Inside the course: Pebble Beach GL and Del Monte GC

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The 18th hole at Pebble Beach offers one of the most scenic views at the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

Aug. 27, 2008

The Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, the only event on the Champions Tour where two courses are used during the competition, will take place at both Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course. Learn more about these two historic venues:

Fast facts: Pebble Beach Golf Links

Original architect	Jack Neville and Douglas Grant (1919)
Course remodel	Ed Conner & Jack Nicklaus (1991); New 5th hole-Jack Nicklaus (1998)
Course superintendent	Chris Dalhamer
Number of TOUR events as host venue	5 (including 2008)
Course ranking	Ranked 8 (out of 30) in difficulty on the Champions Tour in 2007
Yardage history	6,822 yards (2004-2006)
	6,837 (2007-present)
Grass	Perennial ryegrass (tees, fairways, rough); Poa annua (greens)
Tournament Stimpmeter	10 ft
Sand bunkers	107
Water hazards	Ocean on 9 holes
Course tour	Click here

Course record

Player
Craig Stadler

Year
2004

Round
2nd

Finish
Won

Holes-in-one

There have been no aces recorded during the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

2007 Rankings

Most Difficult Hole

	The par-5 572-yard 14th The dogleg right is a three shot hole for virtually all players. A well-placed bunker on the right will capture shots aimed at cutting the dogleg. Hit as much club as possible on the second shot and if the pin is tucked upper left, take at least one extra club to carry the huge frontal bunker. 2007: 0 eagles, 23 birdies, 80 pars, 43 bogeys, 6 double bogeys, 3 others.
Easiest hole in 2007
	The par-5 520-yard 6th The optimum placement for the tee shot is left center of the fairway. Your second shot must carry the steep slope but beware of the bunkers on the left. 2007: 5 eagles, 64 birdies, 73 pars, 10 bogeys, 3 double bogeys, 0 others.

Pebble Beach GL			2007 rankings		Last 4 years
Hole	Par	Yards	Avg. Score	Rank	Avg. Score	Rank
1	4	380	4.116	7	4.095	7
2	5	515	4.71	17	4.706	17
3	4	405	4.006	13	3.985	12
4	4	340	3.923	16	3.934	16
5	3	187	3.226	4	3.226	4
6	5	520	4.626	18	4.632	18
7	3	110	2.961	15	2.935	15
8	4	416	4.232	3	4.229	3
9	4	462	4.135	6	4.239	1
10	4	434	4.252	2	4.200	5
11	4	381	4.013	11	4.027	10
12	3	201	3.213	5	3.177	6
13	4	396	4.045	9	4.087	8
14	5	572	5.271	1	5.231	2
15	4	396	4.026	10	3.977	13
16	4	401	4.013	11	3.987	11
17	3	178	3.058	8	3.058	9
18	5	543	4.974	14	4.974	14

NOTES: The par-three 5th hole at Pebble Beach was rebuilt and reopened in 1998. The redesign was performed by Jack Nicklaus and is located along the pacific coastline on a 50-foot cliff. At a cost of $3 million, No. 5 is possibly the most expensive new hole in championship golf.
• Pebble Beach was the site of the 100th United States Open Championship in 2000, which produced a record-setting 15-shot victory for Tiger Woods at 12 under par.

Course origins

Since 1919, the exquisite beauty and unique challenge of Pebble Beach Golf Links has thrilled golfers and spectators alike. Designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, Pebble Beach has been the site of golfs most prestigious tournaments, including the annual AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the 1972, '82, '92 and 2000 U.S. Open Championships. The course will again serve as the host for the 2010 U.S. Open. Pebble Beach Golf Links was ranked the No. 1 Public Course in America by Golf Digest in 2007.

Eight players in the field enjoyed success on the PGA TOUR on the Monterey Peninsula, including Mark O'Meara, who won five times. In addition to O'Meara, this year's field includes 2005 champion Hale Irwin, who also won the 1984 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am; Tom Watson, who won the 1977 and 1978 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am and later claimed the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach; Tom Kite, who won both the 1983 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am and the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach; John Cook, the 1981 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am winner and the first of his 11 PGA TOUR titles; Ben Crenshaw, the 1976 Bing Crosby Pro-Am winner; Fuzzy Zoeller, the 1986 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am winner and Peter Jacobsen, the 1995 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am winner. -- Source: Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

Tournament course history

Course	Location	Years
Pebble Beach Golf Links	Pebble Beach, Calif.	(2004-present)
Del Monte GC	Monterey, Calif.	(2005-present)
Bayonet GC	Seaside, Calif.	(2004)

Fast facts: Del Monte Golf Course

Original architect	Charlie Maud (1897)
Course superintendent	Mike Phillips
Number of TOUR events as host venue	4 (including 2008)
Course ranking	Ranked 27 (out of 30) in difficulty on the Champions Tour in 2007
Yardage history	6,357 yards (2005-2006)
	6,365 (2007-present)
Grass	Perennial ryegrass; Poa annua (tees, fairways); Poa annua (greens); Kentucky bluegrass; perennial ryegrass (rough)
Tournament Stimpmeter	10.5 ft
Sand bunkers	65
Water hazards	1
Course tour	Click here

Course record

Player
D.A. Weibring
Des Smyth

Year
2006
2007

Round
1st
2nd

Finish
T7
T4

Holes-in-one

There have been no aces recorded during the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

2007 Rankings

Most Difficult Hole

	The par-3 196-yard 6th Nothing deceptive here. You simply need a solid shot, as missing the green will test your short game. 2007: 0 eagles, 7 birdies, 47 pars, 23 bogeys, 1 double bogeys, 0 others.
Easiest hole in 2007
	The par-5 512-yard 13th Before you tee it up, check the pin placement on No. 15. Then long and straight is all you need. Fairway bunkers protect the hole from miss-hit or misjudged shots. 2007: 5 eagles, 38 birdies, 31 pars, 4 bogeys, 0 double bogeys, 0 others.

Del Monte GC			2007 rankings		Last 3 years
Hole	Par	Yards	Avg. Score	Rank	Avg. Score	Rank
1	5	505	4.615	16	4.726	16
2	4	328	3.833	12	3.838	12
3	4	376	4.077	6	4.034	8
4	3	178	3.192	3	3.132	4
5	4	327	3.872	10	3.889	11
6	3	196	3.231	1	3.184	2
7	4	379	4.013	7	4.056	7
8	4	384	3.872	10	4.017	9
9	5	524	4.718	15	4.761	13
10	4	293	3.756	14	3.748	14
11	4	331	3.782	13	3.739	15
12	3	171	3.192	3	3.175	3
13	5	512	4.436	18	4.675	17
14	3	218	3.231	1	3.226	1
15	4	330	3.923	9	3.910	10
16	4	421	4.103	5	4.068	6
17	5	500	4.603	17	4.637	18
18	4	392	3.987	8	4.085	5

NOTES: Although short by modern standards, the course is well protected with mature pine and oak trees and small greens with tight bunkering around the greens.
• From the beginning, Del Monte was acknowledged as one of the best courses in the world. Scotsman John Lawson, founding member and early club championship of the SFGC proclaimed of Del Monte in May of 1897: "these links are the finest in the world with many natural hazards and a course of natural turf."
• As "natural turf," Lawson was referring to the grass green putting surfaces. The Presidio course had sand greens, packed down with a layer of oil.

Course origins

The Del Monte Hotel, near Monterey, Calif., opened in 1880. It was by most definitions one of the grandest hotels ever built, and set out to provide every desire of its guests from around the world. Its parent company, Pacific Improvement, had vast land holdings including most of the Monterey Peninsula and several thousand acres in nearby Carmel Valley. Early on, the hotel offered a polo field and racetrack for its guests. Ironically, in the 1890s, as golf was introduced in California, PI Co. had insufficient land near the hotel to build a course.

PI Co. arranged to lease some acreage from David Jacks and began constructing a nine-hole layout in early 1897.

Over the last 100 years, there has been much debate over which golf course was the first in California. At one time, Del Monte was considered the first. As far back as 1902, this question was being asked with no real assurance. It is generally conceded in this day the first course in California was a nine-hole layout at Riverside in either 1891 or 1894. The first course in Northern California was the San Francisco Golf Club's nine-hole course at the Presidio. Ground was broken there in December 1895 and the course was completed in early 1896. The late 1890s saw a boom in golf and courses multiplied throughout the state.

Of the earliest courses, only Del Monte and the Presidio courses remain. In reality, the Presidio was actually closed and turned into a practice drill field during the Spanish-American War. While the Presidio course beat Del Monte's course into existence by a little over one year, the Presidio course was briefly changed back to a drill field before reopening as a golf course. The fact that members could not depend on using the course led to SFGC to seek a new location. SFGC abandoned the Presidio and moved to a new 18-hole layout at Ingleside on August 1, 1905.

Given the above, Del Monte Golf Course proudly and rightfully claims being: the oldest golf course West of the Mississippi River in continuous operation.