Spyglass Hill Golf Course
Designed by Robert Trent Jones
History
Del Monte Properties opened Spyglass Hill in 1966, adding a third course to the Pebble Beach stable at a moment when the peninsula’s reputation as America’s premier golf destination was still taking shape. The land itself, tucked into forest and dune between Pebble Beach Golf Links and the Pacific, had long been earmarked for a course that could stand alongside its famous neighbor without simply repeating it.
The commission went to Robert Trent Jones, then at the height of his influence and already responsible for reshaping the modern American golf course through projects across the country. Jones took his name for the layout from Robert Louis Stevenson, who is believed to have drawn inspiration for “Treasure Island” from this stretch of coastline during his time in Monterey, and Jones leaned into that literary connection by naming several holes after characters and elements from the novel. His design threaded golf through two distinct environments on the property — dunes near the shoreline giving way to inland pine forest — asking Jones to solve two very different problems within a single round.
Since its opening, Spyglass Hill has become a fixture of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am rotation, hosting tournament play alongside Pebble Beach Golf Links and Monterey Peninsula Country Club (later replaced in that rotation by Poppy Hills). It has remained a public course throughout its history, operated under the Pebble Beach Company, giving everyday golfers access to a Robert Trent Jones design built on land that might otherwise have gone to private hands.
Playing Notes
Bring your full bag and your patience: Spyglass Hill splits into two distinct tests, with the opening stretch winding through coastal dunes exposed to Pacific wind before the back nine plunges into a dense Monterey pine forest where accuracy off the tee matters more than distance. The greens run large and often multi-tiered, so club selection into the pin, not just onto the putting surface, will save your round. Carts are available, but the terrain shifts enough in elevation that walkers should be prepared for a workout, especially climbing out of the forested holes. Wind off the ocean affects club selection early, then disappears once you're boxed in by trees, so don't assume the conditions on hole 2 will match hole 12. This is a course that punishes guessing at yardages, so a rangefinder or detailed yardage book is worth having in your pocket, and pack extra balls, because both the dunes and the pines swallow mishits without much mercy.