Inside the courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links

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Badz/PGA TOUR

This tournament is known best for its stunning host course -- Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Feb. 11, 2010

The TOUR heads north to Pebble Beach, Calif., this week for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where the pros, celebrities and amateurs will tee it up on three different courses.

Expert's Overview

Steve Voguit, Head Instructor for The PGA TOUR Golf Academy at World Golf Village, analyzes this week's three courses:

After a wet week in Los Angeles and an impressive win by Steve Stricker, the PGA TOUR heads north up the California coastline to the site of one of the most notable events of the season, the 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. This year's tournament is set to be played on Pebble Beach Golf Links, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, and Spyglass Hill, each with its own distinct personality. Of course, Pebble Beach is best known for its proximity to the coastline, where the great Pacific turns into a formidable hazard on nine of the 18 holes. The new "old" course of the tournament, the Monterey County Club's Shores Course, makes great use of nature's surroundings, including rocks, trees and, of course, the Pacific Ocean. And last but not least, Spyglass Hill, which was named after a famous location in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island, is also on the coastline and poses many of the same challenges of the previous mentioned courses. However, with the additions of deep bunkers and strategically placed ponds, this course usually plays the most difficult of the three.

While each course shows distinction, there is one common challenge: the wind. While playing in a stiff breeze, ball control is at a premium, especially when hitting directly into the wind. Any unplanned sidespin can be magnified exponentially when striking a shot into the wind. When developing a game plan for playing in windy conditions, a lower trajectory is the first line of defense. To control trajectory, you can simply choose a club with less loft or you may learn how to control the club shaft at impact. By leaning the club shaft forward towards the target when striking the ball, the loft is effectively decreased, which creates a lower ball flight. To achieve this, hit some classic knock-down shots with an iron. Follow these steps: Grip down about one inch, place the ball back slightly in your stance and make a short, smooth three-quarter golf swing, placing your focus on returning the club shaft and leaning forward at impact. Watch for defending champion Dustin Johnson to use some of these techniques this week as he attempts to improve on last week's third place finish in Los Angeles.

To learn more about the TOUR Academy, please click here.

PEBBLE BEACH GOLF LINKS

Fast facts

Course Superintendent	Chris Dalhamer
Original architect	Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, 1919
Redesign	Ed Conner and Jack Nicklaus, 1991; New fifth hole by Jack Nicklaus, 1998
Par value	72
Number of TOUR events as host venue	64 (including 2010)
Course ranking	Ranked 21 (out of 51) in difficulty on the PGA TOUR in 2009
Yardage history	6,815 yards (1947-1994)
	6,799 (1995-1999)
	6,816 (2000-2004, 2006-present)
	6,737 (2005)
Grass	Perennial ryegrass (tees, fairways, rough); Poa annua (rough)
Tournament Stimpmeter	10 ft
Sand bunkers	111
Water hazards	Ocean on nine holes
Course tour	Click here

Course record

Player
Tom Kite
David Duval

Year
1983
1997

Round
3rd
3rd

Finish
1st
T2

Holes-in-one

There have been 14 aces recorded at Pebble Beach Golf Links

Player	Hole	Year
Bill Glasson	5	2005
Mike Heinen	7	2003
David Morland IV	5	2000
Gil Morgan	12	1996
David Graham	7	1995
Vijay Singh	7	1994
Olin Browne	12	1994
Greg Hickman	12	1992
Billy Mayfair	17	1989
Brett Upper	5	1988
Nick Price	17	1988
Rex Caldwell	7	1986
Hubert Green	7	1985
Lou Graham	7	1984

2009 Rankings

Most Difficult Hole

	The par-4 466-yard 9th This is the toughest hole on the golf course. Because the fairway slopes severely toward the ocean, the approach must be hit from a hanging lie. What usually happens is that the player leaks it to the right a little or overcompensates and ends up in the left rough or the greenside bunker. The approach to No. 8 may be the most critical on the course, but the approach to the ninth is just as difficult and if you've missed the eighth, the ninth is not place to pick up lost strokes. 2009: 0 eagles, 8 birdies, 113 pars, 51 bogeys, 6 double bogeys, 1 other.
Easiest hole
	The par-5 502-yard 2nd Because this hole normally plays as a par 5, the green is quite narrow, which means you want to leave as short an approach as possible. That means that, even though the fairway is only 30 yards wide, players will be hitting driver as hard as possible. The change also will alter the way the players approach the course. When this was a par 5, the idea was to pick up birdies before you hit the ocean holes. Not anymore. 2009: 7 eagles, 82 birdies, 76 pars, 12 bogeys, 1 double bogeys and 1 others.

Pebble Beach Golf Links			2009 rankings		Last 25 years
Hole	Par	Yards	Average score	Rank	Average score	Rank
1	4	381	4.056	10	4.108	7
2	5	502	4.559	18	4.615	18
3	4	390	4.117	6	4.006	12
4	4	331	3.788	17	3.931	16
5	3	188	3.212	2	3.176	4
6	5	513	4.894	13	4.678	17
7	3	106	3.017	11	2.987	13
8	4	418	4.073	8	4.258	2
9	4	466	4.324	1	4.319	1
10	4	446	4.196	3	4.243	3
11	4	380	3.844	15	4.016	11
12	3	202	3.19	5	3.170	5
13	4	399	3.939	12	4.023	10
14	5	573	5.061	9	5.134	6
15	4	397	3.86	14	3.969	14
16	4	403	4.101	7	4.044	9
17	3	178	3.196	3	3.049	8
18	5	543	4.799	16	4.952	15

Course origins

The par-three 5th hole at Pebble Beach was rebuit 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 U.S. Open Championship in 2000, which produced a record-setting 15-shot victory for Tiger Woods at 12 under par. The U.S. Open returns to Pebble Beach again this summer.

MONTEREY PENINSULA COUNTRY CLUB -- SHORE COURSE

Fast facts

Original architect	Bob E. Baldock and Jack Neville, 1959
Par value	70
Number of TOUR events as host venue	3
Yardage	6,838
Grass	Poa annua (greens); Bent (tees, fairways)

Course origins

Monterey Peninsula Country Club originally opened in July 1926, with the Dunes Course, a vision of Pebble Beach founder, Samuel F.B. Morse. The club properties account for roughly 400 acres of land in the central region of the Monterey Peninsula. The Shores Course was designed by Bob E. Baldock and Jack Neville in 1959 after the members purchased the club from Del Monte Properties.

In 2003, more than 40 years later, the members decided to hire Mike Strantz to redesign a layout on par with the stunning land it was first sowed. "I wanted to shape the course to sweep with the natural terrainthe rocks, the trees and grasses, the ocean," Strantz said. "I dreamed that the course would appear to dance among the cypress trees on this coastline forever." Strantz designed 12 new holes and remodeled the other six to add more than 500 yards to the par-72 layout.

This wonderful layout is located along 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. Views of the rugged coastline are spectacular. The proximity to the open ocean means wind is a major factor at times. Since the course is private and gets very little traffic, it is in pristine condition.

The Shores Course was part of the Crosby golf tournament hosted by Bing Crosby, currently the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, from 1965, 1966 and 1977. 2010 will be a rebirth for the Shores Course as the Monterey Peninsula Foundation announced it will be replacing Poppy Hills Golf Course in the rotation. -- www.montereypeninsulagolf.com

SPYGLASS HILL GOLF COURSE

Fast facts

Course Superintendent	Robert C. Yeo
Original architect	Robert Trent Jones Sr., 1966
Par value	72
Number of TOUR events as host venue	41 (including 2009)
Course ranking	Ranked 13 (out of 51) in difficulty on the PGA TOUR in 2009
Yardage history	6,810 yards (1967-1976, 1978-1979, 1981-1995)
	6,859 yards (1997-1999)
	6,817 yards (2000-2001)
	6,862 yards (2002-2006)
	6,953 yards (2007-2009)
	6,833 (2010)
Grass	Perennial ryegrass (tees, fairways, rough); Poa annua (tees, fairways, greens, rough)
Tournament Stimpmeter	10 ft
Sand bunkers	62
Water hazards	4
Course tour	Click here

Course record

Player
Phil Mickelson
Luke Donald

Year
2005
2006

Round
1st
1st

Finish
1st
T7

Holes in one

There have been nine aces recorded at Spyglass Hill GC

Player	Hole	Year
James Oh	15	2009
Derek Fathauer	15	2009
Brad Fabel	15	2000
Sam Randolph	5	1998
John Joseph	12	1991
Carl Cooper	5	1990
Gil Morgan	3	1989
Tom Watson	15	1989
Hal Sutton	3	1985

2009 Rankings

Most Difficult Hole

	The par-4 446-yard 6th The character of Spyglass Hill changes from this hole, known as Israel Hands, onward. From the tee, players wind their way up and into the Del Monte forest. The view from behind this green is spectacular; however, the severely downhill chip shot from this position is less than desirable. 2009: 0 eagles, 8 birdies, 109 pars, 57 bogeys, 6 double bogeys, 0 other.
Easiest hole
	The par-5 529-yard 7th Indian Village has an elevated tee that makes this a reachable par 5. While there are no greenside bunkers, a pond penalizes anything left and short. The right to left sloping green makes chip and pitch shots even more troublesome. This is a tempting hole off the tee, but it requires complete precision from the fairway. 2009: 6 eagles, 80 birdies, 82 pars, 10 bogeys, 2 double bogeys and 0 others.

Spyglass Hill Golf Course			2009 rankings		Last 25 years
Hole	Par	Yards	Average score	Rank	Average score	Rank
1	5	595	4.794	16	4.969	13
2	4	349	4.106	8	4.057	10
3	3	165	3.183	6	3.022	12
4	4	370	4.033	12	4.051	11
5	3	197	3.211	4	3.216	4
06*	4	446	4.339	1	4.240	3
7	5	529	4.567	18	4.758	17
8	4	399	4.178	7	4.286	2
9	4	431	4.25	3	4.189	6
10	4	407	4.106	8	4.134	8
11	5	528	4.594	17	4.672	18
12	3	178	3.078	11	3.063	9
13	4	460	4.094	10	4.201	5
14	5	560	4.939	13	4.906	16
15	3	130	2.856	14	2.943	14
16	4	476	4.194	5	4.310	1
17	4	325	3.856	14	3.933	15
18	4	408	4.267	2	4.174	7

Course origins

Spyglass Hill Golf Course takes its name from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel, Treasure Island, published in 1863. Local legend maintains that Stevenson once wandered the Spyglass area gathering ideas for his novels. A unique aspect of this course is that the holes are named after characters in Treasure Island. Hole names such as, "Black Dog" and "Billy Bones" are hints for the unwary.

As players attempt to master this difficult course, they may hear the laughter of pirates in the distance. Spyglass Hill was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., as part of the master plan for the Pebble Beach ocean front. S.F.B. Morse, founder of Pebble Beach Company, and Chairman of the Board of Del Monte Properties, envisioned a string of golf courses around Del Monte Forest's shoreline. Morse commissioned Jones to design a course between Cypress Point and Pebble Beach. After six years of planning, Spyglass Hill opened March 11, 1966.

The design features two dinstinctly different kinds of terrain that influence the way the holes look and play. The first five holes roll through sandy seaside dunes, challenging the golfer to carefully pick the safest path. The following 13 holes are cut through majestic pines with elevated greens and strategically placed bunkers and lakes to grab the errant shot. Spyglass Hill is rated one of the toughest courses in the world from the Championship Tees, boasting a course rating of 75.5 and a slope rating of 147. The PGA TOUR consistently lists Spyglass Hill's holes 6, 8, and 16 among the toughest on the TOUR, and during the 1999 United States Amateur, the stroke average of the field during medal play was in excess of 79.

Tournament course history

Course	Location	Years
Rancho Santa Fe CC	Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.	1937-1942
Pebble Beach GL	Pebble Beach, Calif.	1947-present
Cypress Point CC	Pebble Beach, Calif.	1947-1990
Monterey Peninsula CC	Pebble Beach, Calif.	1947-1952, 1954-1966, 1977, 2010
Spyglass Hill GC	Pebble Beach, Calif.	1967-1976, 1978-1979, 1981-present
Poppy Hills GC	Pebble Beach, Calif.	1991-2009

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-5, 543-yard 18th at Pebble Beach Golf Links
LAST YEAR: The 18th played to a stroke average of 4.799, with players recording 1 eagles, 61 birdies, 94 pars, 20 bogeys and 2 double bogey
DESCRIPTION: A new tee further out to sea actually makes the tee shot a little easier, but it still must negotiate the coastline. Only the longest hitters will be able to reach the green in two if they keep their balls in the fairway, although a good, hard drive will bounce considerably because these fairways run firm and fast in the summer. (Click here for Pebble Beach tour)