{"id":897,"date":"2026-05-23T19:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/897\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T19:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:08:08","slug":"more-than-125-years-after-it-first-opened-montereys-del-monte-golf-course-has-a-revival-monterey-herald","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/897\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 125 years after it first opened, Monterey\u2019s Del Monte Golf Course has a \u2018revival\u2019 \u2013 Monterey Herald"},"content":{"rendered":"

MONTEREY \u2014 Charles E. Maud was an English businessman and sportsman who moved to California 140 years ago to play polo, golf and design courses.<\/p>\n

Maud traveled throughout the state for matches in both sporting endeavors. But he was also simultaneously responsible for two iconic golf layouts, Old Victoria in Riverside and Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey.<\/p>\n

The latter, now carrying the title as the oldest course in continuous operation west of the Mississippi, is also the most unheralded of the six Pebble Beach Company properties. It opened as a nine-hole course in 1897 and was expanded to 18 holes in 1902. Its 6,356-yard layout remains.<\/p>\n

While all of the Pebble Beach Company layouts are continuously undergoing various makeovers, Del Monte, its owners detail, is experiencing a \u201crevival.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the multi-year renovation, all bunkers and one-third of tee areas have been renovated. New drainage and irrigation systems have been added. Walking paths have been introduced. New foliage, agronomics and other course stylings are all also part of the major makeover. The grille, once reminiscent of an old diner, has a new look.<\/p>\n

\"AA 1912 rendition of Monterey’s Del Monte Golf Course. (Image courtesy of Pebble Beach Co.)<\/p>\n

\u201cFive, six years ago, it sure had a lot of charm, great bones, a lot of history,\u201d said John Sawin, vice president and director of golf for Pebble Beach Company. \u201cBut the conditioning had really come under strain.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, the main ingredient to golf course conditioning is water, a reliable water source. That was something we struggled with to control.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Sawin explained, Del Monte relied on 100 percent potable water supplied by California American Water. About one-third of the property\u2019s water is now supplied by two wells.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fickle; it led to inconsistent conditioning and led to irrigation restrictions,\u201d Sawin said of the course\u2019s previous watering approach. \u201cAll those things can contribute to declining play volume, which turns into a fairly wicked cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pebble Beach Company didn\u2019t disclose the project\u2019s budget. The course hosts 40,000 to 50,000 rounds per year.<\/p>\n

While Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course are internationally renowned on women\u2019s and men\u2019s professional tours, Del Monte is often referred to as the Monterey Peninsula\u2019s forgotten course.
But it also has a varied and significant tournament legend. It hosted the inaugural California State Amateur in 1912 and the 1916 Western Amateur. More than a century of prestigious adult and youth events have followed.
For many years, Del Monte was also part of the rotation of courses used in the TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational and in its different names.<\/p>\n

Still, the course for many remained unsung. During the 2005 Pebble Beach Invitational, Nick Watney, the five-time PGA Tour winner, shot a third-round, 11-under 61 at Del Monte. The round was witnessed by only a few spectators. Its status as a course record wasn\u2019t known to the golfer or tournament officials located at Pebble Beach for several hours.<\/p>\n

(Eric Lippert, director of golf at Pebble Beach, equaled Watney\u2019s 61 in 2008. Former pro-turned-caddie Matt Picanso set the current record of 60 en route to winning the 2015 Monterey Open.)<\/p>\n

Del Monte\u2019s enduring lore also includes its deceptive difficulty and its previous name, Old Del Monte Golf Course.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best golf courses require a very low skill level to enjoy the golf course, but a very high skill level to score well,\u201d said Sawin. \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty subtle distinction. But I think Del Monte, even being over 125 years old, really hits the nail on the head.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s playable for anybody, my mom, my son. It\u2019s good for the full spectrum of golfers. You can run your ball on the ground from tee to green on just about every single hole. There are no water hazards, no forced carries. But the core elements of the golf course do resist scoring from elite lever players. And that\u2019s primarily the precision parts, to hit fairways, to hit the right angles between the trees and the very small undulating greens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mina Harigae-Kreiter, the long-time LPGA player from Monterey and reigning Pebble Beach Invitational titlist, first played the course in her youth. She echoed Sawin\u2019s assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually did not know that Del Monte went through a renovation,\u201d she said via email. \u201cBut I am excited about playing there in the rotation again. It\u2019s always been a sneaky test.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people assume that it\u2019s easy because it\u2019s short. But the tiny greens are what make it so challenging. I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like now, but hopefully it kept that characteristic. I love old school courses that show you don\u2019t need a monstrous 7,500-yard course to make it a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DuringDuring a multi-year renovation, all bunkers and one-third of tee areas have been renovated at Del Monte Golf Course. (Photo by Sherman Chu)<\/p>\n

With the Links at Spanish Bay closed for renovation until April, Del Monte will return to the TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational\u2019s\u00a0 three-course rotation in mid-November.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe own and run the event, so ultimately it is our call,\u201d said Sawin. \u201cThe only person we had to please was TaylorMade and they were completely comfortable with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tournament dates aren\u2019t listed on the Pebble Beach Resorts, but the 55th edition will continue its 72-hole mixed-tour format. It\u2019s traditionally had a $300,000 purse with the winner receiving $60,000.<\/p>\n

Harigae-Kreiter finished last year with a final-round 73 at Pebble Beach en route to a three-shot victory over Cameron Sisk and John Mallinger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the golfers are going to notice, first and foremost and beyond turf conditions is fully renovated bunkers,\u201d said Sawin. \u201cMost educated golfers will tell you bunkers are like the features on a face of a portrait.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what really brings a course to life other than the playability. Those bunkers five or six years ago were tired. They were poorly shaped from the beginning. They didn\u2019t perform well, they didn\u2019t play well, they didn\u2019t drain well, they weren\u2019t maintained well. All of that has been changed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MONTEREY \u2014 Charles E. Maud was an English businessman and sportsman who moved to California 140 years ago…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[182,894,44,898,899,895,896,893,897,56],"class_list":["post-897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-california","tag-central-coast","tag-golf","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-monterey","tag-monterey-county","tag-newsletter","tag-northern-california","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}