Although I haven't had many people argue that having Pebble Beach be my #1 course in the GolfTop18 rankings is a bad idea, with next week's PGA tournament venue featuring the course, I wanted to defend my thoughts.
The first time I played (#9 pictured above from 1st round) it was cold, overcast, and wet after 3 days of rain in December, and I joined a group of folks I did not know. However, there was only about 1/2 club of wind and, playing from the 6400ish yard tees, although it was playing longer, I could hit shots that would hold on the greens with most irons. Additionally, the greens were a bit slow, and so, after I rough front nine, I was able to negotiate the nerves on the back and walk away with a sub-80 round. The upside was I could say I broke 80 on Pebble and it was full of beautiful shots, but, as I had heard from others, the course wasn't as hard as some others on the peninsula. So, at first (way back before the inception of this website) it was in my top 5, but was not my #1.
My second trip (#16 pictured below from 2nd round) was with a close friend and, playing the 6400ish yard tees again, we caught a partly cloudy day with about 1 club of wind on the front, that turned into 2 clubs at a minimum on the back nine (most of which was played into the wind or crosswind). I played great on the front including a birde on #8, but as the wind picked up, my fortunes shifted and I walked away with an 83. It was amazing, though, how when the greens got "smaller", faster and as the tee shots on the less famous holes became more and more difficult, how the course rose in my mind. By the end, even though I hooked a shot into the ocean on #18, Pebble Beach had done to me what it has done to countless others, and it lifted itself to the top of my list. After playing twice now, i've made par or better on 16 of th 18 holes, and just need to nail down #9 and #16 to make my "victory" complete. I guess I'll have to go back!!
The first time I played (#9 pictured above from 1st round) it was cold, overcast, and wet after 3 days of rain in December, and I joined a group of folks I did not know. However, there was only about 1/2 club of wind and, playing from the 6400ish yard tees, although it was playing longer, I could hit shots that would hold on the greens with most irons. Additionally, the greens were a bit slow, and so, after I rough front nine, I was able to negotiate the nerves on the back and walk away with a sub-80 round. The upside was I could say I broke 80 on Pebble and it was full of beautiful shots, but, as I had heard from others, the course wasn't as hard as some others on the peninsula. So, at first (way back before the inception of this website) it was in my top 5, but was not my #1.
My second trip (#16 pictured below from 2nd round) was with a close friend and, playing the 6400ish yard tees again, we caught a partly cloudy day with about 1 club of wind on the front, that turned into 2 clubs at a minimum on the back nine (most of which was played into the wind or crosswind). I played great on the front including a birde on #8, but as the wind picked up, my fortunes shifted and I walked away with an 83. It was amazing, though, how when the greens got "smaller", faster and as the tee shots on the less famous holes became more and more difficult, how the course rose in my mind. By the end, even though I hooked a shot into the ocean on #18, Pebble Beach had done to me what it has done to countless others, and it lifted itself to the top of my list. After playing twice now, i've made par or better on 16 of th 18 holes, and just need to nail down #9 and #16 to make my "victory" complete. I guess I'll have to go back!!
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am Website.
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