Hogan's Alley - "What I Would Do"

Unless you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I think that a weekend at Pebble Beach is too short.  A better idea is to allocate at least 4-7 nights to take in the best of the Monterey Peninsula. 

I would start with 2-5 nights in a small Carmel hotel or B&B, and play some of the courses in and around the area such as Poppy Hills and Bayonet or Blackhorse. The reason for this is that these hotels are about 1/4 of the price of the more expensive Pebble Beach Resorts hotels, and you can do your sightseeing, wine tasting, Big Sur drive, restaurants and Carmel art gallery tours and "other area courses" from there.  

Then, I would save the best for last and 2 or 3 nights for staying at The Inn at Spanish Bay (better for groups or buddy trips) or The Lodge at Pebble Beach (my choice for couples) and use the time here to get on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill GC, which otherwise are VERY DIFFICULT to access without staying there. If money is no object, go for an ocean view room, although remember that most of the public areas and restaurants share the same views. 

One night I would request an ocean view table at Roy's of Pebble Beach (my wife and I like to share several appetizers) and another night in The Tap Room for a nice steak or burger.  If time allows, a nice Northern Italian meal at Peppoli is always a treat. 

(Bill Hogan is President of Wide World of Golf and has lived and played around the Monterey Peninsula since 1967).