Pebble is special—in more ways than one

Pebble Beach Golf Links occupies a special place in the world of golf, a position that is based on the physical beauty of its location, the design of the course, and its historical significance in the game.

History
Nothing accords a golf course a special position in the annals of the game like the USGA choosing it as the site for their premier championships—the United States Open and the U.S. Amateur. Pebble Beach Golf Links has hosted the Open six times now, which puts it behind only two other golf courses, both venerable East Coast layouts: Oakmont Country Club, in Pennsylvania (9); and Baltusrol, in New Jersey (7).

This plaque, in the rough on the left side of the 17th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links, commemorates Tom Watson’s historic chip shot in the final round of the 82nd U.S. Open.

Pebble holds the distinction of being the first public golf course (that is, open to play by the public) to host the U. S. Open, in 1972, when the course rewarded the USGA’s decision by producing a truly worthy winner—Jack Nicklaus—and an historic moment—Jack’s laser-beam 1-iron at the par-three 17th hole, a shot that rattled the stick for a kick-in birdie.

Ten years later Pebble’s second U.S. Open put up another worthy winner, Tom Watson, who finally racked up a win in the national championship after two Masters wins (1977, 1981) and three British Opens (1975, 1977, 1980); and another historic moment at the 17th hole—a chip-in birdie from lush Open rough next to the green, the shot that set up his victory over Jack Nicklaus—a shot so revered that it has been commemorated with a plaque.

In addition to the U.S. Open, the course has played host to the U.S. Amateur five times (1929, 1947, 1961, 1999, 2018), second only to six-time hosts Merion Golf Club and The Country Club (well known as the site of amateur Francis Ouimet’s thrilling 1913 U.S. Open victory over Harold Vardon and Ted Ray.) 

The event that really put Pebble on the map was Bing Crosby’s “Clambake” pro-am. Originally played at San Diego’s Rancho Santa Fe Golf Course beginning in 1937, the event was halted in 1942 by the onset of American involvement in World War II. When the event resumed in 1947 it was relocated to the Monterey Peninsula, playing on a trio of golf courses centered on Pebble Beach.

Showcasing the beauty of the Monterey Peninsula, with a star-studded list of Hollywood A-listers (Phil Harris, James Garner, and Jack Lemmon, to name a few) on the amateur roster, the Clambake was a PR bonanza for the region which continues to this day, in its current incarnation as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Design
Challenging despite its relative lack of length—7,075 yards as set up for the Open; 6,958 for the AT&T Pro-Am—Pebble Beach makes up for its lack of yardage in other ways. While it has its detractors (mostly those course architecture buffs who revere the provision of options off the tee), Pebble presents its challenge to golfers largely in its second and third shots, and putting.

Sloping fairways and uneven lies put a premium on second-shot performance at Pebble. For example: holes 9 and 10 slope significantly to the right, in the direction of the “Cliffs of Doom” overlooking Carmel Beach; at the 6th hole you’re faced with a looming three-story-high cliff face that separates you from the putting green.

The greens at Pebble demand approach-shot accuracy of the highest order. At an average area of 3,500 square feet they are the smallest on the PGA Tour, with an average depth of 26 paces, so precision shooting from the fairway (hopefully) is paramount.

Precision second shots and fearless putting are the key to success at Pebble Beach; it’s a shotmaker’s course that asks a lot of a player.

Beauty
For the casual golf fan, or folks who aren’t golf fans, in particular, but who show up or tune in during the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am to see their favorite celebrities tee it up, Pebble Beach is special for its location.

Whether or not Robert Louis Stevenson ever called Carmel Bay “…the most felicitous meeting of land and sea in creation…” (hint: he didn’t), it is a famously beautiful setting—blue Pacific waters lapping up against the rugged, rocky California coastline, all backdropped by the green and gold oak-bedecked hills of the Santa Lucia Range rising up behind.


The rocky cliffs that edge much of the golf course give way, going south, to the broad sandy crescent of Carmel Beach, and further south yet, past the village of Carmel-by-the-Sea and Carmel River Beach, to the rocky fastness of Point Lobos State Preserve (which Australian painter Francis McComas did call the “greatest meeting of land and water in the world”), visible from the southern reaches of the golf course.


The television coverage during the AT&T is rife with beauty shots of the scenery and the local marine wildlife—seals and sea lions, whales, dolphins, orcas and the occasional squadron of pelicans flying above the blue waters in echelon-right formation—and the ubiquitous “dogs frolicking in the surf on Carmel Beach” shots.

These images are a large part of the reason that the television coverage of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is so popular: while viewers in much of the country are shivering in sub-zero temperatures and/or digging out from the latest snowstorm, the Central California coast is, more often than not, enjoying sunshine and pleasant temperatures. (And when “Crosby weather” kicks in, with wind and rain and TV shots of umbrellas being flipped inside-out, the East Coast and Midwest audiences can gloat, just a little, at those Californians getting a taste of nasty weather.)

This combination of factors: the quality of the golf course, the almost overwhelming beauty of its location, and the history of the events associated with the venue give Pebble Beach Golf Links a unique position in the game of golf.