What and Where:
Pebble Beach Golf Links is an open-to-the-public, 18-hole layout on California's Monterrey Peninsula, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's one of the most famous - and highly regarded - golf courses in the world. It annually hosts the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on the PGA Tour, and regularly hosts other major tournaments including the U.S. Open. Pebble Beach Golf Links is the jewel of Pebble Beach Resorts, which includes several other well-known golf courses on the peninsula.
• Pebble Beach Golf Links pictures
Address: 1700 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, CA 93953
Phone: (800) 654-9300
Web site
When and Who:
Pebble Beach Golf Links opened in 1919. It was designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, a pair of amateur golfers doing their first course design. A few other architects have made changes to the Neville/Grant design over the years. Some of those changes are:
- Arthur "Bunker" Vincent added length and reshaped five greens prior to 1922.
- In 1922, William Fowler changed No. 18 from a 379-yard par-4 to a 548-yard par-5
- In 1928-29, H. Chandler Egan reshaped each green, and rebunkered them all, too, and reconfigured several other holes.
- In 1998, Jack Nicklaus built a new No. 5 hole.
Yardages and Ratings:
Pebble Beach Golf Links is a par-72, 6,737 yard layout from the championship tees. The course rating is 73.8. Other tees:
- Blue: 73.5 course rating; 142 slope
- Gold: 72.3 rating; 137 slope
- White: 71.2 rating; 134 slope
No. 1 - Par 4 - 376
No. 2 - Par 5 - 502
No. 3 - Par 4 - 374
No. 4 - Par 4 - 327
No. 5 - Par 3 - 187
No. 6 - Par 5 - 500
No. 7 - Par 3 - 106
No. 8 - Par 4 - 416
No. 9 - Par 4 - 462
No. 10 - Par 4 - 430
No. 11 - Par 4 - 373
No. 12 - Par 3 - 201
No. 13 - Par 4 - 393
No. 14 - Par 5 - 572
No. 15 - Par 4 - 396
No. 16 - Par 4 - 401
No. 17 - Par 3 - 178
No. 18 - Par 5 - 543
Significant Tournaments Hosted:
Pebble Beach Golf Links has been the site of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am - originally the Bing Crosby Pro-Am - every year since 1947. And it has been the site of the California State Amateur every year since 1920. And Pebble Beach has also hosted these tournaments (with their winners):
U.S. Open
1972: Jack Nicklaus
1982: Tom Watson
1992: Tom Kite
2000: Tiger Woods
U.S. Amateur
1929: Harrison R. Johnson
1947: Skee Riegel
1961: Jack Nicklaus
1999: David Gossett
The U.S. Open returns to Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2010.
PGA Tour Course Record:
- 62 - Tom Kite, 1983
Trivia:
About Pebble Beach Golf Links:
How revered is Pebble Beach Golf Links in the world of golf? Well, here's Jack Nicklaus:
"If I only had one more round to play, I would choose to play it at Pebble Beach. I've loved this course from the first time I saw it. It's possibly the best in the world."
"Possibly" the best in the world, definitely among the best. In 2001, Golf Digest rated Pebble Beach the best course in America, the first public course so honored.So like Nicklaus, you, too, can play Pebble Beach, since it's a public course. But two things to keep in mind if you want to play:
- Bring plenty of money. Greens fees at Pebble Beach Golf Links are measured in the hundreds of dollars. Pebble Beach's are among the highest greens fees of any golf course in the world.
- Make arrangements early. Your best bet is to arrange your rounds through a stay-and-play package (guests at The Lodge at Pebble Beach and The Inn at Spanish Bay get priority). You can, however, call the pro shop for a tee time, just like at any other course. But call very far in advance. And when tee times are canceled, open slots are listed on the Pebble Beach Web site for the coming 30 days. You can also try your luck showing up as a single - the starters will try to work you in, but there are no guarantees.
Then there are those small, sloping - and fast - greens, and the challenging tee shots to narrow fairways bordered by plenty of rough. First-time visitors to Pebble Beach are often unprepared for how small and difficult the greens are.
There are sidehill lies, holes playing uphill, and deep bunkers. And the ocean waters loom for wayward shots on many holes. Plus, breezy conditions are common, and when the wind kicks up, watch out.
These tough conditions are mitigated somewhat by the fact that Pebble Beach is not a long golf course. It's actually short by modern standards, tipping out at just over 6,700 yards.
Holes 4-10 play alongside the water, with No. 7 - a downhill par-3 whose green seems to float on water, bounded on three sides by ocean - is the most famous hole in that stretch. It is also said to be one of the most-photographed holes in golf.
The course goes back up into stands of Monterrey cypress trees on No. 11. No. 17, another par-3 whose green is backed by ocean, returns the golfer to the water's edge.
And No. 18, one of the most famous finishing holes in golf, is a 543-yard par-5 with rocky coastline and ocean down its entire left side.
Shop for Pebble Beach posters, pictures and prints
(Sources: Pebble Beach Golf Links Web site, Golf Digest)
