On Saturday, October 17, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Hay's Place at 3253 Stevenson Drive is holding a walk-around party for its fifth birthday. Stations will serve the restaurant's best-known dishes, and the drinks include cocktails, tequila and mezcal, beer, and wine. The Chicano All-Stars are playing. Tickets are $185 all-inclusive, and guests must be 21 or older.
On the far side of the Forest, the casual room many people used for a burger after a round has been closed since early April. Sticks closed at the start of that month, and the course outside its windows has been a construction site since March 18.
The timing explains how Pebble Beach's informal evenings will work this winter. The Spanish Bay project runs on a schedule tied to the 127th U.S. Open, so the closure has a fixed end. Until then, the easygoing side of resort dining is on the Lodge side of the Forest, and Pebble Beach Company is throwing its five-year-old Mexican restaurant a party.
A Closure Built Around a Championship Date
The Links at Spanish Bay played its last round on March 17, 2026. Pebble Beach Company's February 17 announcement set the reopening for April 17, 2027, "just ahead of the 127th U.S. Open being played at Pebble Beach Golf Links for a seventh time." That date matters more than most construction targets. The company has a major championship arriving soon after, and it is already taking tee times on the redesigned course through Resort Reservations.
The work goes well beyond a facelift. According to the company's project page, the job includes realigning and repairing the storm drain system and replacing an irrigation system that "has reached the end of its useful life." The schedule calls for 13 months of construction starting March 18. The design is by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner of Hanse Golf Course Design, who are reworking the 38-year-old course from tee to green.
| Feature | Before the closure | When it reopens |
|---|---|---|
| Par | 72 | 71 |
| Forward tees | About 500 yards longer | 4,705 yards |
| Championship tees | About 375 yards shorter | 7,115 yards |
| Putting greens | Current size | About 40% larger, fully resurfaced |
| Fairways | Current width | About 30% wider |
| Irrigated turf | Current footprint | 12% less |
| Habitat area | Current acreage | Three more acres |
The layout itself also changes. Several greens are moving, including those on the current 14th and 18th holes, and the space they free up becomes a new par-three that replaces today's 13th. If you know the course well, expect the back nine to play differently next spring.
What the Updates Show So Far
The company has kept a running log on its project page. The entries are dated and titled, each linking to photos and video on its Instagram account: "Vision Becoming Reality" on April 17, "Changing by the Day" on May 4, "Defining Characteristics" on May 17, "The Most Transformative Portion" on May 31, "Holes 13 & 14" on June 13, "Coming into Focus" on June 30, "Greener by the Day" on July 11, and "Continuing the Transformation" on August 1.
The holes 13 and 14 entry came in mid-June, close to the halfway point of a 13-month schedule. Those are the holes where the new par-three is being built. The latest dated entry on the page is August 1, and the page still lists April 17, 2027 as the reopening date. The company doesn't publish a formal on-schedule or delay status, but it hasn't announced any change to the date.
Monterey County NOW, reporting on the closure in April, gave a measured view:
"Construction timelines are notoriously iffy, but Pebble Beach Company managed to keep several projects on schedule during renovation of The Lodge last year."
Sticks Comes Back as a Different Kind of Room
Sticks is expected to reopen in March 2027, about a month before the course. It won't be the same restaurant. The plan calls for a gastropub with a new menu downstairs and a 4,000-square-foot golf simulator lounge upstairs. That lounge will have at least four "swing suites" with Golfzon TwoVisionNX simulators, which use a motion plate that tilts in 64 directions and a mat that can simulate 56,000 different lies.
The new room's name, chef, and menu haven't been announced. What has been reported is the concept, a pub with indoor golf a few steps from the real course, and a date that puts it back in service ahead of the U.S. Open crowds.
Hay's Place Got a Birthday Party While Sticks Is Closed
With Sticks closed for close to a year, Hay's Place is the resort's established casual room. It opened in October 2021 beside The Hay, the nine-hole short course designed by Tiger Woods. Monterey County NOW wrote that it "resonates with both resort guests and locals from across the Peninsula in a way that Pebble Beach noticed," and said that is why the company is throwing the party.
The paper's review lists the dishes that have lasted:
- Tiger's fajitas, on the menu at Woods' request and a fixture since opening day, served with a whole roasted jalapeño.
- Tin can nachos topped with Chef Angela Herrera's queso blanco, which starts with sautéed chilies and onions, adds milk and cream, and finishes with Vermont white cheddar and fontina. Chicken, short rib, or lobster can be added.
- Roasted elote with chipotle, cotija, and seasoned salt.
- Hay's Tee Decision, a cocktail made with chamomile-infused tequila, one of the few pun-named drinks still on the list.
The paper also put the anniversary in perspective. Five years is short in a county where Sardine Factory dates to 1968 and Old Fisherman's Grotto to 1959. At Pebble Beach this year, it still makes Hay's Place the steady casual option while Sticks is closed. You can reach the restaurant at (800) 877-0597.
The Inn at Spanish Bay Is Still Serving
The construction is on the course. The Inn's own restaurants still post hours on the resort's website, though the listings are general and don't promise service on any particular date:
- Pèppoli serves Northern Italian food. Lunch is listed from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
- The Lobby Lounge lists hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for light fare and cocktails, and its terrace and fire pits are part of the venue.
- Stave Wine Cellar lists 2 to 9 p.m. for tastings and small bites.
The resort's pages still describe a bagpiper who plays each evening and ends the walk at the Spanish Bay fire pits. Those pages say nothing about the renovation. The same goes for the shoreline. A January 2025 company release included reconstruction of the Spanish Bay boardwalk, which it describes as public coastal access, and said that work would begin in spring 2025. The company hasn't posted a current update on the boardwalk. The project page tells anyone with questions to call Resort Reservations, so that's the best number to try before an evening walk or a sunset visit.
The Rest of the Forest's Fall Calendar
Spanish Bay's closure also affects which Forest courses host events this season. The resort calendar runs through the new year without any Spanish Bay dates:
- October 17: Hay's Place fifth-anniversary party, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- October 19–21: Monterey Open at Del Monte Golf Course.
- October 24: The 12th Annual Pebble Beach Zombie Run and Emergency Preparedness Fair, 9 a.m. to noon, at the Pebble Beach Company Corporation Yard, 4005 Sunridge Road, hosted by the Pebble Beach Community Services District.
- October 30: The PBCSD's next regular board meeting at 9:30 a.m. Its September agenda included a payment authorization for Phase IV of the district's project to move overhead utilities underground.
- November 17–22: TaylorMade Pebble Beach Invitational.
- December 30–January 1: Pebble Beach New Year's Championship.
After that come the reopenings. Sticks is scheduled for March, The Links at Spanish Bay for April 17, and then the U.S. Open returns to Pebble Beach Golf Links for the seventh time.
Over the coming months, Monterey Coast Realty will be tracking how the Spanish Bay project changes the west end of the Forest, from the new course routing to Sticks' return. If you'd like to talk about what the work means for your street or your plans before the U.S. Open, we're glad to have that conversation. Contact Us.
