Pebble Beach Golf Links
Carmel, California

As far as famous courses go, only the Home of Golf at St Andrews and Augusta National grab more of the limelight than Pebble Beach. Hugging the clifftops above beautiful Carmel Bay, on the edge of California’s Monterey Peninsula, Pebble Beach has been wowing visiting golfers since it opened for play in 1919.

Jack Nicklaus rates the Pebble Beach layout as one of the world’s best. “If I had only one more round to play, I would choose to play it at Pebble Beach,” The Golden Bear has said. It’s not hard to understand why he loves the course so much and why it has hosted major professional events for nearly 70 years, including four US Open championships.

With many holes overlooking the ocean and sloping greens perched just metres from the edge of a cliff, there are plenty of memorable moments during a round at Pebble Beach.
The stretch of holes from the par-3 5th to the brutally challenging par-4 10th is definitely the highlight of the round with wind playing a major factor on each hole.

Club selection is important on every shot at Pebble Beach but none more so than at the shortest hole on the course – the downhill 110-metre 7th. It takes a quality tee shot to be knocked down under the breeze and still and the putting surface, which is surrounded by six bunkers.

Arguably the toughest tee shot comes on the next tee when you must take aim at a rock on the crest of hill and trust your swing. A good drive on the 400- metre par-4 8th will leave a long- or mid-iron across a yawning chasm to find the steep sloping green.

As you can imagine, Pebble Beach attracts golfers from around the world and the privilege of playing the famous
layout does come at a price. The course raised its green fee recently to AU$566.

Tee times are filled well in advance and it is suggested you try and book a day and time at least six months in advance if travelling from Australia.

FACT FILE
LENGTH: 6,217 metres
PAR: 72.
DESIGNERS: Jack Neville and Douglas Grant (1919).
GREEN FEE: AU$566.
LOCATION: Nearly three hours' drive south of San Francisco.
Monterey Peninsula Airport is only a short drive away.
PHONE: 0011 1 800 654-9300.
WEB: www.pebblebeach.com

Read the complete review in the September 2005 issue of Golf Australia magazine.

Order your copy at www.mymagazines.com.au