The most under appreciated course in California. Last weekend (3/26) was my second time playing Spanish and it was almost as special as the first time. The 22-23 winter season has been a historic one ... Continue »

The most under appreciated course in California. Last weekend (3/26) was my second time playing Spanish and it was almost as special as the first time. The 22-23 winter season has been a historic one for California and we came only a couple days after another large storm. We played Pebble two days prior and Pasatiempo the day before. While Pebble was in amazing shape (surprisingly after a couple inches of rain the day before), Pasatiempo was terrible with the greens shaggy, slow and soft even though they still charged their full rate. Spanish was as close to perfect as you can get, especially during such a stormy winter. Yes, it was better than Pebble but only noticeable if you’re as critical like I am. The greens were firm and rolling at 10.5/11 with minimal pitch marks. Rough and fairways were beautiful and sand was in perfect shape to play out of. I personally love the design of the course. It’s an adventure throughout with very memorable holes that require a versatile game and experience with every club in the bag. The balance between coastal and forest holes is terrific and requires a dialed game tee to green. While the tips aren’t quite 7000 yards on the scorecard, 14-18 can play extremely difficult when it’s windy. As you’d expect, we caught gale force winds the last several holes where it was blowing a steady 35-45mph after getting away with only moderate winds the first part of the round. We laughed off the finish as our whole group took about 4 extra clubs on 16. It’s almost always going to be windy and challenging at a course this exposed and there is no reason to shame it for the weather. It says a lot about a course when an entire group who brought their C game at best (including myself) can finish up the round in smiles and walk off raving about the experience. Spanish has certainly solidified itself as one of my all time favorites and the best value I’ve played anywhere with respect to the upper end price tags ($300+).

Started the year out with a round at Spanish Bay. With all of the rain in the last week it was tough just to find a break in the weather to play. JusGas88 joined Bob and I along with another friend ... Continue »

Started the year out with a round at Spanish Bay. With all of the rain in the last week it was tough just to find a break in the weather to play. JusGas88 joined Bob and I along with another friend from the valley to kick off the year. We managed to get most of the round in without rain and what rain we did have for a few holes was very manageable. Oddly enough there was NO wind so it was bearable for sure. In fact, Bob was in shorts!

After perfect conditions last week, I was curious to see how the course held up after 5 days of rain. I was impressed for sure. Greens were absolutely fine. Yes they rolled at a medium pace but they rolled smooth, not that hairy (I have no idea when they able to mow them) and were puddle free. They even had some of the pins in the low spots. That’s how well the greens drained.

Fairways were interesting. Three of us walked and on the surface, the fairways were fine. A few soggy areas here and there but not too bad. However, but drives would plug or get all of about 5’ of roll out. Fairways were soft for sure! As far as presenting a nice hitting surface for approach shots, the fairways were fine. In fact they were nice and lush with minimal post impact “splash” you get when playing other courses in the rain.

The rough on the other hand was brutal. Deep, wet and your ball would plug or sit down making hard to find. I lost 2 balls throughout the day in the rough where we knew pretty much exactly where the ball landed, yet couldn’t find it. The good news was I easily found 10 golf balls from other players who were in the same area.

All of the sand traps had drained well. I was in 2 and saved par from one, so no complaints. Sand was a little wet but still miles ahead of other courses in “prime condition”.

Tee boxes were fine as well. Level with ample coverage throughout. Maintenance crews have done a lot digging around the edges creating ditches to control the flow of water. There were a bunch of new “water hazards” off to the sides of the courses and behind the greens where mini ponds had formed from the controlled routing of the water. Very impressive on the grounds crew and Thank You.

POP was just over 4 hours. It was slow going initially due to so many people in carts with CPO which takes so much longer (and you walk just about the same amount). Towards the end, a few of the twosomes threw in the towel and that sped things up.

Overall, given the amount of rain we’ve had in the last week, the course was in great shape.

Played Spanish Bay on Tuesday with a 9:40 AM tee time. After having a picture perfect day weather wise at Poppy Hills the prior week, we were treated with wind and rain at Spanish. We did manage to... Continue »

Played Spanish Bay on Tuesday with a 9:40 AM tee time. After having a picture perfect day weather wise at Poppy Hills the prior week, we were treated with wind and rain at Spanish. We did manage to get in 9 holes before the rain came in and it wasn’t too bad for a few holes but 14-18 were downright storm conditions. Two of us through in the towel and the other two were troopers and completed all 18.

Conditions wise the course is was in excellent condition. I say was because a few hours after our round they began Verti cutting and overseeding the fairways. Prior to that the fairways were in excellent shape. Easily a 9 all around with no thin or brown spots. Greens were also in great shape. Greens rolled very smooth. Due to the wind the speed was hard to judge as downwind they were ridiculously fast and upwind they were slow.

Bunkers were in great shape was well. I can’t say what they were like after the rain started, but prior to that the sand was nice and fluffy. POP was normal. Would have been a 4.5+ hour round but once the heavy rain came, people started clearing out so the pace was super quick for the last 4 holes.

Customer service is excellent all around. Very friendly staff.

Monterey Golf Trip: 10/6 to 10/8 Day #1 - Course #1 - Links at Spanish Bay. We played Links at Spanish when we arrived on Thursday 10/6. We were able to take advantage of the practice facility at P... Continue »

Monterey Golf Trip: 10/6 to 10/8 Day #1 - Course #1 - Links at Spanish Bay. We played Links at Spanish when we arrived on Thursday 10/6. We were able to take advantage of the practice facility at Pebble Beach and even stuck in brunch at Stillwater Grill. We had a 1:50 pm tee time. It was the 1st NGTF (Not Guaranteed to Finish) tee time. We were able to snag the tee time even though we did not stay at the resort. Sundown was 6:40 pm. We finished in 4:40 at 6:30 pm with about 30 minutes of sunlight left. Tee boxes in great shape. Fairways were in good shape; I just wished they would put divot mixes in the carts. Our forecaddie said they fill in the fairway divots nightly. Does not make sense to me especially if most groups have caddies. Was able to take carts on the fairway this day. This is my 2nd time playing this course. Views were tremendous and greens were running quick at 10 on my imaginary stimpmeter. Sand traps were well maintained. Customer service was excellent. The price including green fees, cart fees, forecaddie fees was quite steep, but u got to do it. Had drinks and appetizers afterwards at the fire pits outside the hotel lobby. A great start to our golf trip.

I was out at Spanish Bay yesterday with Bob and man things are changing on a weekly basis. The greens were excellent. They rolled smooth at a nice medium fast pace. I thought the practice green ro... Continue »

I was out at Spanish Bay yesterday with Bob and man things are changing on a weekly basis. The greens were excellent. They rolled smooth at a nice medium fast pace. I thought the practice green rolled much slower than the actual greens but that might have just been they still had a bit of morning dew on them.

Fairways: The actual fairways are fine. Mainly lush with only a couple of thin/brown spots throughout the entire course. HOWEVER, a number of the fairways have been reduced to cut down on watering. They started doing this in 2020 and it's even more noticeable now. Holes 10 and 14 need a good poke just to reach the fairway. 17 has also been pushed back some. The last 150 yards of the right side of hole 14 have now been reduced by 30'. This was previously "rough" so the actual fairway is the same but it is now hardpan dirt after that.

Maintenance: About a 1/2 of the tee boxes have been aerated and sanded. Not a big deal as #8 was the only par 3 tee box that I can remember but my guess is they are rotating through all of them. Same thing for the skirt areas right before the green. about 1/3 had been verticut with tiny holes. Didn't effect play much.

POP was right at 4 hours 15 minutes. Customer service was perfect as always and weather was typical pebble peach. overcast in the morning, then sun, then 1 club wind and overcast.

Prices have gone up but the course is still worth it.

Played 7/16. Always a great time here, worth the green fees when your in the area. Customer service outstanding course always well maintained. I’ve never had a bad experience here regardless of the un... Continue »

Played 7/16. Always a great time here, worth the green fees when your in the area. Customer service outstanding course always well maintained. I’ve never had a bad experience here regardless of the unpredictable weather

The heavy constant marine layer for the last several weeks (we never saw the sun all day today l) has really helped bring the fairways us back to life. They are now almost completely green throughout... Continue »

The heavy constant marine layer for the last several weeks (we never saw the sun all day today l) has really helped bring the fairways us back to life. They are now almost completely green throughout the entire course. Still lush will a great combination of offering good roll out and a nice hitting surface. We tee’d off at 10:50 AM and were the 4th group behind a corporate tournament. POP was a bit slow but still close to the 4.5 hour mark. Some of the greens got a little lumpy early on from all the foot steps. They were rolling at a faster pace than the last couple times here Tee boxes were excellent and sand traps were ok on some and great on others Always fun playing here even if my game stunk today.

A quick update on Spanish Bay. Fairways are starting to show signs of the drought. Most fairways now have some brown areas. Per staff water has been cut in half and on top of that we are having an u... Continue »

A quick update on Spanish Bay. Fairways are starting to show signs of the drought. Most fairways now have some brown areas. Per staff water has been cut in half and on top of that we are having an unseasonably warm summer so far with little morning fog/dew to help out

Having said that the fog did come in on the last 2 holes yesterday so maybe help is on the way

Customer service is always excellent and POP was a bit slow as a twosome three groups ahead of us were holding things up but no worries as it delayed us just long enough to catch the bagpiper!

Took advantage of the offered / afforded opportunity to play this gem again Sunday. It was again terrific.
One important note: no driving range at the course. Players are welcome to use Spyglass rang... Continue »

Took advantage of the offered / afforded opportunity to play this gem again Sunday. It was again terrific.
One important note: no driving range at the course. Players are welcome to use Spyglass range or Pebbles a bit farther away. Do this before arriving at SB.
On to the review. Cool sunny and gusty winds of 20+ mph. Kind of day the ball would wiggle on the tee but not fall off a few times. Makes a challenging course play a bit tougher as expected. Immaculate 96% everywhere through the green. Greens rolling nice a bit slow if I was to nit pick. Undulating and very interesting. Tee boxes laser level and lush. Not sure why all courses above $$ level can't be this way. Fairways carpet like smooth.
Links style golf at it's finest. The best ocean views for the most holes where I've ever played. Lunch in the restaurant with panoramic views of the course and ocean. Then continue the 17 mile drive through Marsh Corner (#8) reminded of Todd's birdie there. Past Monterey Pennisula CC, Cypress Point and nearby Spyglass. 11 rating on the 10 scale imo.
Golf nut I am. If I was in a rain-suit all day using an umbrella, I'd probably rate it the same. Can't control the weather.