WM Phoenix Open

TPC Scottsdale (Stadium Course)



    News

    The 18 best holes on the Monterey Peninsula

    February 04, 2020
    2017-03-cypress-point-club-wide-aerial-ss.jpg

    J.D. Cuban

    A common debate inside golf architecture circles and among 19th-hole golf revelers is which golf-rich part of the world contains the best concentration of courses. California's Monterey/Carmel area is always in the conversation—and for good reason. Views of the Pacific Ocean provided the ideal canvas for some of the world's best layouts, and many of golf’s earliest and most accomplished designers carved legendary courses on this tough-to-top topography.

    Imagine being tasked with clearing land along the magical Monterey Peninsula to create one of the golf havens on this list? We’ve combed the top courses—both classic and new—to create a par-72 layout of the best 18 holes within the confines of this seaside oasis. We’ve kept true to the order of the holes on their original course, picking the best first hole, second hole, etc.) And we’ve also tried to be creative: Of course, Cypress Point (No. 3 on Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest) and Pebble Beach (No. 7, which hosted the U.S. Open for a sixth time in 2019) could’ve comprised most of this list. But there’s more great golf at low-key confines (Poppy Hills, Pacific Grove) to be celebrated on this little strand of golf paradise. —SH

    LIST OF COURSES INCLUDED BELOW:
    Bayonet & Black Horse (Black Horse), Seaside, Gene Bates
    Carmel Valley Ranch, Carmel, Pete Dye & Gene Bates
    The Club at Pasadera, Monterey, Jack Nicklaus
    Cypress Point Club, Pebble Beach, Alister MacKenzie & Robert Hunter
    Del Monte G.C., Monterey, Herbert Fowler
    The Links at Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Tom Watson & Sandy Tatum
    Monterey Peninsula C.C. (Dunes), Pebble Beach, Robert Hunter & Alister MacKenzie/Tom Fazio & Tim Jackson
    Monterey Peninsula C.C. (Shore), Pebble Beach, Mike Strantz
    Pacific Grove Municipal G. Cse., Pacific Grove, Jack Neville
    Pebble Beach G. Links, Pebble Beach, Jack Neville & Douglas Grant
    The Preserve G.C., Carmel, Tom Fazio, J. Michael Poellot & Sandy Tatum Poppy Hills G. Cse., Pebble Beach, Robert Trent Jones & Bruce Charlton
    Spyglass Hill G. Cse., Pebble Beach, Robert Trent Jones


    1 - the preserve .jpeg

    No. 1: The Preserve G.C., 442 yards, par 4

    Runner-up: Spyglass Hill G. Cse., 595 yards, par 5


    2 - spanish bay.jpeg

    No. 2: The Links at Spanish Bay, 307 yards, par 4

    Runner-up: Spyglass Hill G. Cse., 349 yards, par 4


    2017-49-Spyglass-Hill-GC-hole-3.jpg

    Courtesy of Pebble Beach Company

    No. 3: Spyglass Hill G. Cse., 172 yards, par 3

    Runner-up: Del Monte G.C., 367 yards, par 4


    2017-49-Spyglass-Hill-GC-hole-4.jpg

    Courtesy of Pebble Beach Company

    No. 4: Spyglass Hill G. Cse., 370 yards. par 4

    Runner-up: Monterey Peninsula C.C. (Dunes), 232 yards, par 3


    5 - The Links at Spanish Bay125.jpeg

    No. 5: The Links at Spanish Bay, 451 yards, par 4

    Runner-up: Poppy Hills G. Cse., 352 yards, par 4 (Old 14th)


    6 - mpcc Shore.jpeg

    No. 6: Monterey Peninsula C.C. (Shore), 546 yards, par 5

    Runner-up: The Links at Spanish Bay, 400 yards, par 4


    General Views Pebble Beach Golf Links

    David Cannon/Getty Images

    No. 7: Pebble Beach G. Links, 106 yards, par 3

    Runner-up: Cypress Point Club, 168 yards, par 3


    Pebble 8th hole

    David Cannon

    No. 8: Pebble Beach G. Links, 427 yards, par 4

    Runner-up: Bayonet & Black Horse (Black Horse), 550 yards, par 5


    9 - mpcc dunes.jpeg

    No. 9: Monterey Peninsula CC (Dunes), 543 yards, par 5

    Runner-up: Cypress Point Club, 292 yards, par 4

    Out: 3,364 yards, par 36


    Inward nine:

    10 - delmonte.jpeg

    No. 10: Del Monte G. Cse., 287 yards, par 4

    Runner-up: Monterey Peninsula C.C. (Dunes), 171 yards, par 3


    11 - carmel valley.jpeg

    No. 11: Carmel Valley Ranch, Carmel, 426 yards, par 4

    Runner-up: Monterey Peninsula C.C. (Shore), 186 yards, par 3


    12 - pacfiic grove.jpg

    No. 12: Pacific Grove Municipal G. Cse, 500 yards, par 5

    Runner-up: Spyglass Hill G. Cse., 178 yards, par 3


    13 - pasadera.jpeg

    No. 13: The Club at Pasadera, 366 yards, par 4

    Runner-up: The Links at Spanish Bay, 142 yards, par 3


    14 - mpcc dunes.jpeg

    No. 14: Monterey Peninsula C.C. (Dunes), 167 yards, par 3

    Runner-up: The Links at Spanish Bay, 576 yards, par 5


    15 - mpcc shore.jpeg

    No. 15: Monterey Peninsula C.C. (Shore), 413 yards, par 4

    Runner-up: Cypress Point Club, 143 yards, par 3


    16th-Cypress-Point.png

    No. 16: Cypress Point Club, 219 yards, par 3

    Runner-up: Pacific Grove Municipal G. Cse., 353 yards, par 4


    Cypress-Point-holes-16-17.jpg

    Stephen Szurlej

    No. 17: Cypress Point Club, 393 yards. par 4

    Runner-up: Pebble Beach G. Links, 177 yards, par 3


    2017-07-pebble-beach-hole-18.jpg

    Stephen Szurlej

    No. 18: Pebble Beach G. Links, 543 yards, par 5

    Runner-up: Poppy Hills G. Cse., 535 yards, par 5

    IN: 3,314 yards, par 36

    TOTAL: 6,678 yards, par 72