Spyglass Hill with FIL

npham · July 6, 2017

I'm heading back to Carmel/Monterey this September and was wondering how difficult Spyglass Hill is. My father in law is a solid golfer, in the 12ish range but has been as low as 3-5 when he was younger. He's getting up there in age, but with a cart, he plays 3-5 times a week. Not terribly long off the tee, but straight and his short game is really good. We can't play Pebble, as there's a Champions Tour event, otherwise I'd rather play there(easier, bucket list course for him).

Will it be too challenging for him? We'll likely take carts, but I'm worried the course will be too much for him(over 70). Am I wasting my money by trying to play there with him?

duffer987 · July 6, 2017

If he's a solid 12, he'll be a damn sight better than the average tourist that plays there.

They've got plenty of tees to choose from, so it would be a matter of finding the tees that don't overstretch his ability to hit a green in the air (ie. not running it on) as it's an RTJ course, which means an aerial game on approaches.

IMHO I prefer Poppy, Bayonet/Blackhorse, Pasa to Spyglass, which isn't to say it's not a good course and the holes in the dunes are pretty darn cool.

You guys will be fine. Have fun :)

sharkiesj · July 6, 2017

He'll be fine. But course does play about 300-400 yards longer than the stated yardage on the scorecards.

dlygrisse · July 6, 2017

Play the correct tees, and be prepared for some really fast greens. When I played it I actually shot a pretty good score on the back 9 (38 I think) if you keep it in the fairway and don't 3 putt too often it's not overly difficult. It does play longer than you think, so again pick the right tee boxes for his game.

npham · July 6, 2017

What's the best time of day to play here? 10am or so? Enough time for the burn off, if any and finishing up before the day is completely over.

AC168 · July 6, 2017

My Dad along with some friends like Spyglass more than Pebble. I like playing in the afternoon but there's a lot of luck to the weather.

aloha b. · July 8, 2017

The starter can help you dad select the correct tees and as others have said the course does play longer than the scorecard. If your dad hit's the ball straight and has a good short game he should do okay.Usually the weather in Sept. is very good. I just came back from the Monterey Peninsula and luckily the weather was nice.