How much does it cost to play Pebble Beach?

Pebble Beach has raised its green fees to $625, a $50 increase symbolic of the rising costs of playing golf during the post-pandemic golf boom.
The par-5 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links is one of golf's greatest finishing holes.

I remember when I first played Pebble Beach like it was yesterday.

Hard to believe that 2003 was two decades ago now. My buddy Kevin and I were best men in each other's wedding a couple months apart in 2001. He got the ultimate wedding present from his wife ... a $330 gift certificate to play Pebble Beach Golf Links. Since he didn't want to play American golf's holiest grail alone, he offered to split it with me if I flew out from Michigan to join him.

Playing Pebble Beach for $165? That might be the best golf bargain I've ever scored. I remember thinking $330 for a tee time was sticker shock. Boy was I wrong.

Pebble Beach raises its green fees to $625

Here we are 20 years later ... where Pebble Beach's green fees will rise April 1 to $625 for resort guests, up from the current $575. Unless you are carrying your own bag, there are other additional costs to factor in as well. If you're not staying at the resort, it's $625 plus a $55 cart fee or $15 for a pull cart. For those who want the full experience with caddies, those fees will also increase from $150 to $155 for a single bag or $200 to $210 for a double bag. A forecaddie is $52.50 per person (three-player minimum).

These prices are no April Fools prank. The new $625 green fee is nearly double what we paid all those years ago. Nobody should be surprised by the news. Green fees have been rising by 5 to 10 percent since the pandemic golf boom started in mid-2020.

And, with travel booming as well, the biggest of the bucket-list courses have been getting even more aggressive with rates. The PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass has bumped higher than $800 at peak times. Shadow Creek is now $1,000, plus a stay at an MGM resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The question for many golfers who want to play these types of courses becomes: Is it worth it?

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Is Pebble Beach worth it?

I've been asked this hundreds of times over the years, and the answer is always yes. I've had one high-school buddy from Michigan and a cousin from Minnesota come out to stay and play at Pebble Beach post-pandemic, and both came away raving about their experience. Why?

There's only a couple places on the planet more beautiful for golf than the Monterey Peninsula. None of them can match its year-round temperate climate.

Plus, Pebble Beach has done nothing but invest back into its product in recent years. Since I moved to NorCal in 2014, the resort has:

1, Added the new driving range, practice area and Pebble Beach Golf Academy (2014), where you can get fit for new TaylorMade clubs. Fittings for the new Stealth 2 costing $100 are available
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Book here.
2, Built Fairway One (2017), which encompasses three two-story buildings with 10 guest rooms each, plus two four-bedroom golf cottages for buddies trips, along the first fairway.
3, Upgraded every room of the Lodge at Pebble Beach and the Inn at Spanish Bay (2017-18) for the 2019 celebration of the resort's 100th anniversary.
4, Hosted the 2018 U.S. Amateur and 2019 U.S. Open. Up next is July's 2023 U.S. Women's Open, a major milestone as the first women's major at Pebble Beach.
5, Redesigned and renamed The Hay short course created by Tiger Woods, along with a free putting green/course and Hay's Place (2021), a restaurant that's my favorite resort hang thanks to the music and views.
6, Tweaked four famous greens - the 8th, 11th, 14th and 17th - at Pebble Beach (2018-22) to make them larger, more fair and to create more pin positions.

I believe Pebble Beach Golf Links is the best combination of scenery, history, memorable holes and playability in golf. Most major championship venues aren't all that fun to play and many are too exclusive for most of us to access. The famous shots at Pebble Beach are all epic - climbing the hill on the par-5 6th, the wedge on the 107-yard 7th, the approach shot over the ocean cove on the 8th and the tee shots on the par-3 17th and par-5 18th.

The best way to assure a great trip to Pebble Beach is to book a package for at least a two-night stay, which is the only way to guarantee a tee time. Pebble Beach only allows golfers to book a tee time without a resort reservation 24 hours in advance. In that scenario, you risk not getting a tee time at all or an inconvenient one. GolfPass offers multiple packages to stay and play at Pebble Beach but there are other uber-luxurious options.

Golf Packages
Pebble Beach, CA
FROM $947 (USD)
Golf Packages
Pebble Beach, CA
FROM $1,107 (USD)
Golf Packages
Pebble Beach, CA
FROM $957 (USD)
Golf Packages
Pebble Beach, CA
FROM $1117 (USD)

For example, there's a special event this year called the "Salute at Pebble Beach", a unique fundraiser for PGA Hope. The five-day celebration of independence from June 30-July 3 will support United States military Veterans, while participants get the chance to play Pebble Beach Golf Links in major championship condition the day before it closes for the 2023 U.S. Women's Open. It includes tickets to the championship event and the chance to mingle with sports legends like golfer Nancy Lopez and pitcher David Wells starting with a fireside reception June 30 at the Inn at Spanish Bay where everyone will stay.

After playing Pebble Beach on July 1, a day that includes lunch and dinner at the inn, golfers will play in the Salute Tournament at The Links at Spanish Bay on July 2. The day includes breakfast and a gala dinner featuring an auction and a salute to Veterans. A round at Spyglass Hill follows on July 3, along with lunch, a Patriot Parachute Team flight viewing and a farewell Clambake & Cocktails dinner. Checkout is July 4 with the U.S. Women's Open starting two days later on July 6-9. Packages are priced at $12,500 for one golfer and one guest.

My best advice to playing Pebble Beach? Don't delay, whether it's this year or next. If you wait another 3-4 years, the price will only go up.

Is playing Pebble Beach too expensive? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Jason Scott Deegan has reviewed and photographed more than 1,100 courses and written about golf destinations in 25 countries for some of the industry's biggest publications. His work has been honored by the Golf Writer's Association of America and the Michigan Press Association. Follow him on Instagram at @jasondeegangolfpass and Twitter at @WorldGolfer.
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How much does it cost to play Pebble Beach?