"We own and run the event, so ultimately it is our call," John Sawin, vice president and director of golf for Pebble Beach Company, told the Monterey Herald in May. "The only person we had to please was TaylorMade and they were completely comfortable with it."
The call was to bring Del Monte Golf Course back into the TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational in November, for the first time since 2014. The Herald called Del Monte "the most unheralded" of Pebble Beach Company's six properties and "often referred to as the Monterey Peninsula's forgotten course." This fall it is doing a resort course's work. The course at 1300 Sylvan Road has been lent out for the season, and the reason it was ready goes back further than the Spanish Bay closure.
The Repair Started With Water
For most of its modern history, Del Monte ran entirely on potable water bought from California American Water. Sawin described that supply as "fickle." He said it led to inconsistent conditions and irrigation restrictions, "and all those things can contribute to declining play volume, which turns into a fairly wicked cycle." In Pebble Beach Company's account, the decline began with the Great Recession in 2008. Fewer rounds were played, drought-era restrictions followed, and the turf deteriorated.
The fix came after golf's post-pandemic boom, when the company tapped and tested two wells on the property. Pebble Beach Company now says nearly 40% of the course's turf is irrigated from those wells, saving roughly 12 million gallons of utility water a year. The Herald's figure for the same change was about one-third of the property's water. Either way, the course stopped depending on a single water source it couldn't control. The rest of the renovation rests on that change.
Then Spanish Bay Closed
The Links at Spanish Bay played its last round on March 17, 2026, and closed the next day for a 13-month redesign led by Gil Hanse. Pebble Beach Company has set the public reopening for April 17, 2027. With one of its resort courses out of service, the company turned to Del Monte. In its own words, it "embarked on a program of improvements that would return Del Monte to its glory days of prime, resort-caliber conditioning with thousands of additional golfers set to experience them."
Over the past two years, every sand bunker on the course has been rebuilt. New walk paths, irrigation and drainage have gone in throughout, and the large trees along the fairways have been heavily pruned. The tee work is reported two ways. The Herald counted one-third of the teeing areas in May, and Pebble Beach Company's own feature that month said nearly half. Sawin singled out the bunkers. Five or six years ago, he said, "they were tired. They were poorly shaped from the beginning. They didn't perform well, they didn't play well, they didn't drain well, they weren't maintained well. All of that has been changed."
Riders get a new fleet of GPS-equipped carts that can drive straight to the ball. Superintendent Michael Knoll was named 2025 Superintendent of the Year by the Northern California Section of the PGA of America for the turnaround.
The "thousands of additional golfers" figure makes more sense next to the course's normal traffic. The Herald put Del Monte's volume at 40,000 to 50,000 rounds a year. Several thousand more over the 13-month closure would be a real increase on a course that already sees heavy local play. So far, though, it is Pebble Beach Company's projection. No one has reported counts showing how much busier the tee sheet has actually become.
Two Tournaments, Four Weeks Apart
Over the next seven weeks, the course and the streets around it have four dates to know.
| Date | Event | What it means on Sylvan Road and Camino Aguajito |
|---|---|---|
| October 19 to 21 | 2026 Monterey Open at Del Monte | 54 holes of stroke play, professionals and amateurs |
| November 8 | Monterey Bay Half Marathon | Camino Aguajito closed from Del Monte to Fourth Street, about 3 to 8:45 a.m. |
| November 17 to 22 | TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational | Del Monte joins Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill in the rotation |
| April 17, 2027 | Spanish Bay reopens to the public | Del Monte's turn as a stand-in is scheduled to end |
The Monterey Open is the course's own tournament. It dates to 1926 and was usually held at Del Monte every year. It stopped during the Depression and World War II, went on hiatus from 1997 to 2003, and resumed in 2004. The amateur division is for men with a USGA Handicap Index of 2.4 or lower. The current course record came out of this event. Matt Picanso, a former pro turned caddie, shot 60 on his way to winning the 2015 Monterey Open.
The Invitational is a larger event. Founded in 1972, it is the only tournament that puts players from the PGA, LPGA, Champions and Korn Ferry tours against each other. They play from different tees for one $300,000 purse, and each pro is paired with a team of four amateurs. After three rounds, the field is cut to the top 40 professionals and ties. The tournament rounds run Thursday through Sunday. Pebble Beach Company has not published which days each course hosts.
Del Monte's last stretch in the rotation produced one of its best stories. In the 2005 Invitational, Nick Watney shot an 11-under 61 there in the third round, with only a few spectators watching. According to the Herald, neither Watney nor the tournament officials at Pebble Beach knew it was a course record for several hours. The defending champion this year is Mina Harigae-Kreiter, the longtime LPGA player from Monterey, who first played Del Monte as a junior.
"Most people assume that it's easy because it's short. But the tiny greens are what make it so challenging. I don't know what it's like now, but hopefully it kept that characteristic. I love old school courses that show you don't need a monstrous 7,500-yard course to make it a challenge."
The layout is 6,356 yards, as it has been. Sawin describes a course with no water hazards and no forced carries. Nearly every hole can be played along the ground, and the defense against good scores is precision: hitting fairways, finding the right angles between the trees, and holding the small, undulating greens.
The official pages for both events give dates and registration details but no spectator policy or admission price for 2026. The Invitational's tournament office can be reached at (831) 625-8575.
What Still Belongs to Locals
Pebble Beach Company still treats Del Monte as a local course, even with resort guests coming. Its May feature calls the "thousands of loyal" Duke's Club members and "hundreds of juniors" the "heartbeat" of the course. The juniors play in events run by U.S. Kids, Pebble Beach Junior Golf, PGA Junior League and Youth on Course. The Duke's Club rates show what membership is worth.
- Annual membership: $595
- Regular green fee: $150 Monday to Thursday, $175 Friday to Sunday
- Member rate: $60 Monday to Thursday, $76 Friday to Sunday and holidays
- Member twilight: $47 Monday to Thursday, $54 Friday to Sunday
- Accompanied guest: $75 Monday to Thursday, $91 Friday to Sunday and holidays
- Booking: 30 days in advance, online, with priority tee times
A member playing midweek saves $90 a round against the regular rate, so the fee is covered in less than seven rounds. The page lists other benefits as well: a 20% dining discount at Del Monte, $30 in Grill Bucks, a $95 junior family card, and a complimentary round after as few as five paid rounds. The page is undated, and Pebble Beach Company says prices are subject to change, so check the current figures before renewing.
The Monterey City Amateur stays on Sylvan Road too. It was played July 3 to 5, 2026, and Jonathan Chen of Carmel won at eight under par, one stroke ahead of Miguel Delgado and John Sawin, the same executive who decided to put Del Monte back in front of the pros.
The course is also open to people who don't play. Pebble Beach Company's off-tournament rules let visitors walk the course before or after play if they check with the pro shop first and stay on the cart paths.
The Grill on Sylvan Road
Pebble Beach Company markets Del Monte Bar & Grill as a breakfast and lunch "best-kept secret" for locals, with indoor and outdoor tables. The Herald said the grille that once felt like an old diner has a new look, and Pebble Beach Company says the grill has expanded its hours and menu. The restaurant page currently lists the bar at 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the grill at 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The menu says breakfast and lunch are served all day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The menu is mostly sandwiches. Options include a $12 breakfast burrito, a $13 fried chicken breakfast sandwich, a $12 smash burger or $14 double, a $12 curry chicken salad sandwich, and a $9 beer bratwurst. Cocktails are $15 and draft beer is $7.50. A 17% service charge is added to every order.
Early on November 8, race-morning closures reach Camino Aguajito. The Monterey Bay Half Marathon's notice to residents says Camino Aguajito will be closed from Del Monte to Fourth Street from about 3 to 8:45 a.m., and the southbound Highway 1 exits at Del Monte and Casa Verde will be closed from 4 to 9 a.m. Nine days later the Invitational begins. Spanish Bay's scheduled reopening on April 17, 2027, should end Del Monte's run as the stand-in.
Del Monte opened in 1897 and last hosted Invitational rounds in 2014. At Truszkowski Freedman & Assoc, we follow changes like this one on Sylvan Road closely. If you own near the course, or are weighing a home within walking distance of its first tee, we would be glad to talk through how this season fits into the longer picture. Work With Us.
