46 THE BEST OF MONTEREY BAY ® 2025-2026 CARMEL VALLEY Carmel Valley Ranch Semi-Private This renovated course meanders along the Carmel River and climbs through forested elevations, offering stunning panoramas, fogfree weather and glimpses of local wildlife. Carts required (you’ll see why). 6,117 yards. Designed by Pete Dye. Open to members of any private club. Full-service restaurants, driving range. 1 Old Ranch Road, Carmel. (831) 620-6406, carmelvalleyranch.com The Quail Semi-Private The lush banks of the Carmel River lend a sylvan idyll to a course where fast greens, bluesky summer days, sunny meadows and numerous lakes already combine to create an alluring golf setting. The course isn’t as difficult as some others in the region, but watch out for the water hazards. 6,500 yards. Original design by Robert Muir Graves. Updated design by Todd Eckenrode. Full-service restaurants and bar, driving range. 8205 Valley Greens Drive, Carmel Valley. (831) 620-8808, quaillodge.com MONTEREY Del Monte Golf Course Public The Monterey Peninsula is home to a rich golfing tradition, and this is where it all started back in 1897. And thanks to thrifty dusk and member rates, you don’t have to be rich to play. Del Monte may also have been the first in the world to feature green fairways yearround and is also the oldest continuouslyoperating course west of the Mississippi. More forgiving than most, it is also the cheapest of the Pebble Beach Resorts courses. 6,365 yards. Designed by Charles Maud. Restaurant and bar. 1300 Sylvan Road, Monterey. (831) 373-2700, pebblebeach.com Laguna Seca Golf Ranch Public A challenging course noted for its majestic oaks, numerous bunkers and elevated tees. Its warm inland microclimate inspires locals to call it “the sunshine course.” Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Sr. teamed up to design Laguna Seca and—unfortunately for hackers—a tough 15th hole featuring two water hazards that demand a technical drive and a couple of long irons just to hit the dance floor. 6,226 yards, par-71. Restaurant. Practice range. 10520 York Road, off Highway 68, Monterey. (831) 373-3701, lagunasecagolf.com Golf and the Monterey Peninsula. The two are synonymous, thanks largely to legendary moments at Pebble Beach Golf Links forged by names like Nicklaus, Watson and Woods. For most golfers, it is a bucket list course. But stopping there would be to miss out on the area’s many other extraordinary fields of play. Spyglass Hill is perhaps more challenging, also offering ocean views. In fact, spectacular scenery is part of the experience from Pebble Beach’s Links at Spanish Bay to Pacific Grove Golf Links and Seaside’s Bayonet and Black Horse. To walk the fairways of Del Monte Golf Course is to step back in time. It is the oldest course in continuous operation west of the Mississippi. Poppy Hills is forested serenity. The Hay is nine holes of par-3 fun. There’s much more, of course. For golfers, Monterey County offers it all. GOLF Pacific Grove Golf Links
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