A Spanish Bay Tradition Every Evening
The bagpiper has played along the Pebble Beach coastline every day, rain or shine, since The Inn and Links at Spanish Bay opened in 1987. How did this tradition begin? After a quip by The Links at Spanish Bay co-designer Tom Watson:
When building the Scottish-style course — the first of its kind in America — Tom Watson (a five-time British Open champion) reflected one day after surveying the transformed dunescape:
“Spanish Bay is so much like Scotland, you can almost hear the bagpipes.”
By the time Spanish Bay opened in 1987, you could. Inspired by Watson’s observation, it was natural to marry the uniquely Scottish experience of playing a seaside links-style course with the national instrument of The Home of Golf.
The daily bagpiper performance begins on the first tee at The Links at Spanish Bay in front of STICKS, and finishes 45 minutes later at the Spanish Bay fire pits by the second green. During Daylight Saving Time, the bagpiper begins at approximately 5:45 p.m. During Standard Time, the bagpiper begins a half hour before sunset.
Bagpiper Times
| Pacific Standard Time | Daylight Saving Time | |
|---|---|---|
| (Mid-Nov. to Jan.) | (Feb. to Mid-March) | (Mid-March to Mid-Nov.) |
| 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. | 5:00 pm – 5:45pm | 5:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. |
“The must-see draw for the non-golfing crowd: the bagpiper who plays at sunset every day at Spanish Bay, a chance to reimagine the Pacific as the Scottish Highlands.”
—The Los Angeles Times
Inside Pebble Beach
The Bagpiper at Spanish Bay: An Unforgettable Pebble Beach Tradition
The Bagpiper at Spanish Bay: An Unforgettable Pebble Beach Tradition
When building The Links at Spanish Bay, five-time British Open champion Tom Watson remarked: "Spanish Bay is so much like Scotland, you can almost hear the bagpipes." From that quote, a tradition was born. Read More »A Q&A with Spanish Bay Bagpiper Lane Olson Driver
A Q&A with Spanish Bay Bagpiper Lane Olson Driver
We caught up with Lane Olson, who shared her favorite stories from performing at Spanish Bay over the past decade. Read More »Guest Post: How We Built The Links at Spanish Bay