Spyglass Hill vs neighboring courses

Hi all,

I am in the Monterey area the first weekend of April (3rd-5th). I was really looking forward to playing Spyglass Hill on the 4th, however I was told that this will be ~6 days following course aeration.

So now I am stuck with the internal debate: make the most of SH with the aerated greens vs book another course in the area....

I already am playing Pebble Beach and Spanish Bay so my questions to those who have been in the area:

-What recovery stage will the greens be in at this point (20%, 60%, etc.)?

-Would you play a recently aerated Spyglass Hill or opt to play another course in the area (Poppy Hills, Bayonet, Black Horse)?

Thanks!

If this might be your only chance to play Spyglass Hill I would jump at the chance to. If you plan on making it back to the area I would probably play another course. Out of the options listed above I would do Poppy Hills. Pacific Grove has a very nice back 9 and I also enjoyed Spanish bay.

It would depend on what type of aeration equipment they use. If they pull big plugs, then I would expect the greens to be pretty bumpy and sandy. But not totally unplayable. I wouldn't expect to make may 6 footers. if you are thinking about cancelling Spyglass, check the other courses in the area before you do. They all seem to aerate around the same time, in this region.

tad950 is right. See if you can learn about their aeration program. If they use solid tines, for example, 6 days later you wouldn't know they aerated. If they are pulling cores it's a pinball machine.

Does your source know the type of aeration? Otherwise I'd say call the course. I've no experience with the Pebble properties personally, but I have called courses with these concerns before, and usually 'Pro Shop Guy' is happy to tell you what's going on.

I talked to someone that I know at Pebble and Spyglass will be staring the aeration towards the end of March and beginning of April.

The aeration will be the big cores and they will be offering a green fee discount of $250 not including cart if not staying on property.

To your 2nd question - I'd play Poppy, Bayo, or Blackhorse over a freshly sprinkled in pixie dust Spyglass, of course YMMV, but your trip is already going to be great fun either way :-)

Since Monterey County has just been designated to shelter in place I think that golf courses will be shutting down. So far Pacific Grove, Quail Lodge and Carmel Valley Ranch have closed the courses until ~ April 7th. I know that all of the Pebble Resort restaurants won't let you dine in.

Pebble Beach Resorts is now closed including all 4 golf courses. They will take reservations for anytime after April 17th

Poppy Hills is definitely a great fallback option once the courses reopen. Can not wait to go back there. I’ve also played black horse and wasn’t all too impressed, albeit this was about three years ago.

Poppy Hills is awesome.

After Pebble, Spyglass and Spanish Bay I'd probably go 1) Poppy 2) Bayonet 3) Del Monte 4) Black Horse or Pacific Grove and I can't count Quail Lodge or Carmel Valley Ranch since I haven't been down there but those two deserve fair consideration probably. Poppy is the obvious choice if you want to stay inside the 17 mile drive gates and not pay Spanish Bay money, fantastic track and conditions.... for when that trip is able to happen.. sorry OP, rough luck.

I played Carmel Valley Ranch, Bayonet, and Black Horse last week and had a good time. I have played Carmel and Bayonet once before, but had not played Black Horse.

Carmel Valley Ranch 7/1 - I feel this course is underrated. I think it is a great example of a short course from the tips being challenging but not weirdly tricked up. It is 6100 from the tips and nice close up views of the surrounding hills. I wish there was more short courses like this. Course was in good shape and I like the sand they have in their bunkers.

Bayonet 7/2- Very challenging especially if you do not know the course. The fairways imo were dogshit. I frequently moved my ball onto a close by patch of poa annua as opposed to trying to hit an iron of tundra. I had very interesting back to back birdies on 5 & 6. On 5 I was in the mulch on the right and dropped a gap wedge right next to the hole. On 6 the flag was back right tucked behind he bunker and I knocked it stiff. Those proved important as I did not play as well on the back nine but still shot 79.

Black Horse 7/3 - Fairways were in the same shape as Bayonet. I have read a lot of people stating that Bayonet is more difficult, but I actually found Blackhorse to be a little more difficult, but I put up a good score for my first time. The highlight of the round was after it was over. I was headed back to my car and parked next to me is a 1964 Corvette Stingray Convertible.