On the day the Gulf of Spain opened in 1987, Tom Watson shot a 67 and declared the links so authentically Scottish that he could practically hear the bagpipers. Pebble beach resorts took it literally. For nearly 40 years, a lone piper has played into the sunset near the first tee of Spanish Bay, creating an atmosphere of romance that the course itself has struggled to match, at least compared to the appearances of its siblings. Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill.
The tee tells the tale. Of the three tourist courses along the 17-mile Drive, Spanish Bay has long recorded the fewest rounds.
Ownership would like that to change. A little over a year ago, Pebble’s brass announced plans for one RENEWAL led by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, aimed to elevate Spanish Gulf to “the lineage of other championship courses in the Del Monte Forest.” The question at the time was as natural as the nearby Monterey coastline: What exactly could be done on a course surrounded by environmental restrictions?
Now the answer has come.
On Tuesday, Pebble revealed details of the project, which will shut down the course for 13 months starting March 18. Under Hanse and Wagner’s plans, the Gulf of Spain track will remain the same, but its terrain will be transformed in a way that will make them more fun and playable for resort guests without diluting the challenge for elite players. That’s a fine line to walk, especially on a course where changing lanes didn’t turn out to be an option.
“The fairways are set up pretty well,” Hanse told GOLF.com, adding that he and Wagner considered changing them only to determine that the existing route was “more than acceptable” given the strictly protected site.
“By trying to detour,” Hanse said, “we realized we were creating difficult intersections and risking the project ever getting approved.”
Instead, the architects took other creative measures, including widening the greens and fairways, repositioning the tees and relocating some greens — a move that will make way for an all-new par 3.
“Through our lens, the idea is to create something a little more forgiving and more connected to the landscape,” Hanse said.
To appreciate Hanse and Wagner’s intentions, it helps to have some background about the Gulf of Spain and the context in which the course was born. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., with Watson and Sandy Tatum collaborating, the course was in many ways ahead of its time. An environmentally sensitive layout that included the restoration of native dunes and was dotted with public walking paths, it reflected an ethos and aesthetic more common to links golf in the British Isles than to American resort golf of the 1980s.
In other respects, however, the Gulf of Spain was also a product of its era – an era of hero golf, filled with forced carries and earth-moved pileups and narrow fairways squeezed tightly out of bounds. Like TPC Sawgrass, the Stadium Course at PGA West and other notable courses of its quality, it symbolized a time when a sleeve of loose balls was stoically accepted as some kind of badge of honor.
As architectural tastes evolved, Bay of Spain remained its own, set in a stunning coastal area, but also in a very competitive neighborhood.
Other local courses cast long shadows from which Gulf of Spain has never emerged. According to Pebble Beach CEO David Stivers, 100 percent of golfers staying at the resort play Pebble Beach Golf Links. Just over 90 percent play Spyglass Hill. The Gulf of Spain, by comparison, attracts just over 80 percent.
The idea that the Gulf of Spain could use a refresh had been in the air for a while. The timing was partly pragmatic. As the course approached its 40th birthday, it already needed to improve its irrigation and drainage. As long as ownership was going to handle infrastructure, it made sense to look at architecture as well.
“We always felt like we had this beautiful 16-hole canvas with an ocean view,” Stivers said. “People loved the course. It’s a good course. We thought we could make it a great course.”
Pebble has never closed one of its courses for this time. Stivers said the resort considered doing the work in phases, plugging only a few holes at a time, but decided it made more sense to “bite the bullet” and complete the project in one continuous stretch.
The most important changes will come in the middle and at the end of the round. The current 13th hole, a short par-3 that plays over a valley, will be eliminated. In its place, the route will move from the 12th straight to what is now the 14th, a par-5 that will be reimagined as two holes: a par-4 followed by a new par-3.
The new par-3 will feature a tee next to the current 18th green and will play straight to the shore, bringing the ocean directly into the player’s line of sight.
The reworked course will have wider fairways, larger greens and three new holes.
Pebble beach resorts
Another notable change will come to the 8th hole, which will be moved closer to the fairway from the 7th green. The goal, Hanse said, is to make the hole feel more natural in its surroundings. Instead of watching from a parking lot and passing cars, players will be treated to views of the Pacific.
The 18th hole will also be reworked. Currently a par-5 with a strong left hand near the finish, it will play straight and finish closer to the pro shop.
These are the movements of the title. But the day-to-day experience of the course will also change in more subtle ways.
Hanse and Wagner plan to widen the greens by roughly 40 percent and expand the fairways by about 30 percent, while repositioning bunkers and adjusting contours and fairways to create more options off the tee. Around the greens, players will see less rough and tighter terrain, opening up inventive recovery shots.
The scoreboard will also reflect the wider change in philosophy. From the front fairways, Spanish Bay will play roughly 500 yards shorter, dropping to 4,705 yards. From the tips, it will stretch 375 yards longer, to 7,115 yards, with the par changing from 72 to 71.
With more freedom of action off the tee and on the green, shots will be less likely to miss in environmentally sensitive local areas. But there will be even more of those areas to protect. By eliminating the existing 13, Pebble will be able to return three hectares of native protected areas.
The renovation will also affect the way people move around the course. Currently, strollers are allowed on the freeway. Under the redesign, the course will be wheelchair-only, with a new trail system designed to better blend in with the environment. Hanse and Wagner are also aiming to squeeze in some walks between the greens and tees, all in hopes of encouraging more players to get their hooves on.
From a maintenance perspective, the project will reduce irrigated land by 12 percent, while also installing improved drainage and irrigation systems.
Changes can go even further. Although the course is undergoing renovations, other elements of the Gulf of Spain are also under consideration, including the logo and even the name itself.
By any designation, the goal, Stivers said, is to make “Spain of the Gulf” a “must play” that stands side by side with its famous peers. This ambition will be reflected in the price. When Gulf of Spain reopens on April 17 next year, ahead of Pebble Beach’s hosting of the 2027 US Open, green fees will increase from $365 to $550, matching Spyglass Hill’s current rate. The training schedule is now available through the resort’s website.
For Hanse, the project represents not only a challenge, but a rare opportunity.
“It’s a dream,” he said, noting that the chances of working in a coastal area in California are slim.
Of course, with that privilege comes the pressure of expectations
A Spanish bay that finally feels equal to Pebble and Spyglass?
;)
