For most of its 39-year history, the Links at Spanish Bay has been a solid third in the Pebble Beach Company's three-course lineup.
A much anticipated restoration by the architectural team of Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner is designed to bring the course up to its highest standards since Tom Watson fired a 67 in the inaugural round there in 1987.
The restoration will encompass work across the entire course located on California's Monterey Peninsula.
Part of the project will include moving several greens and building a new par-3 hole to replace the current No. 13. Height of cut in the greens surrounds will be shortened to increase recovery options. Other putting surfaces to be moved to make room for the new par-3 No. 14 are current par-5 14th and 18th greens.
The restoration has been in the plans for three years. The course will close in March and is scheduled to reopen shortly before the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. When it reopens, the public-access resort course will play from 4,705 yards to 7,115 yards, offering options for players of all skill levels, according to a news release from the Pebble Beach Co.
"The finished product will be more fun, playable and strategic for all golfers, while also better suited to challenge today’s elite player," the release read.
Other parts of the restoration will include:
- Expanding putting greens by 40 percent
- Widen fairways by 30 percent
- Move fairway bunkers
- Build new tee complexes and new cart paths
- Adding new drainage
- Adding 3 acres of natural areas and reducing irrigated turf by 12 percent.
The project goal is to bring Spanish Bay more in line with expectations and golfer experience that players are accustomed to at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill.