The Ultimate Pebble Beach Front Nine: A Fan-Built Dream Course Across Four Legendary Layouts
A few years back, Pebble Beach Resorts ran a fun social media experiment: instead of picking their own "best of" list, they let fans vote, hole by hole, on their favorite from among the resort's four championship courses — Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, The Links at Spanish Bay, and Del Monte Golf Course. Eighteen weeks, eighteen votes, one imaginary "Dream 18."
The results lean heavily on Spyglass Hill's opening stretch and Pebble Beach's iconic closing run through the front nine — which, if you've ever played either course, will not surprise you one bit. Here's a fresh look at how that fantasy front nine shakes out, and why each hole earned its spot.
Hole 1: Spyglass Hill, Par-5
Spyglass Hill doesn't ease you in. The opening hole plays through a narrow corridor of Monterey pines before the fairway drops and bends left, revealing the green tucked against a scattering of bunkers with the Pacific stretched out behind it. It's the kind of first-tee reveal that makes you forget you're nervous about the round ahead — right up until you have to actually hit the shot.
Hole 2: Spyglass Hill, Par-4
A short, uphill dogleg that plays longer than the scorecard suggests thanks to elevation change and coastal wind. The green sits at an angle to the fairway, which punishes anything hit from the wrong side. But the reward for getting through it clean is one of the better views on the entire property — Cypress Point in one direction, the dunes of Spyglass's third, fourth, and fifth holes in another.
Hole 3: Spyglass Hill, Par-3
This is the hole that shows up in everyone's course photos, and for good reason. The tee sits partway up a dune, forcing a downhill shot into a small, well-guarded green. Add in the ocean breeze that routinely knocks slightly-off shots sideways into the surrounding sand, and you've got a hole that photographs beautifully and plays brutally.
Hole 4: Spyglass Hill, Par-4
Robert Trent Jones Sr., the course's original designer, reportedly considered this his favorite hole of his own career. The tee shot has to carry a stretch of dunes to reach the fairway, and the approach funnels into a green that's long and unusually narrow — a target that rewards precision far more than power.
Hole 5: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Par-3
Jack Nicklaus designed this hole, which opened for play in the late 1990s and quickly became one of the most talked-about par-3s on the property. It plays toward a green set right against a cliff edge, favoring a shaped shot that holds against the wind coming off the water.
Hole 6: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Par-5
The drive here plays straight at the ocean before the hole turns uphill along a rocky cliff face. Climb to the fairway on the other side and you're rewarded with one of the better panoramic views on the course — Carmel Beach on one side, Stillwater Cove and the closing holes on the other.
Hole 7: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Par-3
Famously the shortest hole on the PGA Tour rotation, this tiny par-3 sits at the tip of a point jutting into the ocean, which means the wind can turn a routine wedge shot into one of the hardest shots in golf. On a calm day, it's a formality. On a windy one, it's become the subject of golf legend for decades.
Hole 8: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Par-4
A blind tee shot sets up what many consider the best approach shot in golf — a long carry over a cliffside chasm to a green protected by bunkers on all sides. Miss short, and the ball doesn't roll back to you.
Hole 9: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Par-4
A long, demanding closer to the front nine that plays downhill along Carmel Beach, with a deep, narrow green tucked against the cliffs. It's one of the toughest greens to hit in regulation anywhere on the property, and one of the most photographed holes during tournament week for exactly that reason.
Why This Matters If You're Planning a Trip
What jumps out when you look at this list is how much of the front nine's character comes from just two courses: Spyglass Hill's dune-carved opening stretch and Pebble Beach's cliffside closing run. If you're building an itinerary for the Monterey Peninsula, that's a strong argument for playing both courses rather than treating Spyglass as an afterthought to the main event.
It's also a reminder of just how visually dramatic these holes are — which is exactly the kind of round that deserves more than a few grainy phone photos snapped between shots. If you're making the trip out to play any combination of these holes, it's worth booking a session with TeeTimePhotos.com so you actually have proof of the swing, the scenery, and the group that made the trip worth it.
We've shot plenty of rounds on both of these courses, and the truth is that photos taken by someone who knows exactly where to stand on the third tee at Spyglass or the ninth fairway at Pebble Beach look nothing like what you'll get from a rushed selfie between shots. If your Monterey Peninsula trip includes any of these nine holes, check out TeeTimePhotos.com for available photographers and packages before you go — it's a lot easier to book ahead of time than to wish you had afterward.