Pacific Grove Golf Links

H. Chandler Egan (US Amateur champion) designed the original inland front nine in 1932, shaped by 200 laborers and opened with classic out-and-back figure-eight routing. In 1960 Jack Neville, the same amateur architect who paired with Douglas Grant to design Pebble Beach Golf Links, added a genuine seaside back nine along the Monterey coastline. The result is the 'Poor Man's Pebble Beach' five miles north of its famous cousin. The front is parkland muni; the back nine plays out to Point Pinos lighthouse and the Pacific, with ice-plant roughs, exposed fescue, and wind that kicks up reliably every afternoon. On a clear day, the views from the 12th through 18th holes rival Pebble's. Green fees run $53 weekday / $58 weekend for 18 holes, Golf Digest named it #4 on its Best Bang for Your Buck list. The must-play companion round for any Monterey trip when the group doesn't have Pebble-level budget for every card.