This iconic building and one of golf's greatest 19th holes is undergoing a renovation
Not long after Rory McIlroy holed his winning putt at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday, Pebble Beach employees got to work on what is set to be the largest renovation and refresh of The Lodge at Pebble Beach in its 115-year history. Pebble Beach is atop the list of the top 200 resort courses on Golfweek's Best list in 2025.
Updates and additions have been made over the last century to the iconic building which overlooks Pebble’s famous 18th hole, including Carmel Bay and Point Lobos as its backdrop, but nothing as substantial as the forthcoming renovation to preserve the essence and character of the Lodge while modernizing and expanding the building to meet the needs of future generations has occurred before.
The resort is upgrading the main building, including the restaurants and guest reception area. Highlights of the project include a redesigned Stillwater Bar & Grill, including two ocean-view private dining rooms and an expanded bar with views of Stillwater Cove, a new intimate private dining experience connected to the Tap Room, expansion of the Terrace Lounge patio overlooking the 18th green, and an upgraded guest reception area and main arrival experience. Cypress Drive, the thoroughfare in front of The Lodge will be repaved, taking out that roadway for a time during the process. When the main building shuts down, guest check-in for the five-star hotel will relocate to the Pebble Beach Visitor’s Center across 17-Mile Drive. The project is slated for completion by the Concours d’Elegance on Aug. 17.
“It’s like every renovation — it’s trying to orchestrate while managing a business and managing the renovation at the same time,” Caroline MacDonald, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Pebble Beach Company, told the Monterey Weekly.
When The Lodge opened in 1919, Pebble Beach began as little more than a waystation for hungry tourists midway through a 17-mile scenic drive from Monterey’s historic Hotel Del Monte. The Tap Room is the oldest remaining restaurant at the resort, dating to 1949. [It was known as the Monkeyshines Room, a place to smoke a cigar while sipping a whiskey prior to that.]
What does the renovation mean for The Tap Room, one of golf’s great 19th holes, which doubles as a world-class steakhouse? Indeed, the Pebble Beach experience is not quite complete without dining in the Tap Room on hearty All-American fare, from Kobe burgers to prime rib and 22 oz. bone-in center cut prime Delmonico cooked in a Montague broiler. During the project, The Tap Room will be relocated and “reimagined” in a spot overlooking the start of the course at Fairway 1 while the interior of The Tap Room gets a refreshed design as well as an expansion of dining capacity, a state-of-the-art kitchen and improved access consistent with the Americans with Disability Act.
“We’ve outgrown the space,” MacDonald said. “It’s pretty amazing the amount of meals we serve out of that space.”
The Tap Room will shift to The Terrace Lounge space in August until its original location is ready in mid-October.
If Pebble Beach Golf Links is the canvas where great stories are painted, the Tap Room is the gallery where these stories are marveled at, oftentimes into the wee hours of the night. In September 2023, it was Dwyane Wade who celebrated the shot of a lifetime after acing the par-3 7th, treating everyone within the Tap Room walls to a round on him. The 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am champ, Wyndham Clark, enjoyed an ice cream sundae when he shot his course-record 60 in February 2024.
More than two decades ago, the late Payne Stewart was a central character in a fabled Tap Room story. Ahead of the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Stewart was the reigning champion having defeated Scott Simpson at Hazeltine in an 18-hole playoff the year prior. Roughly a month prior to his title defense, Stewart took a scouting trip to Pebble Beach and ventured into the Tap Room one evening. Without his signature knickers and cap, one patron in particular refused to believe it was him. For proof of identity, Stewart offered to retrieve his U.S. Open trophy which he had in tow, but only if the gentleman would fill it with champagne upon his return. Moments later the patron duly noted that he was indeed in the presence of greatness and indulged in an unforgettable evening.
Last week, during the AT&T, players, agents, media and tournament officials mingled and took turns filling the tables at one of the resort’s institutions. As one of them said, “It’s just THE place to be.” It will be again at next year’s tournament – just better than ever. And it will be open for Super Bowl Sunday at the new Fairways location.
“The aesthetic remains true to what it is today,” MacDonald said.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: The Tap Room will be relocated to Fairway One during its renovation
