Playing Spyglass Hill Golf Course:

A spectacular start to our Pebble Beach golf adventure

🌄 The Perfect Start to Our Pebble Beach Golf Trip

After a beautiful day exploring Monterey, we were up early the next morning — still operating on East Coast time — and ready for another great day along California’s stunning Monterey Peninsula.

With recommendations from the hotel concierge, we found a charming outdoor café just a few blocks away for breakfast. Monterey has no shortage of great breakfast spots, and enjoying a relaxed morning near the waterfront was the perfect start to the day.

After breakfast we wandered along the Monterey Wharf, picking up a few gifts for family before heading south toward Pebble Beach.

The drive itself was memorable. It took about 20 minutes to reach the Pebble Beach area, passing through the Del Monte Forest and Skyline Forest, where towering pines and cypress trees line winding roads. The neighborhoods are filled with stunning homes perched among the trees, many owned by well-known business leaders, entertainers, and professional athletes.

We had a 2:00 PM tee time at Spyglass Hill Golf Course, and anticipation was building.

Would we be able to hold our own on one of the most famous golf courses in the world?

🏌️ The Golf Experience at Spyglass Hill

We arrived more than an hour early so we could spend some time warming up.

I dropped Bob and the golf clubs at the Spyglass Hill Pro Shop while I parked the car across the street as directed. The entire Pebble Beach Resorts area is incredibly well organized, and staff are everywhere to help guide players through the experience.

Spyglass Hill Golf Course sits tucked between rolling hills covered with towering pines and oaks, with the Pacific Ocean just beyond the dunes. You can’t see the ocean from the pro shop, but you can definitely hear it — along with the barking sea lions and coastal birds.

The air felt different there — cool, clean, and slightly salty.

We headed to the driving range wearing layers of jackets as the coastal air was chilly. About a dozen deer wandered calmly across the range, clearly unconcerned about stray golf balls. It didn’t take long to realize that deer roaming the courses was going to be a theme for the entire weekend.

After warming up on the range, we spent about 15 minutes on the putting greens, which were among the smoothest and most perfectly maintained greens we had ever played on.

Soon it was time to meet the starter.

⛳ Tee Time at Spyglass Hill

The starter paired us with two gentlemen visiting from the Chicago area, celebrating a birthday golf trip.

As a woman golfer — and often the only woman in the group — I’m used to the subtle first impression that comes from new playing partners. The unspoken question is usually:

Can she play, and will she slow us down?

Fortunately, they were friendly and welcoming, and we soon headed to the first tee.

The guys played from the blue tees, Bob from the senior white tees, and I happily took advantage of every yard available from the red tees.

The opening hole at Spyglass Hill is stunning — a wide fairway framed by tall pines with deer grazing quietly along the edges.

First tee nerves? Definitely.

The guys sprayed their drives a bit but stayed clear of trouble. Bob hit a solid drive down the fairway, and thankfully I followed with a quality drive of my own.

After respectable bogies, we moved on to the second hole.

🌊 Spyglass Hill’s Spectacular Early Holes

Hole #2 – A Downhill Dogleg

The second hole is a par four dogleg left that slopes downhill toward the ocean.

The fairways are lush, but the rough is thick and punishing. Anyone who landed there quickly discovered that escaping the Poa annua rough required real effort.

I found trouble near the green and struggled through several shots before eventually holing out for a double bogey.

Reality had arrived.

This was not our ordinary club course.

Hole #3 – A Stunning Oceanfront Par 3

The third hole might be one of the most beautiful holes on the course.

It’s a dramatic downhill par three, with the Pacific Ocean stretching beyond the green. Sea lions barked in the distance while coastal mist slowly lifted to reveal patches of sunshine.

The guys hit first and all missed the green — which suddenly created a perfect opportunity for me.

My red tee was about 50 yards forward, and I managed to land the ball about 15 feet from the hole.

Two putts later — my first par of the day.

That earned a little respect from the group.

Hole #4 – A Narrow and Challenging Green

Hole four introduced us to one of the most unusual greens we had ever seen.

The green was long, narrow, and heavily tiered, with slopes that rolled sharply toward the surrounding bunkers.

Although I reached the green in two shots, it took four more strokes to get the ball in the hole — including one putt that rolled all the way back down the slope to where I had been standing.

From par to double in a hurry — such is amateur golf.

🌲 A Course That Keeps You Thinking

Spyglass Hill is known for its dramatic contrast between coastal and forest holes.

The front nine plays near the ocean and sand dunes, while the back nine climbs into the forest, winding through tall pines and rolling terrain.

The holes meander through valleys and ridges, creating constantly changing views and challenges.

16th Hole

Overall, the course felt:

• Long but fair
• Challenging but playable
• Beautiful at every turn

Deer were constant companions throughout the round, casually wandering along the fairways as if they owned the place.

Each of us had our share of good, bad, and ugly shots, but every once in a while someone would hit a spectacular shot that reminded us why we love the game.

The two gentlemen from Chicago turned out to be great playing partners, and the round was filled with laughs and friendly conversation.

📸 Finishing the Round

When we finished the 18th hole, a course attendant greeted us and cleaned our golf shoes using an air hose, a small but thoughtful detail that reflected the level of service throughout the Pebble Beach Resorts experience.

He also offered to take photos of us in front of the Spyglass Hill medallion, a perfect way to commemorate the round.