Created by Robert Trent Jones Jnr (with input from Tom Watson and former USGA President Sandy Tatum), The Links at Spanish Bay is laid out on a sizeable area of sandy terrain that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

















Created by Robert Trent Jones Jnr (with input from Tom Watson and former USGA President Sandy Tatum), The Links at Spanish Bay is laid out on a sizeable area of sandy terrain that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

















Created by Robert Trent Jones Jnr (with input from Tom Watson and former USGA President Sandy Tatum), The Links at Spanish Bay is laid out on a sizeable area of sandy terrain that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The links-like layout opened in 1987 when it became the fourth 18-hole course to join the impressive Californian golf portfolio of the Pebble Beach Company, along with Del Monte, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach.
Occupying the oceanfront site of a former sand mine between the Monterey Peninsula Country Club and Asilomar State Beach, the fairways weave through a series of sand dunes, many of which were created during course construction. Consequently, golfers find there’s more than a hint of a Scottish links in the landscape as the round unfolds here. Indeed, Tom Watson’s been quoted as saying: “It’s so much like Scotland, you can almost hear the bagpipes playing.”
The 400-yard right doglegged 6th (“Sandy”) is a feature hole on the front nine and it’s aptly named because no fewer than nine bunkers guard the path to the raised green. On the back nine, the 520-yard 10th (“Half & Half”) is another highlight hole, with three pot bunkers splitting the fairway. The 200-yard 16th (“Dune Hollow”) is a fine par three where left is best to avoid a couple of pot bunkers that guard the green to the right front hand side.
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
California, United States
New Jersey, United States
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
New York, United States
New York, United States
Overall rating
4.0
Overall rating
4.0