Del Monte Golf Course — Attraction in Monterey

I went to Del Monte never playing here before. I have to say, it’s extremely expensive for what you get.. they should not be charging resort type rates for this club. Very old school traditional course, up and down, every hole is basically the same. I have played Pebbles other courses, Spyglass, Spanish Bay, and Pebble itself and all of those are amazing courses and well worth the extra money.. don’t waste your time at this place.

I also was told I would get a rental set that fits my playing style when I booked the reservation, (Men’s Left Hand, Stiff Shaft). My own clubs have X Stiff shafts. I get to the course and find out that they don’t even carry a Left Hand Stiff Shaft rental. Very disappointing... had to play with regular shafts. They did comp the rental, which was nice.. but the clubs just didn’t fit my playing style. I wish they had comped by round as well, because anyone that is an avid golfer can attest that it would just be a huge bummer to be used to hitting X Stiff shafts and then have to hit regulars, it was like hitting a childrens set.

I honestly would have left when I got there, had it not been that it was my grand fathers 85th birthday and I was treating him to a round. And he did enjoy it, so that is all that mattered to me at the end of the day. The guys we played with were fantastic as well.

The course just did not meet any of my expectations whatsoever, and the rental club situation was a cherry on top. I’ll pay double/triple to play at Pebble’s other...

This is a solid, respectable golf course. There are very few shot that require a lot of strategy - just gip it and rip it (as they say).

The greens and fairways were in perfect condition (although it was a soft for us today). Beware of the greens that slope from back to front - our group had 5 or 6 putts from above the hole that went off the front of the green.

The rough was deep, although they had just mowed. One of my partners lost a couple of balls even though he missed the fairway by only a few yards. (I wasn't cursed with that problem, thankfully - I only lost one ball by hitting it into someone's yard: OB).

There are no water hazard. But there is OB on many holes - it seems that most of the OB was along the left.

This is a Pebble Beach property, of course. The staff was outstanding. This place is like Disneyworld for, well, the filthy rich. Del Monte does not attract that crowd - it seems to be mostly average joes. But the staff is the same people who help you at the big, beautiful golf courses on the property. Honestly, interacting with the staff is almost enough to recommend this course all by itself, even if the golf were not good. But the golf is fine.

The prices are a little high to recommend to the average, local duffer. But if you are in Monterey to experience all the golf this wonderland has to offer, this should be on...

First and foremost, the staff was unbelievably professional. Second to none, so my hats off to everyone. The practice putting and chipping areas are in great shape but it lacks a range. The course design is a lot of fun and I went into the round thinking I’d be able to shoot low due to it’s short length, but I was mistaken. The speed of the greens make up for the length of the holes by being very very quick. You truly need to stay below the hole. That said, the greens and surrounding areas are kept in great shape. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of very dry areas on and around the fairways. I understand California’s issue with water, but due to those unkempt areas, it felt like a nice muni. Which brings me to my biggest issue with the course, the price tag. I truly wanted to give this course a 5 star rating, but I just couldn’t justify it with it costing $110 plus a cart fee of $20. It’s just not worth that. I’d rather put that money towards another more expensive course in the area. In fact, if you’re an NCGA member you can play Poppy Hills for around the same price. The course has some membership pricing where you can play on a week day for around $55, which I think is closer to the correct greens fees. I’m glad I played it, but I doubt I’ll be back until the...