Monterey Options

[eboettne]

Flying into San Jose the morning of July 15th and going down to Monterey for a few days for an anniversary trip.  My wife and I plan to play Pacific Grove Saturday evening and I'm going to try and get on Pebble as a single by calling for Sunday or Monday.  I've heard that Spanish Bay, Poppy Hills or Spyglass may have some good twilight rates if I can't get on Pebble.  Which one would you guys recommend and does anyone know what the twilight rates are? I've found some online but they're multiple years old so I'm sure they've increased. Another option is to play Pasatiempo for $225 but would have to play the back 9 twice as the front 9 is closed for renovation. 

Edited June 27, 2023 by eboettne

[JamesNorcal]

Del Monte is pretty underated in my book. You should be able to book a tee time by just calling. It is much cheaper than the rest of the Pebble courses.  No ocean views but a very old school track. Small greens and when I played last month the greens were lighting fast. Worth checking out as a back up atleast. 

[PJ Blake]

There is currently no twilight golf at Spyglass.

 

Spanish Bay twilight is $190 (Dukes Club $90) and starts at 5:00. However, they don't have it every day and you have to call the pro shop directly the day of play to check. The catch is you more than likely won't finish 18. When playing as a twosome we've made it once barely and came close a few other times. Just depends on how busy and slow it is in front of you...but you're talking July. The SB pro shop # is 831-647-7495

 

Poppy is $100 ($50 NCGA) starting at 3 Mon-Thurs. Twilight tee times get snatched up in the summer, but I see a few on Wednesday July 13th for example. I would book asap if this is your choice.

 

Other options include Quail Lodge and Bayonet/Black Horse. Quail is a very well manicured course and @5:00 it changes between $73 and $145 during the week on their website. If it's sitting at 73 be sure to book on their website and don't just walk in. They will try and charge you a higher rate in my experience in spite of the website posting. Sometimes the guys in the clubhouse don't really know where the price is on the website. Just have to check their website and check for deals on Golfnow. Usually that late it's not too busy in front of you and, on a cart, you can finish. But check and see what time carts have to be in...that would be the issue. We don't typically play there during the summer but we've made it no prob in the Spring before carts had to be in.

 

Bayonet/ Black Horse are both $45 with a cart @4:00. The courses aren't always in the best of shape, but for $45 with a cart, it's the best deal in the county given the challenge of these courses and the price at that time.

 

Well... there's more info than you probably wanted 🤣

[G_MANG]

I recommend getting a tee time in advance for Spyglass (they will reserve something like 30 days out even if you aren't staying at the resort) and converting it to PB if they have availability day before, which they will do by just charging you the difference. While finances are different for everyone, if you think paying to get on PB is worth it then I do not think paying the full rate for Spyglass would be regrettable at all. It is a really special course that I think does not get it's full due because (1) it is incredibly demanding that is probably not fun for the many hackers who take a golf trip to monterey (2) it is always compared to PB which is maybe the most famous public course on the planet (I personally knew about PB long before I knew about the old course).

[slocagolfer]

I'll bet PJ Blake is spot on. You can call the courses and find out if his info is current (I'd be surprised if it's not).  Any of those courses are terrific though I've heard via theses pages Bayonet and Black Horse are in rough shape these days. 

[PJ Blake]

My info is current. I have Dukes Club, Poppy Club and Bayonet/Black Horse memberships, so I play these courses a lot. They re-seeded Bayonet/ Black Horse and I hadn't played either of them in about 3 weeks. I played the back 9 of Bayonet last Thursday evening and it was in the best shape I've ever seen it. We'll see how it holds up now that it's finally getting hotter. Not sure about Black Horse at the moment. When I played it last it wasn't that great. It's typically the rougher of the two, but they've changed the grass-type on both courses. Unless they change their maintenance standards, all the re-seeding in the world isn't going to make any lasting changes in terms of condition. And the home construction  on the front nine of Bayonet and part of the back nine of Black Horse kind of sucks too. (EDIT: I wouldn't avoid these courses because of construction).

 

JamesNorcal mentioned Del Monte, which is definitely a good back up. While it's not (in my opinion) a destination golf course, it's in really good condition right now. 

 

My son and I played Spanish Bay last Friday afternoon at 3:00. It was a guaranteed to finish time and the pace was good the first nine. But the back nine got a little backed up in front of us.  It ended up being close to a five hour round. One of the marshalls was a bit panicked about not getting all the guaranteed to finish groups in. From what we could tell the last group or two probably couldn't see where their drives ended up because a heavy marine layer was setting in and it was pretty dark from the mist before sundown. So no chance a twilight golfer would have finished.

Edited July 4, 2023 by PJ Blake

[Otts]

Regarding Pasatiempo and the current renovation.  

 

The back 9 at Pasa is considered by many to be one of the best 9 holes in all of golf.  Having the opportunity to play it twice at a discounted rate is a very good option.  I played it a few days ago and the course was in exceptional condition.  Beware of the greens as they are pure and fast - some of the pin placements are diabolical.  

[eboettne]

Ended up playing Pacific Grove and got on as a single at Pebble.  PG was really fogged over so that was a bit of a bummer for the back 9 and we were on the back end of a 16 hour travel day so I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I would another time.  It's still a great muni and I'd kill to play it for my every day course.  Pebble was epic, heavy marine layer until about hole 4 and it opened up when I got to the ocean in time for holes 5-9 and crept back in on hole 10.  Holes 6-8 are the probably the best par 5, par 3 and par 4 I've every played. Shot a 79 without making any putts, 2 balls in the ocean and no birdies(despite a good amount of opps). Didn't have time to play Pasa as it was an anniversary trip and had other plans but would love to make it back someday. 

[Mullenboy]

On 7/16/2023 at 11:37 AM, Otts said:

Regarding Pasatiempo and the current renovation.  

 

The back 9 at Pasa is considered by many to be one of the best 9 holes in all of golf.  Having the opportunity to play it twice at a discounted rate is a very good option.  I played it a few days ago and the course was in exceptional condition.  Beware of the greens as they are pure and fast - some of the pin placements are diabolical.  

How do they handle tee times?  That is... if you book 8am do they also save 10am or something for you?  If not do you just squeeze in between those starting around 10?

[Otts]

8 hours ago, Mullenboy said:

How do they handle tee times?  That is... if you book 8am do they also save 10am or something for you?  If not do you just squeeze in between those starting around 10?

 

Exactly.  When you book you are asked if you are playing 9 or 18.  If 18, they will block the time where they estimate that you will make the turn.  It's been pretty accurate.

[Mullenboy]

15 hours ago, Otts said:

 

Exactly.  When you book you are asked if you are playing 9 or 18.  If 18, they will block the time where they estimate that you will make the turn.  It's been pretty accurate.

Thanks!  Good to hear they do block a time for you.  I may go do this soon... I live about 1/2 hr away, have played Pasa many times... this is a chance to play it at a reasonable price (for what it is).

[mlwenzlick]

I might be headed out in September. Have played Pebble already, not sure if I’ll be back. Spy seems like it might be full, so leaning between Spanish and Pasa. With the remodel situation is it still a layup for Pasa? 

[Ironman_32]

On 7/24/2023 at 11:08 AM, eboettne said:

Ended up playing Pacific Grove and got on as a single at Pebble.  PG was really fogged over so that was a bit of a bummer for the back 9 and we were on the back end of a 16 hour travel day so I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I would another time.  It's still a great muni and I'd kill to play it for my every day course.  Pebble was epic, heavy marine layer until about hole 4 and it opened up when I got to the ocean in time for holes 5-9 and crept back in on hole 10.  Holes 6-8 are the probably the best par 5, par 3 and par 4 I've every played. Shot a 79 without making any putts, 2 balls in the ocean and no birdies(despite a good amount of opps). Didn't have time to play Pasa as it was an anniversary trip and had other plans but would love to make it back someday. 

Do you know if you can rent clubs at Pacific Grove? Going in a couple of weeks and thinking of booking tee time, but it will probably be the only time I play and I don't want to lug everything. 

[PJ Blake]

According to their website 😁, $55

[eboettne]

40 minutes ago, Ironman_32 said:

Do you know if you can rent clubs at Pacific Grove? Going in a couple of weeks and thinking of booking tee time, but it will probably be the only time I play and I don't want to lug everything. 

They do, my wife had to rent clubs. Newer titleist clubs + Scotty Cameron Putter so pretty solid setup.