The Best Golf Courses in California: A Complete Guide
California contains the most concentrated collection of great golf courses on the West Coast and possibly in America. The Monterey Peninsula alone — Pebble Beach, Cypress Point, Spyglass Hill, Monterey Peninsula Country Club — has more world-class golf per square mile than anywhere outside Scotland. And that's before you account for Riviera, Torrey Pines, and the courses spreading through the Central Valley, wine country, and desert.
The Monterey Peninsula
Pebble Beach Golf Links is the most famous public course in America. Opened in 1919 on the rocky coastline of the Monterey Peninsula, it has hosted the US Open six times and produces views of Stillwater Cove and Carmel Bay from the 7th, 8th, and 18th holes that no camera has ever adequately captured. It is expensive, often windy, and worth every dollar and degree of difficulty.
Cypress Point Club is the most beautiful private course in America — a Alister MacKenzie design that plays along the rocky Pacific coast with three closing holes over the ocean that constitute the most dramatic stretch of holes on the continent. It is completely private and essentially inaccessible.
Spyglass Hill Golf Course is the most challenging course at Pebble Beach Resort and one of the most difficult public courses in America — a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that starts in the pines and drops to the ocean before returning inland. It is consistently underrated relative to its quality.
Monterey Peninsula Country Club's Shore Course is one of the best private courses in California — the Clint Eastwood-connected club hosts the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and plays along the same coastline as Pebble Beach with equally dramatic Pacific views.
Los Angeles: Riviera and Los Angeles Country Club
Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades — "The Riviera of America" — has hosted the Genesis Invitational (formerly Los Angeles Open) for decades and the 2023 US Amateur. George Thomas designed it in 1927 with a bunker in the middle of the 10th green that remains one of the most discussed design elements in American golf. It is private but accessible for professionals through member connections.
Los Angeles Country Club's North Course hosted the 2023 US Open — the first at LACC since 1948. George Thomas and William Bell designed it on Wilshire Boulevard, making it one of the most incongruously located great golf courses in the world. Private, inaccessible, magnificent.
San Diego: Torrey Pines
Torrey Pines Golf Course sits on cliffs above the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla. The South Course hosted the 2008 US Open — Tiger Woods's last major, won on one leg in an 18-hole playoff over Rocco Mediate. Both the North and South courses are operated by the City of San Diego as public courses, making Torrey Pines the most accessible major championship venue in America.
Green fees are below Pebble Beach; availability for non-San Diego residents requires advance booking through the Torrey Pines lottery system. The views of the Pacific from the coastal holes are among the best in California golf.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best public golf course in California?
Pebble Beach Golf Links is the most acclaimed public course in California and among the best in the world. Torrey Pines South Course offers comparable championship credentials at significantly lower cost.
Is Pebble Beach worth the green fee?
For serious golfers, yes without reservation. The combination of natural beauty, historical significance, and course quality is unavailable anywhere else in American golf. The cost is significant but comparable to other marquee international golf destinations.