Since 1919, the exquisite beauty and unique challenge of Pebble Beach Golf Links has thrilled golfers and spectators alike. Pebble Beach has been the site of golf's most prestigious tournaments, including the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the 1972, '82, '92, 2000 and 2010 U.S. Open Championships.
Designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, the course hugs the rugged coastline, providing wide-open vistas, cliffside fairways and sloping greens. It is a delightful challenge for all players.
Pebble Beach Golf Links also includes chipping and putting greens and the Peter Hay Par-Three Golf Course and practice range. The Golf Shop and first tee are located directly across from The Lodge at Pebble Beach.
| HOLE |
PAR |
YARDS |
|
| 1 |
4 |
381 |
With the rough grown in on the right as part of the championship
course set-up, what was once a soft dogleg par 4 now bends abruptly
to the right. Although the fairway slope will help a ball that is
hit from left to right, length is not important here. It's the
first hole, and the priority is to keep the ball in the fairway to
allow a clean approach to a very narrow green. Look for the players
to hit long irons from the tee. |
| 2 |
5 |
502 |
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 and as long 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. |
| 3 |
4 |
390 |
This is almost a mirror image of the first hole, but with a sharper
turn. Again, the idea is to hit the fairway, probably with a long
iron or a fairway wood, to have any chance of birdie. The tee shot
sets up nicely for players who hit a draw, which is to say just
about everyone in the field. The reverse is true for the approach
shot. Because the green slopes softly from right to left, it calls
for a high fade. |
| 4 |
4 |
331 |
With the tendency to keep well away from the ocean on the right, a
lot of players could end up in the rough and the large bunker to
the left. That will leave a short but tricky approach to a green
that sits close to the cliffs. |
| 5 |
3 |
188 |
This new par 3 made its U.S. Open debut in 2000, and what an entry
it was. Although the prevailing wind blows from the ocean, it has a
tendency to swirl, which will make club selection perplexing. And
watch what happens to the pro who thinks a ball hit short and left
will then feed into the green. It looks as though it should do
that, but it more than likely will kick forward into the rough or
sand, and that will leave a very delicate chip to a slick, sloping
green. |
| 6 |
5 |
513 |
This hole demands the driver. That's because a ball not hit far
enough probably will prevent the player from reaching the second
landing area, past the swath of rough, on the second shot. That
will mean a lay-up and a blind third shot to a small green with a
long iron. That's not something to look forward to, so expect to
see the field cranking driver here. |
| 7 |
3 |
106 |
The shortest hole in major championship golf is all about the wind.
In the 1992 U.S. Open, for example, eventual champion Tom Kite hit
a sand wedge for his tee shot on Saturday and a 6-iron on Sunday.
If the wind does blow, look for players to switch from club to club
before hitting. |
| 8 |
4 |
418 |
The competitors will have spent their practice rounds stepping off
the landing area because it's absolutely crucial that they find the
fairway with what probably will be a 3-wood or 2-iron hit blind
from the tee. Unfortunately, however, there's not much fairway to
find. Those who hit safely will face a middle iron over the waves.
Those who don't probably will play for bogey. |
| 9 |
4 |
466 |
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. |
| 10 |
4 |
446 |
The last in this stretch of holes along Carmel Bay is another long
par 4 that slopes toward the water. It's a tough, tough tee shot.
If it lands in the center or right of the fairway, the ball likely
will roll into deep rough to the right. A ball hit left should stay
safe. But a ball hit too far left could find rough or sand. |
| 11 |
4 |
380 |
The prevailing wind blows off the sea and should help the tee shot,
yet it still must be hit blind to a landing area that is only 28
yards wide. On the approach, only the front left of the green is
visible, so on most days players will be hitting two blind shots in
a row. It is not good to hit the approach long here. Because the
green slopes so severely from back to front, a chip or even a putt
could easily run right off the putting surface. |
| 12 |
3 |
202 |
This will be a tough green to hold because it is the firmest on the
course. The players will fare best if they can feed their tee shots
in from right to left, and do so softly. Just about anything that
hits the middle of the green will bounce into rough or sand behind
the green. |
| 13 |
4 |
399 |
Three fairway bunkers have been added to the right side (in a
mirror configuration of those just short of the green), but this
remains a birdie opportunity. Players overjuicing their approaches
will chip back from a closely mown area behind the green to the
slickest putting surface on the course. |
| 14 |
5 |
573 |
Rough grown in on the left side of the landing area should take the
driver out of play. It is possible to carry the fairway bunker on
the right, but that shot runs the risk of going all the way through
the fairway and finding the rough. Most players will play two
shots, then attack the flag. |
| 15 |
4 |
397 |
This probably is one of the more straightforward holes on the golf
course, and although the fairway has been pinched in to about 30
yards, players should be able to hit a long iron or fairway wood
off the tee and still get the approach close for a real chance at
birdie. |
| 16 |
4 |
403 |
The prime tee shot is hit from left to right with a 2- or 3-iron to
the upper shelf of the fairway, between 230-240 yards out. A ball
hit too long will bound down into a depression and probably into
the left rough, while a ball hit too far right will either find
sand or rough, or have tree limbs interfering with the approach.
This is a tricky green, too, as shots tend to slide to the left
when they land. |
| 17 |
3 |
178 |
Conditions can be deceptive here. With a hedge running along the
right side, and temporary grandstands to the right of and behind
the green, it might seem calm even on a windy day. Players should
pay attention to what the flag is doing and expect there to be more
wind than they think. |
| 18 |
5 |
543 |
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. |
