Arnold Palmer and Clint Eastwood are part of an investment group hoping to acquire Pebble Beach for close to a billion dollars. If the sale goes through, it would be the third time the famous course has changed hands in the 1990s.

The package includes not only the Pebble Beach Links, venue for the US Amateur in August and next year's US Open, but all of the resort properties including the Spyglass Hill, Spanish Bay and Del Monte courses plus a couple of luxury hotels.

Japanese businessman Minoru Isutani paid $850m for the resort in 1990 but suffered a $340m loss when he sold it on to an investment partnership, Lone Cypress, three years later. So even with green fees up to $295 a pop, Palmer and Eastwood will want to double check their sums before purchasing.