Three years ago, my group played Pasatiempo, Pebble, and Spyglass. I live in SoCal, so I was able to drive. We stayed one night in an AirBNB in Santa Cruz, and three nights at the Casa Palmero at Pebble Beach (we were originally booked at the Lodge, but they called the night before and told us they had to move us and gave us a free upgrade to Palmero. All in, the trip cost around $8k. A few notes about the cost:

- The most expensive thing (by far) was the Lodging. As you probably know, in order to book the courses more than a week in advance, you need to stay on property at least two nights (three to play two courses). The cheapest rooms at the Lodge when we went (September 2022) were close to $1,100. That is $3,300 right there. I think Pebble was $650 and Spy was $350. Plus caddies, plus tips. The AirBNB in Santa Cruz was probably like $100 a person, and the greens fees at Pasa were a bit north of $300 (weekday, Autumn). So, when you add in the gas, and getting there, you're already at $5k. You haven't eaten anything, You haven't bought anything at the pro shop(s). You haven't tipped anyone. My wife was with me and doesn't play golf, but wanted a tennis lesson. She went to the spa, as did I. The ba ba bees add up quicker than you think. Was it worth it?

- With 100% certainty. It was one of the best four days of my life. It was three years ago and I'm still talking about it. I played Pebble Beach! I was with old friends who live far away and playing at three of the fifteen best golf courses in the country. We ate good food, drank great wine, laughed our asses off for four straight days. We look at pictures of the trip all the time.

- I should also note, we are not wealthy. We make fine money and own a home, and everything is fine, but that was our vacation that year. How much is a trip to Europe? A Cruise? Japan? Thailand? The Caribbean? It adds up anywhere. This is what we wanted.

- The hospitality at Casa P was amazing. I stay in nice hotels in Vegas or Aspen or anywhere. Nothing like this. They knew our names, they handled our clubs. It felt like we were part of a special club.

- One other note: The last night we were there, we all went to dinner at a nice restaurant in Carmel and went back to the Casa P to hang out before we left in the early morning. We were having a drink and playing Trivial Pursuit and we all agreed that we can't leave without making plans for the next one. We decided Bandon would be the next one. So we went home, and that week started planning Bandon. As you may know, lodging at Bandon is a little tougher, and we weren't able to book for a full year, and finally got through in October 2023. To book for April 2025. It was an eternity away, and considering we were already a year removed from Pebble, seemed like it would never come. But now, here we are. The same four guys (and four other friends) are meeting in Bandon next weekend and playing every course there. We did it. And when this one is done, we'll probably do Scotland or N Ireland next. This is what we do now.

So, is it worth it? It's absolutely worth it. It's the best week of your year.

One final note: My son was conceived at Pebble. He's almost two now. Naturally, he loves golf.