The grins never went away all day.
This was the day we had all been waiting for. The three courses we had played before were amazing in their own right, but this was the day we were going to play the famed Pebble Beach Golf Course.
Nobody complained about the early alarm. While our tee time wasn’t until 10:00, we wanted to get their early to soak it all in and take advantage of our access to the training center. Due to our experience with the hotel breakfast the previous day, we decided to skip the free hotel breakfast and head off to a nearby Denny’s to get a more filling and satisfying breakfast to fuel up for the day. We quickly packed our stuff, checked out and headed out for breakfast.
Pebble Beach Check-in
The short drive from Monterey to Pebble Beach was scenic, though we we only had the golf course on our mind. When we arrived we gathered our gear and checked in for our round. With the $495 per person green fee, you also get to use of the training center. It’s a short shuttle bus drive away and contains a driving range, a chipping green, and bunker practice area. The practice putting green was down by the first tee just outside the pro shop.
At the training center we each hit a pyramid of golf balls and worked on our game. We walked through the locker room and saw the lockers of the big name professionals who had won there. While we are all far from professionals, we certainly felt like ones. Nobody could wipe the grins off our faces. This was what the trip was all about. I still don’t know how they put that tower of balls together, but it certainly looks cool!
Pebble Beach
Our tee time rolled around in no time. Our group was called to the first tee and the nerves start to kick in. There are webcams for the first hole. We had told friends out tee times. The pressure was on!
Up until our tee time the skies had looked somewhat overcast and menacing. As we stood on the tee the skies cleared and the sun came out. It was easily the best weather we had all week.
As part of our tee time, I had reserved a forecaddie. None of us had ever played with a caddie and given how much we were paying for the tee times, adding a little more to get the full experience seemed like it would make the experience that much more special.
A forecaddie doesn’t carry your bags but can help you watch your ball, give you advice on where to place your shots, tend the flag and help read the greens. Our caddie, Matt, was awesome. He was funny as can be and boy could he read the greens! We didn’t trust him nearly enough because the ball went exactly how he said it would. Next time we’ll listen!
While I found the first couple holes to be nothing special, nearly every hole after that is amazing. I managed to find nearly every bunker on the course. I even managed to get two 1’s on the same hole (an 11) but I was still enjoying every second.
The holes you may remember seeing on TV are even more amazing in person. There are hills, cliffs, and backdrops that you have to see in person to believe.
Sadly, our day of feeling like professionals had to come to an end. The iconic 18th hole is more amazing and intimidating in person, but once our round was complete, we received our special Pebble Beach bag tags to commemorate the day. We said goodbye to our caddie Matt and got the full treatment of getting the grass blown off our shoes with compressed air by one of the valets. He even replaced one of the broken spikes on my shoes which I’m sure accounted for my play…. yeah, right!
The Inn at Spanish Bay
We loaded up the minivan and it was a short drive down 17 Mile Drive past countless multimillion dollar mansions and breathtaking ocean views to the Inn as Spanish Bay where we would be spending the next two nights in style.
My father and I had stayed in this hotel the first time we played Pebble Beach so we knew we were in for a VERY nice hotel. We left the car with the valet and checked in. Our rooms weren’t connecting but were next to each other. Each room was beautiful and spacious. They even had a gas fireplace! The hotel comes with a mandatory resort charge with include tipping, so tips are not expected for valet and other services. While I’m not a fan of the mandatory fee, it was a relief not to have to stress about having the right sized bills on hand all the time.
After settling into the room it was getting close to sunset. At this property there is a nightly ceremony with bagpipes at sunset. We went walking around the resort along the golf course and followed the sound of the bagpipes to catch a little bit of the show.
After that we headed into Cannery Row to get some dinner and bask in glory of the day. To this day we all have such vivid and fond memories that it still brings smiles to our faces.
There would be no rest for the weary as we had Spyglass Hill at 8am the following morning!
Tomatico Travels 
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