Spyglass Hill for Novice Golfer

I have just recently gotten back into golf after not playing much at all for the past 15 years or so. Having recently played a few rounds, my guess is my handicap would be somewhere around 25-30. We're going to be staying in the Monterey area this week and there are discounted tee times at Spyglass (aerating greens). While they don't have a handicap requirement, I want myself and playing partners to enjoy our time. Think there's any issue?

I don't think there would be an issue as long as you play the appropriate tee boxes. I played and the caddie suggested which tee boxes for our group based on our handicaps.

Play the right tee boxes, don't obsess about score, and enjoy a magnificent track. It also depends on what kind of high-handicapper you are. If you're short, but sort of straight, Spyglass generally offers approaches to greens that can bypass the trouble. If you're long and wild ... head to the shop first and stock up on balls! Enjoy it!

I played it last summer. Like others suggested- play the right tees and don’t worry about your score. In fact if you really want to enjoy the round don’t even keep score relative to par. If you guys want to have a wager game between yourselves keep track of that rather than where you are vs par.

Thanks all for the advice! I’m going to go for it!

Also booked Black Horse in Seaside, which for $70 for 18 and a cart looks like a steal!

You’re going to have an adventure at Black Horse. Even after the remodel where they removed a ton of trees that course can beat you up. It’s a really nice course though.

Agree on playing the right tee box. Spyglass and Pebble are nearly the same on yardage but Spyglass plays like an entirely different animal. For me (moderate distance golfer) - Spyglass played MUCH longer than Pebble. Played both course one in from the tips (gold I think) and want to say they were 6,500 or 6,600 yards but Spyglass felt closer to 7k for me. Some big par 4's on that course which make some holes feel really long and were requiring 5 or 6 iron into greens. Probably struck the ball better at Spyglass than my round at Pebble but my scores were 85 and 80 respectively.

Just go out and have fun. I played with a couple last year and they were probably the worst golfers I have ever played with. They probably have not played golf very long. However, they seemed to be having a blast shanking it around the course. They were a very nice couple also so they were a pleasure to play with.

Can anyone provide guidance on the pace of play at Spyglass? What's the average time to complete a round?

I would guess a best case of 4.5 hours unless you get an early early time.