With the AT&T Championship approaching at Pebble Beach, the golfer's mind turns to the Monterey peninsula, and the golfer wonders: is there anywhere near Pebble that doesn't cost so much to play?

An answer comes in the form of a stay-and-play package, a cool tandem offering by Bayonet Blackhorse, a newly renovated 36-hole facility, and Poppy Hills, formerly part of the AT&T rota. Here's the deal: 18-hole greens fees on two of those three courses, and an overnight at one of two hotels: Casa Munras, a hacienda-style hotel in Monterey, or the Embassy Suites Monterey Bay, which offers a hot breakfast buffet with made-to-order omelets.

Prices range from $252 to $274. Or roughly half the price of a round at Pebble Beach. The deal is good through March 31.

For booking reservations at Casa Munras, call (831)-375-2411 or visit their website. For the Embassy Suites Monterey Bay-Seaside, call Andrea Jackson at (831) 241-9116.

(Photo: Joann Dost)

Everything, it seems, has been discounted this holiday season — cashmere sweaters, flat-screen TVs, even tee times at Pebble Beach. Yes, the venerable seaside links known as much for its imposing $500 green fees as its dramatic oceanside setting is on the sale rack. Through the end of next month you can play Pebble for a relative pittance — just $375. And why’ll your there, how does Spyglass Hill for $185 a round sound? Or, better yet, the Links at Spanish Bay for a mere $135? Cart included! Every tee time must go!! These prices are INSANE!!!

Now for the catch. The offer is good only for members of the Northern California Golf Association. But wait, keep reading — if you’re a member of any state or regional golf association, the folks at the NCGA will happily take you in for just $25. Give them a buzz at 831-625-4653.

Too good to be true? I thought so, so I called both Pebble and the NCGA. Both confirmed the deal is a deal. “It hasn’t spiked our membership,” says Tom Bowden, the NCGA’s director of member relations and development. But, he reckons, the offer has attracted nearly 1,000 new members.