Carmel Valley Ranch, Carmel-by-the-Sea

This is the only Pete Dye-designed course on the peninsula. The original course design was much more difficult than the current design. Pete Dye made numerous changes in 1995 to eliminate many sand bunkers and a lot of his trademark railroad ties, making the course much more "golfer friendly." Even so, there is still enough difficulty remaining with the many large sand bunkers, long, thick rough and trees in play. The back nine is particularly challenging with most of the holes built in the hills, requiring uphill and downhill shots from elevated tees to elevated greens. The greens are medium to large in size and many are tiered and undulating. Water comes into play on several holes. The Spalding Invitational has been held here in past years.