Gil Hanse and his team have partnered with the Pebble Beach Company to re-design the Links at … [+]
The Links at Spanish Bay boasts tremendous ocean views on California’s Monterey Peninsula, but the golf course isn’t held in the same esteem as its neighbors in the Pebble Beach golf portfolio: Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill.
That could be changing, as Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner and the Hanse Golf Course Design team have partnered to reimagine the layout, which opened in 1987 and was originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., eight-time major champion Tom Watson, and former USGA President Sandy Tatum.
“The Links at Spanish Bay possesses nearly every raw element you’d want in a golf course, from expansive ocean views to rolling, sandy terrain,” said Hanse. “With these natural attributes already in place, our team will have a significant head start on delivering a final product that will be in the top echelon of ‘must play’ courses.”
Pebble Beach Golf Links is ranked No. 1 in Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Public courses, with Spyglass ranked 12th and Spanish Bay at No. 48.
The Links at Spanish Bay boasts ocean views throughout.
Hanse and his team have become well-known for major restoration and redesign projects, among them Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, which hosted the 2023 U.S. Open, the Olympic Club in San Francisco, Baltusrol and Plainfield (New Jersey), Sleepy Hollow and Winged Foot (New York), Oakmont, Merion and Aronimink (Pennsylvania), and Yale Golf Course (Connecticut).
Hanse’s highly-regarded new course designs include Castle Stuart in Scotland, Streamsong Resort’s Black Course, the Ohoopee Match Club in Georgia, the Olympic Golf Course in Brazil, and the East Course at the new PGA Frisco property in Texas.
Spanish Bay has long been regarded as the third-best course in the Pebble Beach portfolio, but Hanse has shown the impact a new design can have at a prominent destination golf property. At the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, his recent overhaul of the No. 4 course has been met by rave reviews.
Spanish Bay is generally considered a distant third to the other two primary Pebble Beach courses.
A timeline for the project hasn’t yet been announced.
Spanish Bay currently has a $335 playing fee for resort guests.
