[POLL] Play Pebble Beach? Or other?

[STUDque]

Pebble Beach's recent price increase has drawn some public scrutiny on Social Media.  What price can you really put on a once-in-a-lifetime round of golf?  Of course, playing Pebble doesn't come down to just a greens fee unless you live in the immediate vicinity.  In addition to the cost of playing, you've got to stay at the lodge (if you want to book more than 24hrs in advance), travel would most likely include airfare and a car, plus all the food, beverages, and souvenirs that are part of the collateral experience.  Then, who just plays one round on a buddies trip?  Throw in a round and Spyglass while you're at it and the all-in trip is pushing right up against $3000.  

 

So that begs the question: If you've got $3k to spend on a once-in-a-lifetime golf experience, would you choose to play Pebble Beach or do something else?  This thread is a poll so enter your results then talk about your reasoning below.

 

 

The Options are:

• Play Pebble Beach
• Buy Full set of PXG with the fitting experience in AZ
• Attend a week-long Golf Academy
• Receive a multi-day lesson from a Celebrity Instructor like Hank Haney or other
• Outfit your house with a Launch Monitor hitting Studio
• Other (reply below)

[StrokerAce]

I dream....dream of an in-home studio.  I see the pics on insta and twitter and am so envious.

 

and if you think that 3k for Pebble is not realistic check out this article - which doesn't include the cost of travel - https://www.golf.com/travel/2020/01/29/pebble-beach-greens-fees-increase-2020/

 

[vrnyn]

I understand the arguments for and against the $500 green fee. I bet at $500 the Pebble tee sheet doesn't sit empty.

[GolfSpy_BOS]

I actually almost went to pebble for my father in laws 60th, but he decided against it, likely due to all the extra costs. I could convince myself that the green fee was worth it. (One round there vs 6ish here... steep, but it is not too crazy).

But if you handed me 3Gs and said spend it on golf I would probably rather get
Myself a sky track and build out a home Sim. The long NE winters and general lack of time with 3 kids would make evening rounds/practice in the sim much more beneficial I think.


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[palvord]

If I had $3,000 for a golf specific experience, I would use it to play as many courses as I could that I find interesting, rather than spending it all at one course.

Some quick examples without actually having done any real research into costs:

Arcadia Bluffs
Bandon Dunes (multiple courses to choose from)
Myrtle Beach golf trip
Forest Dunes - The Loop
Chambers Bay
Sand Valley
 

[bens197]

Why not. When you consider how precious life is, it’s more important to live in the moment and indulge every so often.


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[Berg Ryman]

3k gets you a lot of other golf trips for alot of places I'd love to play for alot of days instead of two courses, so I went for other.

[gobama84]

Ok, I'll show my ignorance.  What is LM+In-Home Studio?

[sixcat]

My dream golf experience is a lengthy trip to Scotland and Ireland.  I'm sure $3,000 wouldn't cover my dream but Pebble Beach has never been a "bucket list" item for me.  I'm not sure why except to say, I have always felt drawn to the origins of the game rather than the exorbitant Americanized version of the game.  The game is open and welcoming in Scotland and Ireland.  It's mostly closed, stuffy and elitist in the US.  And Pebble Beach is the poster child for that closed, stuffy and elitist mantra given it would cost over $800 after fees, taxes, caddie and gratuity for a single experience. 

I guess I'm not really playing along with the topic, as presented, but I would save the $3,000 until I had enough to fund my lengthy trip around Scotland and Ireland.

[StrokerAce]

14 minutes ago, gobama84 said:

Ok, I'll show my ignorance.  What is LM+In-Home Studio?

Launch Monitor plus in-home studio

[THEZIPR23]

3 minutes ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

Launch Monitor plus in-home studio

Missing a zero to get this...

[StrokerAce]

1 minute ago, THEZIPR23 said:

Missing a zero to get this...

TRUE!

I fixed it....

 

[THEZIPR23]

I have played Pebble, and will more than likely play it again. Luckily for me travel is cheap so 3k will get me Pebble and Spyglass. 

[tony@CIC]

I picked playing Pebble Beach but since I'm retired I also picked the 100-199 category - which is substantially lower than RL. Part of what I like about golf is being outdoors and taking in the breathtaking views and experience that PB would offer therefore wouldn't pick the LM. 

[tony@CIC]

7 minutes ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

Launch Monitor plus in-home studio

That's the Golfzon simulator. We have two of those at a new place called Coastal Swing ( www.coastalswing.com)  I've played there a few times. FYI the owner told me that each Golfzon sim cost $75,000. so a bit above that $3,000. mark  

[StrokerAce]

1 minute ago, tony@CIC said:

That's the Golfzon simulator. We have two of those at a new place called Coastal Swing ( www.coastalswing.com)  I've played there a few times. FYI the owner told me that each Golfzon sim cost $75,000. so a bit above that $3,000. mark  

yeah...I fixed it.

[DaveP043]

If I had 3 grand to spend, I'd probably go back to Scotland, I know how to do most of a week for something in that ballpark.  Self-drive car hire, B&Bs (not hotels), mix in some lesser-known courses, that would be my choice.  Second choice might be a 3 or 4 day golf academy.

I think the most I've spent for a few days of golf was my short visit to Kohler, and my max price to play at Pebble is in the same range as it cost to play the Straits Course.  The golf at Kohler is reasonably expensive, but the lodging was much more reasonable than the reported room rates at Pebble Beach.

I've spent bunches of money on golf, and will probably will continue to do that in the future, but I'm afraid that the combination of golf plus lodging at Pebble Beach is beyond my personal ability to swallow.  I don't blame them for charging that kind of money, the demand is there, but I can't see doing it myself.  And tougher still for me, my wife is a golfer, so take the golf cost and double it.

[mr.hicksta]

So I've played PB once, and paid the NCGA 'Winter Special' rate of $425 with a $75 pro shop gift card. To this day, it's one of the best golf experiences of my life even though we got rained on for 7/18 holes. When I was living in the area, I had already heard grumbles about the price and this latest price increase is insane IMO. I get it...Pebble Beach is public and exists to make money, but c'mon. It's one of the most popular golf courses IN THE WORLD. They could easily charge $250 - $350, still make an absolute killing and provide the same iconic experience. All that said, even with this price increase and the increases that will inevitably follow, people will still play it. 

As for the poll, I voted $400-$499 and LM/in-home studio. A guy has to have dreams, right? 

[daviddvm]

2 hours ago, B.Boston said:

I actually almost went to pebble for my father in laws 60th, but he decided against it, likely due to all the extra costs. I could convince myself that the green fee was worth it. (One round there vs 6ish here... steep, but it is not too crazy).

But if you handed me 3Gs and said spend it on golf I would probably rather get
Myself a sky track and build out a home Sim. The long NE winters and general lack of time with 3 kids would make evening rounds/practice in the sim much more beneficial I think.


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Fortunately I've done the bucket list round at Pebble and Spyglass and was worth every penny of the $2450 I spent at at Spanish Bay all inclusive special the summer of 2018!

Was heaven on earth! But I could not say it better than B. Boston...my goal is to have an at home sim someday. Hoping the tech improves quite a bit soon as well.

[GolfSpy_BOS]

Fortunately I've done the bucket list round at Pebble and Spyglass and was worth every penny of the $2450 I spent at at Spanish Bay all inclusive special the summer of 2018!
Was heaven on earth! But I could not say it better than B. Boston...my goal is to have an at home sim someday. Hoping the tech improves quite a bit soon as well.

I’ve been spoiled by my office building which has a full swing sim in the gym. I makes me wish I didn’t have a 45 mile commute or I’d come in the weekends too

It would be nice to have something at home where I could take full swings and see an accurate ball flight. Swinging the foam balls with my son in the yard is fun to really shape them, but isn’t really helping my game much.


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[gobama84]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

Launch Monitor plus in-home studio

Then I must change my vote to this!!!!  Would love to have one.

[Kenny B]

Wow!!  PB raised their rates from $550 to $575.  I really don't think that's going to have much of an impact on their tee sheet.

[Mr. 82]

4 hours ago, vrnyn said:

I understand the arguments for and against the $500 green fee. I bet at $500 the Pebble tee sheet doesn't sit empty.

From the article, Pebble Beach's tee sheet remains sold out at 100% year round.  So yeah, they could probably charge twice as much and still sell out.  The people who are paying whatever it costs now to play Pebble obviously have the money to spend whatever it takes to play there.

I find this similar to Super Bowl tickets.  The NFL could probably charge $10k for a Super Bowl ticket and still sell out.  The trick is find that sweet spot where you get to 99% sellout for whatever your price point is.  Reason why 99% because then you know you've found the top asking price without reducing your vacant inventory.

Same deal with Disney.  They could charge $250 a day for a kid and families would probably still pay it.  They have too many people in the parks as it is now, so they are foolish for not charging more.

[Mr. 82]

Honestly if you gave me $3k for a golf experience I don't know that that is enough money for me to make what I want to have happen, happen.  Beyond playing the courses at Bandon Dunes, and Cabot Links, I now have a new favorite destination that I'd like to pursue in this lifetime, and that is of New Zealand and Australia.  But regardless of where it is we go, golf is better experienced with 3 good friends.  I ain't spending that kind of money alone.  That's completely pointless.

 

[daviddvm]

1 hour ago, Kenny B said:

Wow!!  PB raised their rates from $550 to $575.  I really don't think that's going to have much of an impact on their tee sheet.

I paid $525 at Pebble and $375 at Spyglass.

I met a guy from Houston when we were waiting for our flight to Santa Clara that was headed to Pebble with his family ( he's been going annually since the 70s). He say back in the 70s he and his buddies would rent a house on Spyglass for $150 / night and the green fee at Spyglass was $25 and Pebble was $40  

[juspoole]

Great Poll!  I voted the Launch Monitor Studio.  I've always dreamed of this since seeing them in the box retailers and online.  You have very few opportunities here in Indiana (like most northern states) to play golf from November to April.   Having a simulator within reach, would keep me much more motivated throughout the non golf season.  As it stands now, I tend to lose focus due to lack of play and don't really get the itch to play until around mid February.  

Not really the name of the game, but was part of my thought process.  I fancy myself a pretty good traveler and I can usually find some deals, thus I feel like I could get to Pebble and Spyglass at substantially less than $3k.  

[toehold57]

Gimme the LM studio but please add in some extra cash for raising the ceiling.

I visited PB once, looked down the 18th. Beautiful area but I’m too dang cheap to spend that kind of money


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[NM01]

Spending $3k to play and stay at pebble. Live life. 

[StrokerAce]

We went to Carmel about 15 years ago and walked down to the beach next to the course.  The course is right there.  My family convinced me to walk up onto the course so I can say I was "on Pebble Beach" LOL

I was genuinely surprised that there wasn't a fence or something.  So - if you're ever in the area - consider walking on when it's clear and getting a feel for it.  A heckuva lot less than 575.  HAHA  Who knows - maybe I was "trespassing" but one could easily feign ignorance.  =)

We were staying in the bay area and took a day trip down the Big Sur.  It is absolutely stunning and 100 pct worth it.

[release]

In a free market world, if there is not enough support for the hiked green fee, it'll either up for sale or become a public park.

Many of our local golf courses are facing the same dilemma of whether to hike the green fees to maintain the service level or keep the green fees at the current economic level for the middle class.

Of course, those doing well financially will float above the current issues of inflation and rising cost of living.  But there is just too many golf courses for the top 5% of the population ( of which not many are avid golfers ).   

Is there a problem of over building the golf courses from the mid 80's ?   I think so.  Growing the game without keeping the economic factors in consideration is bad business planning.

If you built it, they will come..........only if the admission fee is reasonably affordable.