“If I had to choose a course to play the last 18 holes of my life, it would be Pebble Beach”. This is what Jack Nicklaus, considered the greatest golfer of all time (at least the one with the most 18 holes), has said about the Californian course. And the fact is that the scene of six US Opens and a PGA Championship, among other tournaments on the American Tour, is an extraordinary course.
Nestled on the west coast of the United States, on California’s Monterey Peninsula, and considered one of the most beautiful courses in the world, Pebble Beach Golf Links hugs the rugged coastline and has sweeping views of the Pacific. Half of its holes (4 through 10 plus 17 and 18) are on the edge of the often raging ocean waters that do not live up to the ocean’s name. Holes 6, 7 and 8 make up the Amen Corner of Pebble Beach.
Since Golf Digest’s 2003 ranking of the top 100 public courses in the United States, Pebble Beach has consistently ranked number one.
Although it has spectacular holes, the most famous -and photographed- hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links is the 7th, and that’s because it doesn’t even reach 100 meters (109 yards). Of course, this par 3 with high tee and green surrounded by bunkers enjoys spectacular views of the ocean, which waves under the cliff. But do not be overconfident because of its short length, especially when the wind blows. Although for many it is a fun hole, for many others it is not or has not been so much fun, but quite the opposite.
None other than Sam Snead himself teed off with a putter to avoid the wind, which must have been blowing like never before that day. And a club pro, in the days of Pro-Am Bing Crosby Clambake, made a hole-in-one on the 7th with a 3-iron! The twenty players who closed the final round of the 1992 US Open must not have had much fun either: only two of them managed to land their ball on the 7th green because of the fearsome wind that swept the hole.
Hole 8, 390 meters long, is considered by many to be the best par 4 in the world. It is advisable to hit a powerful drive to leave the ball close to the cliff and be able to see the green. From there you face one of the most spectacular second shots in the world, some 180 meters downhill, over a cliff 30 meters high over the Pacific Ocean.
The 17th, a 188-meter par 3, is situated on a smaller peninsula to the west of the one containing holes 6, 7 and 8. Although the sea laps along the left side of the hole, the main challenge is its length and its unusually contoured green: long and thin, sloping at about 45 degrees from the golfer’s angle off the tee. Depending on the flag position and wind, it is possible to use a variety of clubs for the tee shot and, although the green is large, the landing area for any approach is relatively small and well protected by bunkers.
The 18th is a par 5 of 490 meters where on windy days the waves break strongly on the left side of the hole providing spectacular images. It is one of the most famous finishing holes in the world. The most daring hitters trying to reach the green in two need to send their tee drives to the left of the tree in the fairway.
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CENTENNIAL
The history of the course dates back to a century ago, as it was in 1919 when the course designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, created as part of the Hotel Del Monte resort, was inaugurated.
Ten years after its inauguration, Pebble Beach Golf Links was the scene of its first major, the 1929 US Amateur. At that time, both the US Amateur and the British Amateur were considered majors. Bobby Jones, who had won the US Open shortly before, achieved that year at Pebble Beach the record of three consecutive victories in the US Amateur. The famous Californian course hosted the tournament again in 1947 and 1961, with victories by Skee Riegel and Jack Nicklaus. This was the first of five victories that the Golden Bear would reap at Pebble Beach (Bring Crosby Pro-Ams in 1967, 1972 and 1973, and US Open in 1972).
The famous Monterey Peninsula course was also the scene of two women’s majors: the 1940 and 1948 US Women’s Amateur, which were then classified as majors. The first was won by Betty Jameson, who had already won the previous edition of the tournament, and the second was won by Grace Lenczyk.
It would be eleven years since the last major tournament played there before the first professional major was played at Pebble Beach: the 1972 U.S. Open. With a final round that registered the highest stroke average in the tournament since World War II (78.8), Nicklaus won the tournament dominating from the first day. It was his eleventh Grand Slam victory, or thirteenth if the two he won in the US Amateur were included. In 1977 Pebble Beach hosted the PGA Championship, whose victory was decided in a playoff between Gene Littler and Lanny Wadkins, with the latter winning on the third playoff hole.
The US Open would return to this course in 1982, and Tom Watson would defeat Nicklaus, with whom he started tied on the last day, by two strokes.
In 1992 Tom Kite won the US Open at Pebble Beach, Tiger Woods did the same in 2000, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell lifted the trophy in 2010, and this year, on the centenary of Pebble Beach, Gary Woodland was crowned US Open champion.
The course’s scheduled majors include what will be, in 2023, its first U.S. Women’s Open and, in 2027, its seventh U.S. Open.
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THE BING CROSBY TOURNAMENT
Every February, the PGA Tour has since 1947 a date with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a tradition that began in 1947 and had its precursor in the Bing Crosby Clambake, created in 1937 by the famous actor who gave it its name and who was an avid golfer, handicap 2 at the time.
Crosby himself put up the $10,000 prize money and his goal was to bring his fellow Hollywood golf celebrities to a tournament at Rancho Santa Fe Country Club, near where he would reside in San Diego. They would play in a pro-am format. The first Crosby Clambake was won by none other than Sam Snead, who pocketed a $500 check for his victory. Unsurprisingly, the tournament became the most popular on the West Coast of the United States.
After World War II, in 1947, Crosby moved the tournament to Northern California, to the Monterey Peninsula outside of San Francisco, where there were several outstanding courses that perfectly suited his needs.
By this time, the tournament had grown so large that it was necessary to play it on two courses. Players would alternate between Cypress Point and Monterey Peninsula for the first three rounds, while the final would be played at Pebble Beach.
TARZAN’S CRY
One of the most famous anecdotes of the Crosby Clambake occurred in the early 1950s at Cypress Point, when Johnny Weissmuller, the former Olympic swimming champion and most famous Tarzan, hit a ball that lodged in a tree. He climbed it and managed to pull it out into the street, but before climbing down the tree he hung on to a branch with one hand and with the other he beat his chest and let out his famous Tarzan yell, as he had done in so many movies.
Hollywood celebrities who once played in the tournament include stars such as Jack Lemon, Dean Martin, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Bob Hope, Samy David Jr. and Clint Eastwood.
Crosby, by the way, died of a heart attack just as he had finished playing golf, and that happened in Spain, specifically at the Madrid club La Moraleja. The actor, who had had Manolo Piñero as a playing partner, died on his way to the clubhouse after finishing his round.
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SAMUEL F.B. MORSE: THE CONSERVATIONIST WHO DREAMED UP PEBBLE BEACH
In the early 1900s, businessman Samuel F.B. Morse acted as liquidator for a company that wanted to dispose of the assets of a failed real estate investment it had made on the Monterey Peninsula. Morse thought an oceanfront golf course would help sales and convinced the company to invest in the construction of Pebble Beach Golf Links. When the course was built, Morse purchased it along with a vast tract of land, totaling 7,284 acres, for which he paid $1.34 million.
Morse was known as El Duque Del Monte (the Hotel Del Monte was the first and most luxurious hotel resort in the United States from its opening in 1890 until 1942). The enormous complex included huge green areas, both wooded and landscaped, polo fields, racetrack and golf course.
A distant cousin of the inventor of the telegraph and Morse code, Samuel F.B. graduated as an engineer from Yale University and in 1905 inherited a large fortune upon the death of his father. In 1919 he acquired 2,832 hectares (28 square kilometers) on the Monterey Coast, which included Hotel Del Monte and Pebble Beach, and other properties occupying 4,500 hectares more.
Morse planned to develop a residential community within the forest centered around Del Monte Lodge, and he also had many plans for the rest of the area. Immediately, Morse, a staunch conservationist, banned unnecessary clearing and speculation on those forest lands and established greenbelts for wildlife preservation, prioritizing the safeguarding of the forest, shoreline and beachfront.
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TWO VERY ATYPICAL DESIGNERS
Although neither Jack Neville nor Douglas Grant had experience in golf course design, the pair designed one of the finest championship courses in the world. Pebble Beach Golf Links has undergone few changes throughout its century of existence, a testament to the extraordinary talent and vision of both golfers.
“Everything was all in plain sight,” Neville said of the land where the golf course would be built. “There wasn’t much to do. The important thing, naturally, was to get as many holes as possible along the bay. It took a little imagination, but not much. Years before it was built, I envisioned this place as a golf course. Nature intended it to be nothing more. All we did was cut down a few trees, install sprinklers and plant a few seeds.”
By the time he was asked to build Pebble Beach, Neville had won the California State Amateur Championship twice – the first at age 20 – and then went on to win it three more times. He also enjoyed the thrill of playing with Bobby Jones for two rounds in the 1929 US Amateur. Neville stayed in Pebble Beach as a real estate salesman for most of his life, and helped Peter Hay design his Pebble Beach 9-hole course in 1957. There are reports suggesting that he did a preliminary design for another of the resort’s courses, The Links at Spanish Bay, but no drawings exist. Sandy Tatum also consulted with Neville while preparing Pebble Beach for the 1972 US Open. Neville died in 1978 at the age of 86.
Grant, meanwhile, had won the 1908 Pacific Coast Championship before moving to England. He returned to California in 1916 due to the First World War. Upon his return, he finished second in the 1916 Western Amateur at Del Monte, and was medalist three consecutive years in the California Amateur (1917-1919). In late 1919, Grant returned to England with his family, where he won many other championships and was captain of the Royal St. George’s Golf Club at Sandwich. Grant died in 1966 at the age of 78.
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IN BRIEF
SIZE DOES MATTER
The greens at Pebble Beach average 325 square meters, the smallest on the PGA Tour. They are also protected by more bunkers (117) than the Old Course at St. Andrews. As Rich Beem said of them, they look as small as a dime.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
“When I first went out and saw it, it became my No. 1 golf course in the world. I think, if you ask the pros, they’ll all say something similar.” For Fred Funk, winner of eight PGA Tour titles, it was certainly love at first sight.
FIRST SUDDEN-DEATH PLAYOFF
The first sudden-death playoff of a major was held at Pebble Beach during the 1997 PGA Championship. Just that year the playoff system changed, which until then was 18 holes. Lanny Wadkins beat Gene Littler on the third playoff hole.
CHAMPIONSHIP GREEN FEE: $550
Playing at Pebble Beach Golf Links is not cheap, even though it is a public golf course: the green fee is $550. And if you want to stay at one of the four hotels at Pebble Beach, which will give you a better chance of getting a green fee for the Links, prepare another big wad of cash: from 940 to 7,000 euros per night!
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