The #7 golf course on my list has a special place in my heart. A few years ago I took my dad on a trip to the Monterey Peninsula and we had one day to play golf. I don't much care for Spanish Bay and I had always wanted to play Spyglass Hill. Unlike Pebble Beach, you can book tee times in advance...so I booked it. I was excited to play, but honestly it exceeded my expectations in every way. It was love at first sight and if the green fees weren't so darn expensive I would have played this course more. Currently the fees are $415 for 18 holes walking, a cart is an additional $65. I am hopeful I'll make time to get back in a few years...since it is one of my all time favorites.

It's hard to pin point exactly how to describe Spyglass Hill. There really isn't another golf course like it. Pebble Beach just down the street has been given the moniker of "the greatest meeting of land and see", that may be...but Spyglass is dubbed, "the greatest meeting of sand and trees" and that is undisputed. I have also heard comparisons to Pine Valley by the sea meets Augusta National. Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed Spyglass in 1966, but it feels like it's been there for 100 years.

The majority of golf courses are designed to save the "wow' holes or "signature holes" for last. The opposite is true at Spyglass. The first five holes are the signature holes and by far the most photographed. They play down along ocean side dunes before the golf course heads up the hill and back into the Del Monte Forrest for the final 13 holes. There are lots of great golf courses in this area, but Spyglass is considered by many the most challenging.

An aerial view of the dunes holes at Spyglass. The 2nd hole on top; 3rd green on the far right; 4th hole featured at the bottom from right to left; and just a glimpse of the 5th tee on the left.



The opening hole at Spyglass is one of my all time favorite opening holes. Spyglass has excellent Par 5's and it's best is up first. This hole is a long par 5 down hill that boomerangs left toward the ocean. On the tee you need to pick a tree in the distance and swing away, aiming down the left side of this hole from the tee will put you down the right side of the fairway in good position...you won't be able to see your ball land.



The next shot is why this hole is so great. You can lay up down the right side in front of the massive bunker complex or go for the green that keeps turning behind forest. If you go for the green, you will have to hit your ball over the trees on the left side of the fairway and over a handful of bunkers. What a great start to an excellent golf course.



The second hole is a short 349 yard par 4 that narrows the farther you hit it. A layup to 220 here leaves you with a flat lie at the base of the hill and 125 yards into the hole.



I mentioned the great par 5's at Spyglass, but it also has 4 really good par 3's. I guess if you are in the Top 10 public courses in America, you are not going to have many weaknesses. The 3rd hole below is the most photographed. This hole is 170 yards downhill but always into an ocean breeze so it doesn't play as downhill as you would think. Views here are fantastic with Cypress Point to the left, MPCC to the right and ocean right ahead.



The 370 yard 4th hole is the best hole at Spyglass and it is easily the most photographed (see aerial photo above). From inspirational office posters to covers of golf magazines it is a stunner. Robert Trent Jones called it the best par 4 he's ever built. The hole dog legs from right to left and has a crazy banana shaped green. 50 yards long and only 10 yards wide. Pin placement here is key and should dictate where you want to place your tee shot for the best angle. If the pin is in front, lay up short and steady you are good from most angles. If it's in the back, a huge mound in front of the green forces you to hit it farther down the fairway to have a much easier shot into the green.



The front 9 gets most of the love on this course, but I love the back 9. The 562 yard Par 5 11th is another strong golf hole, framed by forest, you will need to cut the dog leg if you want to reach this one in two. Aggressive bunkering makes you think about your approach. If you are not going for it you will need to play your second shot 125 yards+ short of the green to avoid the hazards.



A view from the 11th green back down the fairway



The 12th hole is a scenic but dangerous Par 3. Although not long, 170 yards from the tips, this hole faces the ocean much like the 3rd hole. Trees here obstruct the view and lull you into believing the hurting wind is not there, but it usually is and it likes to knock those shots into the pond.



The 14th is the last Par 5 on the golf course. This 560 yard S shaped double dog-leg is a for sure 3 shot hole. Here you can see the scenic pond in front of the green.



The 15th is another scenic par 3 with a pond fronting the green, this time on the right side. I love good short Par 3's and this one is just 130 yards from the tips and is a beautiful golf hole. This hole is actually one of my personal favorite golf holes in the world. Not that it is the best par 3 I have every played, it isn't. However, I played Spyglass with my dad a couple years before he couldn't play golf anymore. He is one of the big reasons I love the game as much as I do. For whatever reason, my memory of him knocking on this green is etched into my brain as one of my clearest golf memories.



16 and 17 are the best par 4's on the back 9 and they couldn't be more different. 16 is the hardest hole on the golf course. It is a long demanding 476 yard Par 4 that dog-legs sharply right. What makes this hole so difficult is if you want to hit driver you will need to hit a cut around the large grabby tree protecting the dog-leg. A straight drive here sends you deep into the woods.

View from the 16th fairway, you can see that troublesome tree protecting the turn



View from 16th fairway, now past the tree. Even a perfect shot to this spot leaves you with a tough approach with a long iron and bunkers on both sides of the green. Par is like a birdie on this hole.



17 is a short 325 yard dog-leg left. You will need to hook it around the forest to get close to the green, otherwise a mid iron off the tee leaves you in a good position to attack the green surrounded on all sides by bunkers.



Spyglass is one of America's best golf courses, but with Cypress Point, Pebble Beach and MPCC within shouting distance it isn't even the hottest girl in it's own neighborhood. But Spyglass is a keeper, a pristine masterpiece routed over beautiful and natural terrain that may be the most challenging test of golf in the area. It's a bucket list course, there is nothing else like it in the world. Plan a trip and play it...you will never regret it.