Pebble Beach Golf Links: Golf in Pebble Beach, California

Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California — it has no city government of its own. The resort's own directions tool names three airports: Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). From MRY, the resort's own directions read: "Exit the airport and turn right onto Highway 68 West. Proceed on Highway 68 until it merges with Highway 1 South. Once on Highway 1 South, take the 68 West (Pebble Beach/ Pacific Grove) exit. At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit and bear to the right onto 17-Mile Drive, then enter through the Pebble Beach gate. After passing through the guard gate, branch left and follow 17-Mile Drive approximately 2.5 miles to Palmero Way. Make a left turn on Palmero Way and follow the signs to Pebble Beach Golf Links." From SJC and from SFO, the resort gives the same route: Highway 101 South to the Highway 156/Monterey Peninsula exit, then Highway 156 to Castroville/Highway 1 South, then Highway 1 South approximately 18 miles to the 68 West (Pebble Beach/Pacific Grove) exit, then at the traffic circle the 2nd exit onto 17-Mile Drive, through the Pebble Beach gate. The resort's directions page gives travel times for these routes, not mileages beyond the two figures quoted above; neither the travel times nor any third-party mileage estimate for the full airport-to-resort distance is republished here.

Pebble Beach Golf Links is open to the public — Golf Digest's own label for it is "Public," and it is ranked No. 1 on Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Public Courses (published May 27, 2025) — but the operator's own course notice states: "Tee times at Pebble Beach Golf Links are subject to a hotel stay requirement." Guests of Pebble Beach Resorts can reserve a tee time up to 18 months in advance, subject to a minimum-stay requirement. The resort's own FAQ does not publish a fixed number of nights for that minimum stay and asks guests to inquire at booking; a minimum stay is also required for any weekend stay. Anyone not staying at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay, or Casa Palmero can reserve a tee time only 24 hours in advance, subject to availability — the resort's FAQ states this twice, in identical substance: "Non-guests can only reserve tee times 24 hours in advance," and, in its golf-booking guidelines, "Non-Resort guests may book ... Pebble Beach Golf Links 1 day in advance." There is no 48-hour option; some secondary sources describing this course have reported one, but the resort's own wording gives only the 24-hour figure. Room-booking windows differ by hotel: guests of The Lodge at Pebble Beach and The Inn at Spanish Bay can book rooms up to 18 months ahead, while Casa Palmero guests can book rooms up to 12 months ahead. On the green fee itself: the resort's most recently archived rate table, dated for the season that ran April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, is no longer current, and no operator-published table for the current season could be found. Two secondary sources (golfinspired.com and thegolfnewsnet.com), writing in February 2026, reported that the fee would rise to $695 for the season running April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, but no operator-published rate table confirms that figure. That same archived table structured the fee for non-resort guests to always include a mandatory cart fee, charged per person, in addition to the green fee — a structural rule, not a dated price, and it is not known whether it still applies to the current season's table.

Jack Neville and Douglas Grant designed Pebble Beach Golf Links, which opened February 22, 1919. It has hosted the U.S. Open six times — 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010, and 2019 — and is scheduled to host it again in 2027, per the operator's own standing site navigation. It has also hosted the PGA Championship (1977), the U.S. Amateur (1929, 1947, 1961, 1999, 2018), the U.S. Women's Amateur (1940, 1948), the U.S. Women's Open (2023), and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am every year since 1947. On Golf Digest's California Best in State 2025-'26 ranking it sits at #2, labelled "Public," one position behind #1 Cypress Point Club, labelled "Private" — the only position skipped. It is separately ranked No. 1 on Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Public Courses, a distinct ranking published May 27, 2025.

Three hotels make up Pebble Beach Resorts: The Lodge at Pebble Beach, at 1700 17-Mile Drive; The Inn at Spanish Bay, at 2700 17-Mile Drive; and Casa Palmero, a Mediterranean-style property on the resort grounds. Guests of The Lodge and The Inn can book rooms up to 18 months ahead; Casa Palmero guests up to 12 months ahead. Stillwater Bar & Grill, at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, 1700 17-Mile Drive, serves California Coastal Cuisine — the resort's own dining page describes "fresh and sustainable seafood to Prime Angus cuts" overlooking Stillwater Cove and the 18th hole. Roy's at Pebble Beach, at The Inn at Spanish Bay, 2700 17-Mile Drive, is a Hawaiian-Fusion restaurant. Both descriptions come from archived operator pages dated within the last year; neither page states whether the restaurant is currently open for service, and this guide makes no such claim about either one.

Spyglass Hill Golf Course, also part of Pebble Beach Resorts, sits at #10 on the same Golf Digest California Best in State 2025-'26 list, also labelled "Public." Robert Trent Jones, Sr. designed it, and it opened in 1966. The resort's own booking guidelines give non-resort guests a far more forgiving window here than at Pebble Beach Golf Links: "Non-Resort guests may book ... Spyglass Hill Golf Course up to 3 months in advance."