Golf Course Review Spyglass Hill Golf Course Pebble Beach California
Reviewed by: Alex326, Monterey, Ca
Golf Playing Conditions 9.00 IMMACULATE
Played Spyglass Hill on Thursday with the rest of the gang. We had some weather to deal with but other than about a 20 minute period where the rain really came down along with high winds, it wasn’t too bad. I have to say how well the course held up to the rain. No standing water on the greens (in fact they were even watering the greens) and the fairways were excellent. Yes it was lift, clean and place, but the fairways were still a joy to hit from.
Greens were nice as well. As the others mentioned there was a very light top dressing on them but it didn’t really affect the putts. They still rolled smooth at a medium pace. Tee boxes were excellent and the sand traps were as good as you could expect in these conditions.
Other than that 15-20 minute period of high wind and heavy rain, it wasn’t all that bad. JohnnyGK had a 15 footer for eagle, I had 6 pars (2 birdie putts lipped out), Deepsea14 had his usual barrage of 1 putts (with his share of pars as well) and of course RGM2525 was down the middle all day long giving our fore-caddie a reprieve from his side job as a search and rescue member! And speaking of our fore-caddie, Cody is one of our regular caddies and he earned his stripes Thursday. How he kept track of so many stray balls is beyond me! Especially when we routinely had at least one ball on each side of the fairway.
The Glass is still one of my all time favorite tracks and I have to agree with JohnnyGK. It’s my second favorite course behind Pebble Beach. It was so awesome to play them back to back with RGM2525 and JohnnyGk.
Golf Course Review Spyglass Hill Golf Course Pebble Beach California
Reviewed by: Alex326, Monterey, Ca
Golf Playing Conditions 9.64 IMMACULATE
I enjoyed a fantastic early morning round at The Glass! In short the course is in fantastic shape. A perfect 10 tee to green. We tee’d off a little before 7:30 in cool temps with a little fog. By the time we got to first green the fog had already lifted. The rest of the round was in perfect sunny conditions with little to no wind. The swell was up producing some huge waves making the setting surreal.
Tee boxes ranged from a 9.5 to 10. Fantastic all around with no unfixed divots. Fairways were immaculate. They were a dark lush green throughout. Never a thin or brown spot to be found. Fairways were easily a 10+. Rough was also nice and lush. Cut to about 3″.
The sand traps were so perfect that a 10 rating isn’t a high enough rating. Traps consisted of super fluffy crystal white sand.
Greens were also perfect. They rolled smooth, fast and held well struck approach shots.
If you Google the definition of perfect golf course conditions, a picture of Spyglass Hill from today will appear. Just absolutely spectacular. I posted a handful of pictures to the app and will upload them here a little later.
Golf Course Review Spyglass Hill Golf Course Pebble Beach California
Reviewed by: Alex326, Monterey, Ca
After riding 20 of the last 23 days during the Tour de France, I can finally get back to playing some golf. I figured there’s no better place to get back on the horse than The Glass. Tee’d off this morning just before 9am in the traditional cool damp fog. Is there any better way to play this place?!
The pro shop forewarned us that the fairways had been punched and there is a temporary green on the 17th while they flatten out the regular green to make it more manageable for the pros. NOTE: The temp green is small but a true green with the same grass and speed as the others. The normal green should be up and running in about 10-14 days.
The Review
Golf Playing Conditions 8.88 GREAT
Course conditions remain top notch all around. Greens were spectacular. Smooth, pitch mark free and rolling at a medium-fast speed. Just the way you want them. Greens easily held a well struck approach shot.
Even with the aeration holes in the fairway, I never had a bad lie. In fact other than looking at them while walking from the tee box to my ball, I wouldn’t have noticed it. Fairways were dark green in color and lush offering a great platform to hit from.
Rough was thick. Only about 2″-3″ tall but very thick. Getting a hybrid on the ball proved to be a challenge at times but irons were manageable. Skirt areas around the greens were top notch. always presented a good lie. I had an amble sampling of bunkers on the front nine and can tell you that the sand was excellent every-time. I never once had an issue coming out of the traps and I’m a terrible bunker player.
Tee boxes were the low point. Last time here, the tee boxes were like manicured artificial turf they were so perfect. This time they was nice (level and lush) but nothing spectacular. A couple of the par 3’s had a number of divots.
POP was just a tad over 4 hrs. Not bad considering it was busy as usual and we were backed up by the third hole. It quickly eased up (my triple bogey on #4 probably helped) and we only had minor waiting one or two other times the rest of the day.
Parting Thoughts
Spyglass is always a great course that offers excellent conditions and service. As I mentioned before The Glass is all about the golf. And great golf it is!!
Golf Course Review Spyglass Hill Golf Course Pebble Beach California
Reviewed by: Alex326, Monterey, Ca
Golf Playing Conditions 9.35 IMMACULATE
Played Spyglass this morning while Mickelson and Casey finished up their little match around the corner. Traffic was a zoo inside Pebble but that was my only complaint for the entire day. Weather was absolutely gorgeous with sunny skies and virtually no wind. This is the first time I’ve played The Glass when it hasn’t been cool, damp and foggy.
As mentioned before, Spyglass is all about the golf. Make that about great golf! No fancy hotel or clubhouse. Just great course conditions mixed in with a picturesque setting. Yes the first 5 holes are right on the ocean, but there are plenty of views of the pacific from other holes. Who knew? With the sun out the views of the pacific through the Del Monte Forest are numerous. It was a bit of an offshore breeze so the sound of the waves crashing down below were absent, but still no complaints.
As far as course conditions go. It’s exactly what you would expect from a world class and PGA tour worthy course. Greens were excellent rolling at a medium fast pace. With all the rain, they were super soft easily holding shots. Fairways were lush and surprisingly dry for the most part. They too were soft offering little roll out.
Rough was rough!! very wet, muddy, dense and tall. A two club difference in some cases and a minimum of one extra club in all situations.
Tee boxes and sand traps were also of top notch.
Spyglass has all the ingredients for the making of a top course. Ocean front holes, pristine conditions, elevations changes throughout, 4 water hazards to negotiate on the course and good solid customer service throughout.
A very enjoyable walk and obviously highly recommended.
Golf Course Review Spyglass Hill Golf Course Pebble Beach California
Reviewed by: dethman, irvine
Made it up to Monterey this past weekend to play Spyglass and Pebble as part of a birthday trip. The centennial package they were offering for their 100th anniversary sealed the deal. Started off the first day with Spyglass, which in general I’ve heard is the superior and tougher track. The clubhouse and grill are very small, don’t expect any amenities here like at the lodge, just golf. Staying on property, I grabbed the shuttle here and I don’t think it really mattered to them either day that I checked in at the front desk. They just said to grab a bag of balls and the range was a few steps down the way, see the starter about 15 minutes before my time. Range that day was artificial turf.
The Review
Golf Playing Conditions 9.29 IMMACULATE
Course conditions were excellent. One of the best I’ve played. The tee boxes were in excellent condition, mown down perfectly and flat. Fairways were more lush, just a few divots here and there but excellent and carpet like. I played at 830am, so it was still moist and got little roll off drives. Many uneven lies in the fairway, so a good drive was not always rewarded well. Rough was thick and lush, grabbed your club so you would be lucky to get a mid iron out, even a hybrid was dicey. If you could find your ball sitting down there in the first place. I was only in 1 or 2 bunkers, this course really isn’t bunkered that heavily. sand was soft, white, and excellent to hit out of. The greens though. running fast and with tricky contours, I had a tough time lagging my putts anywhere near the hole. It felt like if your approach wasn’t close, it was a 3 putt.
The course itself was indeed tough, starting with the 5 ‘ocean’ holes, of which I found #2 (fairway) and #4 (green) kind of gimmicky but still enjoyed the spectacular views. The sand dunes and the structures stand in stark contrast to Pebble’s ocean holes which are perched directly on the cliffs of the peninsula. If you like true parkland courses though, you will love the rest of Spyglass Hill. Running in and out of the Del Monte forest, each subsequent hole is framed by Monterey pines and generally isolated from structures or road. Hit the ball straight and take an extra club into the green seems to be par for most of this course. And par will be a good score on any hole here as there are challenging doglegs. Strategically placed trees and water, and greens that can punish even the best hit approach shots.
Only nitpick was that I felt the par 3s to be a bit of a weakness here, as they felt particularly less challenging compared to the rest of the course. all four play short, 3 of them severely downhill (though #3 is an awesome hole). the two on the back 9 felt like mirror images of one another and felt like an afterthought. Nothing like #5 or #17 at pebble.
My Thoughts
Though many say this is a superior course to Pebble and it probably is, as a recreational golfer I would rather play Pebble again. After my round at Spyglass, I felt exhausted as if I had been through a battle. Had to manage the rough when my drive went astray, or a long uphill approach, and then had to handle the quick, undulating greens. Shot about 12 or 13 shots above my usual round. I will make it back again, for sure, perhaps when my game is worthy of the test of golf that is course is.
