7 Day California Coast Golf Itinerary
No stretch of coast on earth packs as much great public golf into so few miles as the Monterey Peninsula. Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill share a single resort, Alister MacKenzie's Pasatiempo waits a short drive up the bay, and Bayonet, Black Horse and Poppy Hills round out a week with no weak links. This is the seven day plan to play five of California's finest from one comfortable base, with indicative 2026 green fees and drive times.
Photograph: Pebble Beach Golf Links, via Google.
Who this trip suits
This is the bucket list week of American public golf, built for the group or couple who want Pebble Beach at its heart and four more genuinely great courses around it, all within a short drive of one base. The Monterey Peninsula concentrates Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Bayonet and Black Horse and Poppy Hills within twenty minutes of each other, with MacKenzie's Pasatiempo a forty minute run up the coast at Santa Cruz, so you settle into Monterey, Carmel or Pacific Grove and never face a long transfer. It suits keen golfers chasing the famous coastal holes, and the courses flex by tee for mixed groups.
The decision that shapes the week is Pebble Beach. The surest route onto the Links is to stay at a Pebble Beach Resorts hotel, which unlocks advance tee times, so book the stay and the Pebble round first and build the rest of the week around it. One note on the cluster: the famous Cypress Point Club is strictly private and cannot be booked, and the resort's Links at Spanish Bay is closed for a Gil Hanse rebuild and is not due to reopen until 2027, so this week is built from the courses you can actually play in 2026.
The 7 day plan
Arrive on the Monterey Peninsula
Fly into Monterey Regional for the shortest hop, or San Jose and San Francisco for more flights and a scenic drive south. Settle into your base in Monterey, Carmel or Pacific Grove, walk Cannery Row or the Carmel beach and let the Pacific air clear the journey before five rounds. Pebble Beach is the round to lock first, so confirm your tee times and the order with your host or planner over dinner.
Spyglass Hill Golf Course
Warm up with the course many locals rate the toughest on the peninsula. Robert Trent Jones senior's Spyglass Hill, opened in 1966, starts with five glorious holes through the Spanish Bay dunes before turning inland into the Del Monte forest for a long, demanding stretch among the pines. It is a stern, beautiful examination and a fitting prelude to Pebble. Indicative 2026 green fees are from around 525 dollars; play it from a sensible tee and enjoy the variety.
Pebble Beach Golf Links
The centrepiece of the week, and one of the great days in golf. Jack Neville and Douglas Grant routed Pebble Beach Golf Links along the cliffs of Carmel Bay in 1919, and more than a century on it remains the finest meeting of golf and ocean in the game, host to the US Open and the AT and T Pebble Beach Pro Am. The cliffside stretch from the 4th to the 10th and the famous seaside 7th and 18th are worth the trip alone. Indicative 2026 green fees are from around 695 dollars for resort guests; savour every hole.
Bayonet and Black Horse
A short drive to Seaside brings two excellent and well priced courses built on the former Fort Ord, the Bayonet and the Black Horse, both dating to the 1950s and later modernised. The Bayonet is the longer, tighter test, famous for the run of doglegs known as Combat Corner, while the Black Horse offers wide ocean views from the higher ground. After two marquee rounds this is terrific, honest golf at a fraction of the price. Indicative 2026 green fees are from around 145 dollars; pick either course or play both.
Pasatiempo Golf Club
Drive about forty minutes north around the bay to Santa Cruz for Pasatiempo, the Alister MacKenzie design from 1929 that the great architect loved so much he lived beside it, and which many rate above even his Cypress Point and Augusta National. The bold bunkering, the canyon crossings and the famous, fiercely contoured 16th green make it a masterclass in strategic design. Indicative 2026 green fees are from around 275 dollars; a connoisseur's day and a welcome change of scene.
Poppy Hills Golf Course
Close the golf back in the Del Monte forest at Poppy Hills, the Robert Trent Jones junior course owned by the Northern California Golf Association and rebuilt in a sand capped restoration completed in 2014 that firmed up the turf and widened the corridors. It is a relaxed, beautifully kept walk among the pines and the best value round on the peninsula, with twilight rates from around 75 dollars and higher fees in peak season. Indicative figures, so confirm directly; a fine, low key finish.
Monterey, then fly home
Enjoy a last easy morning, the 17 Mile Drive, the Monterey Bay Aquarium or a stroll through Carmel before the transfer to the airport. If your flight is late or you have added a day, the historic Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey, the oldest course in continuous play west of the Mississippi, makes an easy extra round. Either way, you leave having played five of the best courses in California from a single coastal base. Confirm your departure logistics with your planner the evening before.
Green fees, drive times and logistics
| Round | Indicative 2026 fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spyglass Hill | From around 525 dollars | In Pebble Beach; resort guest priority for tee times |
| Pebble Beach Golf Links | From around 695 dollars | Resort guests book ahead; non guests only up to 24 hours out |
| Bayonet and Black Horse | From around 145 dollars | About 15 minutes at Seaside; two courses to choose from |
| Pasatiempo | From around 275 dollars | About 40 minutes north at Santa Cruz |
| Poppy Hills | Twilight from around 75 dollars | In Pebble Beach; higher in peak season, the value round |
Green fees and drive times verified indicatively in June 2026 from course and resort listings; they vary by season and change without notice, so always confirm current rates and availability directly before booking. The Links at Spanish Bay is closed for renovation until 2027 and Cypress Point is private. Find a Monterey base.
When to go and where to stay
Play the trip in late spring or early autumn, roughly April to June or September to October, for the Monterey Peninsula's best balance of dry, mild weather and clearer skies, accepting peak fees and busy tee sheets, or take quieter, cheaper winter if you accept the chance of rain. The famous coastal fog is most common on summer mornings and usually burns off by midday, so a relaxed first tee time helps. To play Pebble Beach with certainty, stay inside the resort at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, The Inn at Spanish Bay or Casa Palmero, which unlocks advance tee times across the resort courses; for value, base in Monterey, Carmel or Pacific Grove and drive the short hops. The Pacific stays cool all year, so pack layers and waterproofs whatever the forecast.
Plan your California coast golf week
We secure the Pebble Beach resort stay that unlocks the tee times, line up Spyglass, Pasatiempo, Bayonet and Black Horse and Poppy Hills in the right order, and arrange the transfers so the week runs smoothly. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
California coast itinerary questions
What is the best 7 day golf itinerary on the California coast?
Base the week on the Monterey Peninsula, the densest cluster of great public golf in America. Open at Spyglass Hill, play the marquee round at Pebble Beach Golf Links, take a day trip to Alister MacKenzie's Pasatiempo in Santa Cruz, then add Bayonet and Black Horse at Seaside and the NCGA's Poppy Hills. One base in Monterey, Carmel or Pacific Grove covers it all with short drives. Always confirm current tee times and fees directly before booking.
How much does a Monterey Peninsula golf trip cost in green fees?
Five rounds on this route run roughly 1,700 to 2,000 dollars per golfer in peak 2026 green fees, led by Pebble Beach near 695 dollars and Spyglass Hill near 525 dollars, with Pasatiempo around 275, Bayonet and Black Horse near 145 and Poppy Hills lower again, especially at twilight. Resort packages and quieter seasons change the total. These are indicative figures, so always confirm current fees directly before booking.
How do you get a tee time at Pebble Beach?
The surest way onto Pebble Beach Golf Links is to stay at a Pebble Beach Resorts hotel, which lets you reserve tee times well in advance as part of your stay. Non guests can book only up to 24 hours ahead and subject to availability, which is rarely a sure thing in peak season. Build the week around your Pebble tee time and the rest of the Monterey courses fall into place. Always confirm current booking rules directly before booking.
When is the best time for a golf trip to the Monterey Peninsula?
Late spring and early autumn, roughly April to June and September to October, give the Monterey Peninsula its best balance of dry, mild weather and clearer skies, while summer brings the famous coastal fog and the peak crowds and rates. Winter is quieter and can be wet but offers lower green fees. The Pacific is cool year round, so pack layers whenever you travel. Always confirm current seasonal rates directly before booking.
Related
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Indicative green fees and drive times verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.