Monterey Peninsula Country Club (Dunes Course)

The Dunes Course is one of two 18-hole layouts at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, a storied private club set within the Del Monte Forest in Pebble Beach, California. Routed through pine woodland and tumbling sand hills down toward the Pacific and back to a Spanish-style clubhouse, the Dunes traces its roots to a 1920s design by the celebrated architect Seth Raynor and today plays as a par-72 test of roughly 7,090 yards from the championship tees.

Longer and more heralded than its companion Shore Course, the Dunes hosted the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am (now the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) for nearly two decades in the mid-20th century. A series of restorations culminating in a bold 2016 renovation has given the course a rugged, sand-framed character that ranks it among the finest private courses on the Monterey Peninsula.

Quick Facts

Course History

Monterey Peninsula Country Club engaged the acclaimed golden-age architect Seth Raynor to design the Dunes Course in the mid-1920s. Raynor, a protege of Charles Blair Macdonald, drew up the plans but died in January 1926 before construction was complete. Local architect and author Robert Hunter was brought in to finish the layout, giving the club a world-class course that its founding members could enjoy for a few dollars a month.

The Dunes quickly earned national attention. From 1947 through 1964 it served as one of the host courses for Bing Crosby's National Pro-Amateur, the celebrity-studded "Clambake" that evolved into today's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. (The club's Shore Course later assumed hosting duties and rejoined the modern AT&T rotation in 2010.)

In 1997 the club selected Rees Jones to reconstruct the Dunes; the work was carried out and completed in 1998, chiefly to improve drainage and strengthen the finishing holes. The most transformative chapter came in 2016, when Fazio Design, through associates Tim Jackson and David Kahn, reimagined the routing and aesthetics, framing the holes with sweeping sandscapes and reorienting greens diagonally to the lines of play.

The Design & Architecture

Raynor's original design brought the template-hole philosophy of the Macdonald-Raynor school to the Monterey sand belt, with bold, geometric green complexes and strategic bunkering. After Raynor's death, Robert Hunter (whose design sympathies leaned toward the naturalism championed by Alister MacKenzie, then at work nearby at Cypress Point) completed the course with a softer, more organic touch.

The modern Dunes is defined by the 2016 Jackson Kahn work carried out under the Fazio Design banner. Rugged, jagged-edged sand hazards now frame most holes, fairways zigzag around the bunkering, and nearly all of the greens are angled diagonally to reward players who challenge the aggressive line. The routing captures the authentic sensation of playing among the dunes, moving through forest, down toward the sea, and back again to the clubhouse.

Playing the Course

At roughly 7,090 yards, par 72, with a course rating of 74.5 and a slope of 135 from the championship tees, the Dunes is a stern but fair examination that rewards precise iron play and thoughtful positioning off the tee. Ocean breezes off the Pacific can stiffen the challenge considerably, particularly on the holes that run closer to the coastline.

The diagonal green orientations and sand-framed fairways place a premium on angles and course management. Multiple tee sets allow the Dunes to flex to a variety of skill levels, but from the back markers it delivers a genuine championship-caliber test set against one of the most beautiful stretches of golfing terrain in the world.

Know Before You Go

• Access: Private members-only club. Play is generally limited to members and their accompanied guests; there is no public tee-time access.

• Location: 3000 Club Road, Pebble Beach, CA 93953, within the gated Del Monte Forest off 17-Mile Drive.

• Two courses: The club offers both the Dunes and Shore courses; be sure to confirm which layout your round is scheduled on.

• Conditions: Coastal wind and marine-layer fog are common; be prepared for cool, variable weather year-round.

• Contact: For membership and guest inquiries, call (831) 373-1556 or visit mpccpb.org.