Spyglass Hill

Following our round at Pebble Beach, we took advantage of a replay rate and went up the road to tee it up at Spyglass Hill. This was a very late addition to what has already been a memorable trip. If given the opportunity to play these courses, you grasp it with both hands.

There are four words that come to mind when describing Spyglass...
1. Immaculate
2. Beautiful
3. Difficult
4. LONG!

Dramatic, demanding and beautifully designed, Spyglass is a modern masterpiece. The contrast in style between rolling dunes, ocean vistas and towering pines is a combination that is rarely found in a single golf experience.

Many golf courses are becoming obsolete with the latest technology. Not Spyglass! While at sea level, the air is heavy and the ground soft, meaning an extra club was required. Since first opening on March 11 1966, Spyglass Hill hosts the annual AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and has proven to be one of the most difficult courses for the players on the PGA Tour.

The opening five holes sweep down towards the shoreline and provide amazing views and strategic options when playing each shot. Pictured above, the round begins with a blind drive, downhill on a sweeping par five.

It is truly one of the best opening holes one could imagine playing. Another early highlight was the fourth hole (pictured to the right). This is course designed, Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s favourite par four because of its options. If the pin is in the back then the approach should be played from the right side of the fairway. If in the front (where it was when we played), then the left side is the better angle. Of course, I pulled by tee shot into the sand and ice plant. The green, which is encircled by ice plant, is Spyglass Hill's most photographed hole. The size of the fourth green has to be seen to be believed!

Following the par three 5th, we entered a golf course boarded by enormous pines through the Del Monte forest and never left it. These are truly beautiful golf holes and very different to what we have experienced thus far. While hilly, Spyglass is a spectacular and terrific walk. During the course of the later half of the back 9, there are some stunning houses set back in the trees overlooking the fairways. I could imagine that being a "small" holiday house, enjoying a couple of wines on a decking with amazing views!

While I was playing well, hitting three and four irons into small raised greens surrounded by bunkers takes its toll on you throughout the round. Although being just 15 feet from the pin, quite often the ball will finish in greenside rough, with a daunting chip to a severely sloping green. While it felt like six shots better, I finished with an 82 (par 72) or 31 Stableford points.

If given the opportunity to play at Spyglass Hill, take it with open arms and be prepared to be bruised and battered by a beautiful yet demanding golf course. I loved it!