The Monterey Peninsula has a reputation, and Pebble Beach does most of the heavy lifting for it. What surprises first-timers is how much of this golf destination is open to anyone with a tee time and a golf bag.
There's a resort course that's been open since 1897, and a city-owned links with a lighthouse sitting in the middle of it. Here's every public golf course on the peninsula, with how to book and roughly what you'll pay. If you're only chasing the headliners, start with the five Monterey Peninsula courses worth the flight.
The full list
| Course | Where | Booking | 2026 green fee (approx.) | Resort stay needed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pebble Beach Golf Links | Pebble Beach, CA | Resort guests well ahead; non-resort guests one day out | $695 + $60 cart | To book ahead, yes |
| Spyglass Hill Golf Course | Pebble Beach, CA | Open to non-resort guests; resort guests book first | About $525 | No |
| The Links at Spanish Bay | Pebble Beach, CA | Open to non-resort guests; resort guests book first | About $365 | No |
| The Hay | Pebble Beach, CA | Public | $75 | No |
| Poppy Hills Golf Course | Pebble Beach, CA | Public tee times | About $230 to $290 | No |
| Del Monte Golf Course | Monterey | Public tee times | About $110 to $145 | No |
| Pacific Grove Golf Links | Pacific Grove | Public tee times | About $50 to $89 | No |
| Monterey Pines | Monterey | Public and military | About $50 to $85 | No |
| Laguna Seca Golf Ranch | Monterey | Public tee times | About $61 to $102 | No |
| Bayonet and Black Horse | Seaside | Public tee times | About $99 to $249 | No |
| Quail Lodge | Carmel Valley | Public tee times | Varies by season | No |
Sources: GolfPass, January 2026, Pebble Beach 2026 rates, Pebble Beach availability, Monterey Peninsula green fees, Quail Lodge access. Rates shift by season and time of day, so confirm on each course's booking page before you go.
The Pebble Beach Resorts courses
Pebble Beach Golf Links is public. Jack Neville and Douglas Grant laid it out along the cliffs in 1919, and it's hosted six U.S. Open championships plus the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am nearly every year since 1947. Booking a tee time more than a day ahead means staying at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay, or Casa Palmero, with a two-night minimum on most dates. Non-resort guests can call the pro shop 24 hours ahead, at 7 a.m. sharp, and your odds go way up as a single. We broke the whole system down in how to actually get a tee time at Pebble Beach, and what it really costs to play Pebble Beach has the full bill.
Spyglass Hill Golf Course is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that opened in 1966. The first five holes run through sand dunes, then the course turns into the Del Monte Forest and never really lets up. A lot of locals will tell you it's the tougher test of the two.
The Links at Spanish Bay was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., with help from Tom Watson and Sandy Tatum, and plays along the dunes at the north end of 17 Mile Drive. Stick around for sunset, when a bagpiper walks the course. You'll feel a little silly about how much you enjoy it.
The Hay is Tiger Woods' redo of the old Peter Hay Golf Course, the short course next to The Lodge at Pebble Beach. A round runs $75, kids 12 and under play free, and it includes a replica of Pebble's famous 7th hole. It's the cheapest way to say you've played golf in Pebble Beach, CA, and nobody has to know which course.
The rest of the peninsula
Del Monte Golf Course opened in 1897 in Monterey and is part of the Pebble Beach Resorts family. It's the most relaxed round in the lineup and the easiest to book.
Pacific Grove Golf Links is the one everybody should play. It's city-owned, and its back nine was designed by Jack Neville, Pebble's original designer, and debuted in 1960. Those holes run through the dunes near the Point Pinos Lighthouse, right where Monterey Bay meets the open Pacific. Locals have called it "the poor man's Pebble Beach" for decades, and they mean it as a compliment. Watch for deer on the fairways. They don't move for anybody.
Poppy Hills Golf Course belongs to the Northern California Golf Association and sits inside the Del Monte Forest, a few minutes from Spyglass. It's a Robert Trent Jones Jr. design, and it's a strong round at a fraction of the resort price.
Bayonet Golf Course and Black Horse Golf Course sit side by side on the former Fort Ord Army base in Seaside. Bayonet is the tougher of the two and a two-time host of the PGA Professional Championship. Black Horse recently converted its fairways to rye and wrapped them in sandscapes. Both are walkable, and playing all 36 in one day is the smartest deal in Seaside.
Monterey Pines is a short par 69 that's open to the public and the military, popular with locals and almost always in good shape.
Laguna Seca Golf Ranch heads inland, where the weather's often sunnier when the coast is socked in. Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Jr. built it together in 1970, through oak-covered hills, with bunkers guarding almost every green. There's a driving range on site, too, which is handy before an early tee time.
Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley is a Robert Muir Graves design that Todd Eckenrode refined in 2015, and you don't need a resort stay to play it. Up the road, Carmel Valley Ranch has a Pete Dye course tied to the resort, so call ahead to see whether outside play is open when you're in town.
The courses you'll only see from the car
A few of the peninsula's most famous courses are private. Cypress Point Club is the big one, and you'll catch glimpses of it from 17 Mile Drive. Monterey Peninsula Country Club, which everybody calls MPCC, has two courses, the Dunes Course and the Shore Course. The Shore Course spent years in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am rotation, so you've probably seen it on TV.
That's about as close as most of us get, and the public courses next door are a pretty good consolation.
How to build a Monterey week
Mix one or two resort rounds with the public golf courses, and the average green fee drops fast. A smart week might look like this:
- Day 1: Pacific Grove to shake off the travel
- Day 2: Spanish Bay, then the bagpiper
- Day 3: Bayonet and Black Horse, all 36
- Day 4: Pebble Beach
- Day 5: Laguna Seca or Poppy Hills, then a sunset round at The Hay
For more ways to keep the bill down, here are our budget golf trip moves. And if you're deciding whether Monterey deserves a full week of PTO, run it through our bucket list test.
Or let someone else build it
The Monterey Slam sends four of you to five of these courses, including Pebble Beach, with seven nights at The Inn at Spanish Bay. A full set of clubs, premium apparel, and $30,000 cash come with it.
Tap In for this round, and keep this list handy for the trip after that.
No purchase necessary to enter or win. See Official Rules for eligibility and free entry details.
