Not just the greatest meeting of land and sea in American golf, but the most extensive one, too, with nine holes perched immediately above the crashing Pacific surf—the fourth through 10th plus the 17th and 18th. Pebble’s sixth through eighth are golf’s real Amen Corner, with a few Hail Marys thrown in over an ocean cove on the eighth from atop a 75-foot-high bluff. Pebble hosted a successful U.S. Amateur in 2018 and a sixth U.S. Open in 2019.

Pasatiempo is arguably Alister Mackenzie's favorite design. He lived along its sixth fairway during his last years. With its elaborate greens and spectacular bunkering fully restored by Tom Doak and then-associate Jim Urbina, it’s now a prime example of Mackenzie's art. Its five par 3s are daunting yet delightful, culminating with the 181-yard over-a-canyon 18th. The back nine is chock full of other great holes: 10, 11, 12 and 16 all play over barrancas.

Pasatiempo is arguably Alister Mackenzie's favorite design. He lived along its sixth fairway during his last years. With its elaborate greens and spectacular bunkering fully restored by Tom Doak and then-associate Jim Urbina, it’s now a prime example of Mackenzie's art. Its five par 3s are daunting yet delightful, culminating with the 181-yard over-a-canyon 18th. The back nine is chock full of other great holes: 10, 11, 12 and 16 all play over barrancas.

Located in the little-known but abundant golfing area south of San Jose, the gorgeous CordeValle was a private club when it first opened, but is a high-end resort destination these days, with climbing and descending soft hills dotted by gnarled oaks. It hosted both the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur and PGA Tour's Frys.com Open in 2013 and was the site of the U.S. Women's Open in 2016.

The Links at Spanish Bay was the first true links course built in America in many decades, but it took years for conveyor belts to deposit sand atop exposed bed rock to return this mined-out sand quarry back to a linkland site. The trio of designers, playfully dubbed "The Holy Trinity," thoughtfully shaped an 18 that looks natural, plays strategically and is sensitive to the coastal wetland environment.

Originally private, the Stadium Course (the original 18 at PGA West) was among the rota of courses for the old Bob Hope Desert Classic, until some pros, objecting to its difficulty, petitioned to remove it. (It’s now back.) It's Pete Dye at his rambunctious best, with a finish mimicking his later design at TPC Sawgrass: a gambling par-5 16th (called San Andres Fault), a short par-3 17th to an island green and an intimidating par-4 18th with water all the way to the green.

When originally built, Poppy Hills had unpopular perched greens framed by massive containment mounds. Following a 2013 remodeling by Jones and Charlton, it's now a graceful, low-profile layout. "We popped the hills at Poppy Hills," says Trent Jr. A new feature are sandy naturalized areas and pine straw off the fairways instead of manicured rough, part of a concerted effort to significantly reduce water consumption.

Located in the Sierra Nevada foothills 50 miles northwest of Reno, Grizzly Ranch is getaway, escapist golf and a refreshing trek through nature. When given such serenity and untouched natural beauty, it’s important not to overcook the design. The late architect Bob Cupp didn’t. He layered the holes onto a basin of forest floor with minimal buildup, directing them easily up and down the tilted property and positioning the greensites in ways that mingle thoughtfully with creeks and dry washes.

Local residents revived this golf development within Anza Borrego Desert State Park, on the western edge of the Sonoran Desert about an hour from La Quinta, Calif., in the mid 2000s with an entirely new course built by Tom Fazio. Some of Fazio’s spacious holes are molded into the desert earth and others ride the up and down rocky elevations, leading to a finish that includes the short par-4 17th and gambler’s par-5 18th that streaks downhill around a water feature.

Redesigned by Tom Weiskopf in 2018, Torrey Pines' North course became friendly for the average golfer. The number of bunkers were reduced from 60 to 42 and made easier to play out of. And the average green size was increased from 4,500 square feet to 6,000. Lastly, Weiskopf added one of his signatures: a short, drivable par 4 (the seventh)—making the companion course to the championship South course a little more fun.

This Tom Fazio-designed oceanside course provides stunning views of Catalina Island and Newport Beach. Set on slightly higher ground than its sister course (Ocean South), the North Course at Pelican Hill features sloping greens and several carries over canyons off the tee.

Just 30 minutes south of LAX, the Pete Dye design features Pacific Ocean views on every single hole. Built among the jagged cliffs of Palos Verdes Peninsula, Trump National L.A. is known as one of the most expensive golf courses ever constructed – $250 million was spent to develop this scenic public golf experience.

Rustic Canyon earned the honor of Golf Digest's Most Affordable Public Course in 2002, and it has continued to generate attention as one of Southern California's best public options since. With wide, generous fairways routed through a seasonal stream bed in the foothills north of Los Angeles, this Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner and Geoff Shackelford design is a natural, minimalistic and strategic gem that should be on any list of the best in California.

Nestled in the Sierra Nevada foothills, this Keith Foster-designed course has been praised by many for the variety in its layout. Several valleys offer noteworthy elevation changes and many holes play alongside natural penalty areas.

Old Greenwood is one of two 18-hole courses at Tahoe Mountain Club, and since 2020 the Jack Nicklaus signature design has hosted the PGA Tour’s modified stableford event, the Barracuda Championship. Winding through pine forests, meadows and hilly terrain, Old Greenwood is a challenging and aesthetically pleasing course.

Across the street from the Olympic Club is San Francisco's most famous muny, designed by the same architect, Willie Watson. Framed by eucalyptus, cypress and monterey pines, TPC Harding Park hosted a PGA Tour event in the 1950s and 1960s. And it hosted the 2020 PGA Championship, won by Collin Morikawa, after a significant renovation a couple years prior.

Just minutes from downtown San Diego, this Johnny Miller and Robert Muirgraves design snakes through rolling foothills with an abundance of elevation changes. Maderas not only features a challenging, target-oriented layout, but it also stars over forty acres of native wildflowers.

Part of the Park Hyatt Aviara, this Arnold Palmer design has hosted an LPGA Tour event since 2013. It will host the LPGA's JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol in March. The resort course meanders through rolling hillsides and is landscaped with native Southern California wildflowers.

Built on the site of a 100-yard-old marble quarry, Oak Quarry presents some terrific golf amidst magnificent views. Hidden just off an exit ramp on the way from L.A. to Palm Springs, this course is a thrill ride with bouncy, big-shouldered fairways framed by white-granite cliffs that amaze almost as much as they antagonize.

Home to the top-ranked Cardinal men’s and women’s golf teams, the Stanford Course is a par-70 George C. Thomas and Billy Bell Jr. design. Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Michelle Wie and many more famed Stanford alums experienced pivotal years in their young golf careers at this sprawling championship layout. Grand oak trees line the fairways and elevated tee boxes provide beautiful views of the surrounding mountain scenery.

This pair of 18-hole championship courses is riddled with history: The Bayonet and the Blackhorse are built on Fort Ord, a retired U.S. Army training facility. General Robert B. McClure famously built the Bayonet to perfectly fit his chronic fade as a left-handed golfer—the course is known for its “Combat Corner,” a series of sharp doglegs on the back nine. The Blackhorse was added in 1964, 10 years after the Bayonet, and features panoramic views of Monterey Bay.

This Jack Nicklaus-designed La Quinta course was the annual host of the PGA Tour’s final round of Q-school, along with PGA West’s Stadium Course. Surrounded by picturesque desert mountains, the championship venue features with two island greens and challenging cavernous bunkers.

Tucked away in the native woodlands of Livermore Valley just 50 minutes east of San Francisco lies this beautiful Greg Norman design. Providing several striking panoramas of active vineyards, the Course at Wente Vineyards hosted the then-Nationwide Tour’s Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship from 2006 to 2008.

Lining the breathtaking Santa Barbara cliffside, Sandpiper provides spectacular Pacific Ocean and beach views on most of its holes. This William F. Bell design has hosted several professional events, including the final stage of the PGA Tour’s Q-School and the LPGA Tour’s Santa Barbara Women’s Open. Sandpiper also has a unique history: The property was a site for ARCO crude oil production from 1938 to 1954.

This esteemed Pete Dye design weaves in and out of the picturesque Santa Rosa Mountains, which provide ample elevation changes and stunning visuals. The signature 16th hole—a downhill par 3 played to a trademark island green—is practically cut out of the mountainside.

Designed by Robert Muir Graves, this old-school style oak-tree lined course is tucked away 30 miles north of Santa Barbara. With rolling fairways and frequent windy conditions, La Purisima is an aesthetically beautiful and enjoyable track that will challenge golfers of all levels.

Some of the best architecture you can play for the price ($40!). Gil Hanse renovated this William F. Bell (architect of Torrey Pines, among others), giving public golfers a chance to play a course with invigorating, strategic options. The greens are interesting—depending on where the pin is on the day, you'll be tasked with navigating some tricky undulations.

Home to the PGA Tour’s annual Safeway Open, the North Course at Silverado Resort features narrow, tree-lined fairways and deep bunkers that force accurate approaches. This championship course is located in the heart of Napa Valley wine country and was designed by PGA Tour Hall-of-Famer Johnny Miller.

One of the most underrated courses in the desert is the Firecliff course at Desert Willow. Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry designed 36 holes (including the Mountain course) on this flat desert floor in the Coachella Valley and moved enough earth to create some interesting holes that frame the surrounding mountains. Playability for all handicap ranges is strong, but even for the better players, the Firecliff course is a intriguing and fair test of golf.

Reconstructed by architect Rees Jones in 2018, the South Course at Corica Park is a classic sandbelt track with natural fescue and large, flat bunkers lining vast fairways. The minimalist design and expansive yet contoured putting surfaces allow the ball to be played by both the air and the ground at this Bay Area gem. The North Course is now being worked on—the front nine re-opened in 2021 and the back nine will be completed by the end of 2022, the course says.

Just north of San Diego, Omni La Costa's Champions course has hosted 37 PGA Tour events since it opened in the 1950s, but four new holes were added during its 2011 renovation by Steve Pete, Damian Pascuzzo and Jeff Brauer. This layout meanders through the surrounding valley—providing an enjoyable setting with some history.

Formerly known as Saddle Creek Golf Resort, Copper Valley is a Carter Morrish design hidden within the serene Sierra Nevada foothills. The course weaves throughout the undulating natural landscape, making for an off the beaten path, but pleasant round of golf.

Of course, Pebble Beach is on most golfers' bucket lists. For locals, though, it's tough to beat the $40-60 normal rate at Pacific Grove, aka The Poor Man's Pebble. Pebble's designers, Jack Neville and Chandler Egan, did the layout for Pacific Grove, too—and the back nine has a Pebble feel in terms of your sense of enjoying the intimate setting on the Monterey Peninsula. Just like everyone should experience Pebble Beach once in their life, you should play Pacific Grove, too.