Golf Scrapbook Blog (The Top Ones)

Pebble Beach

Update August 2024: Twenty two years after I first played Pebble, I got a chance to play it again. I have much better/more photos and will walk you through the holes below. Got to play through an iHeart media event so the cost of freight was almost fully covered, which is good as Pebble is about as pricey of a round as you will play. We also played Spyglass on this trip which you can find the original write-up I did here. Unlike at Pebble, I didn’t take many photos as I struggled mightily for both rounds and stopped keeping score/photos by the time I played Spyglass.

I had always ranked Pebble right after Cape Kidnappers (pre-St. Andrews so now #3) but that means I rank it ahead of Pine Valley. So was interesting to play it again to see if it was just nostalgia or whether I still rank it ahead. Well, I do. While Pine Valley is an amazing course and all, Pebble is truly breath-taking. As noted in my original post, even the inland holes are great and the course builds to two climaxes – holes 5 through 10 and the 17th and 18th. Three of my favorite 18 holes can be found on Pebble: 6, 8 and 18. Number 6 on Pine Valley and maybe 18 are my PV faves. The wow factor and tournament heritage outweighs PV’s exclusivity and both are tied on the experience front: factors outside the course itself. So Pebble still remains #3 for me and I can only think that Cypress or Augusta might overtake, though I have no connections to play either. So I’ll add some hole-by-hole photos below my original post and throw in some hole descriptions. Here’s my original post:

September 2002: Pebble Beach. Played in 2002. According to my ranking criteria, Pebble is as good as it gets. I read some reviews that say it’s 7 great holes and a bucket of turds. Disagree. Pebble plays like a great novel. It brings you slowly into the story. A gentle opener. A reach-able par five for even the most meager of golfers. Then a tease on the third tee, until you turn the corner and POW! For the next three holes you get a glimpse of the Pacific leading to the 6th and one of golf’s most underrated holes. The 7th through 10th are unbelievable then the course takes you back through the inland holes until 17 and POW (again). Eighteen is the best finisher in golf. Add the US Open and the multitude of computer golf games that feature it and Pebble is as memorable as memorable gets.

When you’re rating courses, your personal performance shouldn’t matter and for me it usually doesn’t. What added to the Pebble Beach magic, though, is the fact that I played the course with the same golf ball from the first tee to the final putt on 18. Finished with an 89 too. That certainly helps.

This costs a ton to play. Is it worth it? Yeah once in your lifetime it is, spend the money, play the round. Have fun. Make sure you eat at Club XIX. There’s also a nice Roy’s nearby.

Played here with our buddy “Coattails” Gary. Gary is a high-roller and for some of our trips, we just jump on his “coattails” and enjoy the ride. Played a fun Ryder Cup match here and on Spyglass and Spanish Bay. It was a group of Jewish and Polish Catholic boys so we played the “Bagels” versus the “‘Locks.” I forget who won but this is what a golf trip is all about. Having fun and making fun of Mike Love from the Beach Boys – he looks pretty bored in the last pic and looking at the girl he’s with I can only ask why. By the way, I hate the Beach Boys. Zzzz.

2024 Photos

Number one. Pretty straight-forward, short par four. We played the whites which still slope to a 135 so not easy. Hole is 337 from the whites. This is anticipation building as it’s a pretty non-descript hole but you know what is coming so nice to ease your way in.

Here’s the approach on one.

Two is a 458-yard par five. I remembered it being shorter but then again I was 22 years younger.

Three is such a neat golf hole. I took it over the trees on my drive and only had a wedge in – which I promptly put in the sand and couldn’t get out.

Four is one of the most underrated holes at Pebble. At Bandon, this would be a “10.” As is, it’s a 295-yard par four.

Five from the blues. We didn’t play from back here but OMG – another underrated hole.

Six now and then. Notice the little cypress by the green is gone. One of my absolutely favorite golf holes in the world.

Seven and one of the most famous holes in golf. Below is my shot. Just off the green with a gap wedge and shitty chip four.

The approach from my favorite golf hole in the world: #8.

Nine is 436 from the whites and everything slopes right to the water. Number 8 handicap.

Ten features slightly less slope and slightly less length. Very similar to 9 which is my only knock on the ocean-front (or I should say cove-front) holes. Below is the approach on ten and below that is where my buddy Sid chipped up from the beach. He made the par putt!