Pebble Beach Golf Links

Pebble Beach Golf Links – Played August 2013

  • Rankings: Golf Digest #7, Golf Digest Public #1, Golf Magazine #5, Golf Magazine Public #2
  • Location: 1700 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, California
  • Year: 1919
  • Original Architects: Jack Neville & Douglas Grant
  • Additional Work By: Seth Raynor, Chandler Egan, Alister MacKenzie, Harold Sampson, Herbert Fowler, Robert Hunter, Jack Nicklaus, & Arnold Palmer
  • Course Access: Resort
  • Walking Rules: Carts & Caddies Available

Score Card Information:

  • Blue: 6,828 yards, Par 72, 74.7 Rating/143 Slope
  • Gold: 6,445 yards, Par 72, 72.6 Rating/136 Slope
  • White: 6,116 yards, Par 72, 71.3 Rating/132 Slope
  • Red: 5,249 yards, Par 72, 71.8 Rating/129 Slope

Almost everyone who has picked up a golf club has heard of Pebble Beach Golf Links. Those that haven’t have probably been living under a rock. Nonetheless, a brief history of the course is still informative. The course was designed by two first time architects (Neville & Grant) and what a job they did! Since opening in 1919, their maiden course has hosted 5 U.S. Opens and 4 U.S. Amateurs to date.

I was at Pebble Beach on a vacation with my wife. We were in California for a wedding and decided to turn that occasion into a jaunt across most of the state! The Monterey Peninsula was the middle leg of our trip. I made my way to the course for my 8:30 AM tee time and was promptly shuttled to hit range balls. At this point, I got to see the construction of the new driving range. It is much more expansive than the current offering and will be a great facility when it is finished.

After some warm-ups, I headed to the first tee to meet my playing partners. My wife decided to just walk along (and take all these wonderful pictures)! I was grouped with three Japanese men that were in town on business. Since they spoke very little English the resort had an interpreter on the first tee to introduce us. They were very nice throughout the entire round and we managed to communicate very well despite the language barrier.

I decided to play the gold tees, listed at 6,445 yards.

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Hole 1 – 346 yards – Par 4

The first hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links is an understated start to what you about to experience. The hole only requires a 200-yard shot right at the bunker seen here.

PB 1 - Tee

The photo below is from about 140 yards out on the left side of the fairway

PB 1 - Approach

Hole 2 – 460 yards – Par 5

There is no strategy here, just bomb it down the middle.

PB 2 - Tee

In the photo below, you can see the approach shot into the green. A wedge from here will do fine.

PB 2 - Approach

The green, as seen below, is small. It fits the time period when it would not have been customary to go for it in two.

PB 2 - Green

Hole 3 – 374 yards – Par 4

The third hole was when I started to recall my experiences playing video games. The tee shot on this hole was tighter than I remembered from the television screen. Something 225 yards at the middle bunker in the distance is the best play.

PB 3 - Tee

The approach shot seen below is from about 150 yards. The green is perched as you can see.

PB 3 - Approach

PB 3 - Green

Hole 4 – 307 yards – Par 4

The fourth hole is listed as a short par 4 but plays much longer to the uphill slope. The best play is to just hit it up the middle.

PB 4 - Tee

The approach shot, seen below, plays significantly uphill. It was on this hole that I began to realize shots weren’t flying as far as I was accustomed to at home. This shot was from about 135 yards.

PB 4 - Approach

Hole 5 – 142 yards – Par 3

The fifth hole was the first of the par threes. Pebble has a great collection of one-shot holes and the fifth is a worthy opening act. Note the hazard to the right, this reminded me that I was coming to the great seaside holes!

PB 5 - Tee

A closer look at the green, with subtle undulation.

PB 5 - Green

Hole 6 – 487 yards – Par 5

Everyone knows the par 5, sixth hole, but the ocean out to the right was significantly closer than I expected. That probably resulted in my tee shot going way left!

PB 6 - Tee

The second shot, seen here, plays up a steep hill. It was much taller than I expected.

PB 6 - Second Shot

For the third shot, the hole flattens out for a standard wedge shot.

PB 6 - Approach

The green has more undulation than the camera shows here. The flag was in the bottom of a little bowl.

PB 6 - Green

Hole 7 – 98 yards – Par 3

Anyone that didn’t know about the sixth hole definitely knows about the seventh hole. This was a tantalizing little shot that I got to play with only a moderate wind.

PB 7 - Tee

A view to the tee from the green.

PB 7 - Green to Tee

A shot of the green.

PB 7 - Green

Hole 8 – 400 yards – Par 4

The tee shot at the 8th hole plays uphill and should be struck at the yellow house seen here. You only want to go about 230 yards, as I was only a few yards from the cliff!

The shot below is looking back to my approach from about 170 yards.

PB 8 - Back to Approach

Hole 9 – 460 yards – Par 4

I didn’t get a shot of 9 tee, but below is the approach to the beastly par 4. There is a lot of elevation change down to the green.

PB 9 - Approach

The green, as seen below, has quite a bit of slop from left to right.

PB 9 - Green

Hole 10 – 429 yards – Par 4

The 10th hole is another long hole with a driver down the middle being the play.

PB 10 - Tee

The approach shot into 10, note that you do not want to miss right unless you want a walk on the beach.

PB 10 - Approach

Hole 11 – 349 yards – Par 4

The eleventh hole plays on a line a little right of the telephone pole in the distance.

PB 11 - Tee

The approach plays uphill to a green tucked behind large greenside bunkers.

PB 11 - Approach

Hole 12 – 187 yards – Par 3

The 12th plays to a shallow green as seen here.

PB 12 - Tee

PB 12 - Green

Hole 13 – 391 yards – Par 4

The thirteenth hole plays longer than the listed yardage. A good line is just right of the left bunker.

PB 13 - Tee

The approach shot is really uphill as seen below.

PB 13 - Approach

The green has quite a bit of slope from back to front as seen below.

PB 13 - Green

Hole 14 – 560 yards – Par 5

The par 5 fourteenth has a good dogleg to the right. A drive up the middle is the best play.

PB 14 - Tee

The photo below shows the second shot. Note that the hole bends quite a bit to the right and is very uphill.

PB 14 - Second Shot

PB 14 - Approach

This first shot of the green really shows the slope from the right to left. It is about a five-foot rise.

PB 14 - Green

A zoomed-in shot of the left side of the green.

PB 14 - Green 2

Hole 16 – 376 yards – Par 4

I missed the fifteenth hole, but below is the tee shot on the sixteenth. A drive right over the left side of the bunker will leave you in a good spot.

PB 16 - Tee

The approach shot seen below is a little downhill over some large cross bunkers.

PB 16 - Approach

Here is a shot of the cross bunkers fronting the green. These pose a real hazard as they are about eight feet deep.

PB 16 - Cross Bunkers

The photo below was something my wife found interesting and I am glad she saw it. This was a tree near the green with a notch full of tees. A convenient little treat for those that find it.

PB 16 - Tree of Tees

Hole 17 – 170 yards – Par 3

And here we are at the seventeenth tee. Just a great hole that I will let the photo tell the story.

PB 17 - Tee

And below is a shot of the left side of the green. It is very shallow on this side.

PB 17 - Green Left

Hole 18 – 532 yards – Par 5

Now I have finally reached the eighteenth tee. I can just picture Jack Nicklaus sitting on the bridge looking into the ocean or Tiger Woods getting ready to complete his massive win in the 2000 US Open. This is another photo that I will let tell the story.

PB 18 - Tee

Below is the second shot from the right side of the fairway. The trees come into play if you happen to be on this side of the hole.

PB 18 - Second Shot

Here is a shot of the approach from about 100-110 yards. Note the stiff wind blowing the flag.

PB 18 - Approach

The bunkers were a difficult part of the course. As you can see below, they can be pretty deep. The sand was also very fluffy making solid contact imperative.

PB 18 - Bunker

Overall, I loved my experience at Pebble Beach Golf Links. It was everything I had hoped it would be down to the weather being overcast with a good wind for most of the round. It is certainly a bucket list course that I would recommend to anyone. As a side note, I would also recommend eating at the Tap Room afterwards. You never know who you might see and the food is really good. I had the signature ale and it was a great finish to a wonderful day on a major championship golf course.

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