Playing two of the best golf courses in the world is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I was beyond excited. Pebble Beach Links is commonly regarded as one of the top 3 courses in the world and Spyglass Hill is not far behind. First up was Spyglass Hill.
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. Adrie decided to walk both courses with us and take pictures. This was the one time I would not begrudge her taking as many photos as she normally does (which is a ridiculous amount!).
The first hole at Spyglass is one of the best I have ever seen or played – a stunning downhill par 5 dogleg to the left. As you get to the turn the ocean appears below the first green and is framed by cypress trees either side. This was going to be a good day.
My playing companions were rather interesting. Paul is an ex-professional baseball player who also happened to be a scratch golfer. David, a businessman, golf course owner and passionate Trump supporter was playing with his wife, but could not stop talking about himself. At least my caddie was friendly and very chilled. He gave some good advice too, if only I could hit a barn door with some of my drives. That said, I didn’t play too badly considering I haven’t played golf in a while. There were a few shots that didn’t make it onto the score card, but nobody was policing this and I was there to enjoy the day.
Afterwards there was no better place to chill than outside drinking beers and listening to the bagpiper again. The bagpiper puts the golf course to sleep in Scottish tradition each night, as he has done since the hotel opened.
In the bay behind the hotel I noticed a puff of “smoke”; then a few more. The bay was full of whales happily chilling out quite close to shore. It felt like we had come full circle in our trip. Just over six months ago we started out on a boat leaving from Punta Arenas to Antarctica and we finished on a boat at Puntarenas after diving Cocos Island. We started out with whale and seal watching and now a couple of whales and seals wished us farewell. We kicked things off with champagne so we kind of had to end with it…
Our last day of holiday arrived and it also meant the big one – golf at Pebble Beach Links. What a way to end our trip.
Pebble Beach is one of the best courses in the world. It carefully hugs the coastline, which is quite precipitous in parts and provides some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere in the world.
I am here!
I was slightly nervous but decided to relax and enjoy the round. It did help that my first tee was remarkably good, which put me at ease. It also helped that I was putting for birdie on the first hole and everyone else had already hit a few wayward shots. There was no pressure.
My playing partners were also a lot more relaxed than yesterday. Bob was so excited about playing here that he couldn’t quite contain himself. Paul and Peter were a father/son combo.
What followed over the next five hours was some of the most beautiful and challenging golf courses I have ever play. My game wasn’t too bad and my caddie was once again superb with his numbers and advice. While the scores weren’t as spectacular as the scenery, it was just such a pleasure playing this course.
Walking down the iconic 18th was an absolute joy. We had a small gallery from the hotel watching over the 18th green and taking video and photos. We felt vaguely professional and there was even a small ripple of applause as the last putt rolled in. Adrie again took a million photos which I am very thankful about.
Before teeing off on the 18th
This has to be the prettiest hole in golf
After a quick shower we were on the road heading for the airport. Our holiday was over. Words cannot describe what an amazing trip this has been but we were just as excited to get back home.