Pebble Beach Golf Links

There is no way to overstate it: Pebble Beach Golf Links is the very yardstick by which all other bucket list golf courses should be measured. There are better golf courses in the world, for sure, (hell there are better golf courses in the Del Monte Forest), and there are courses with more history. But when it comes right down to it Pebble is the pinnacle of the public Bucket List Golf. The only other course that comes close? The Old Course St. Andrews. 

It all starts with a magical ride through the Del Monte Forest replete with unique Cypress pine trees, down the infamous 17 mile drive to the coast. Every moment of a trip to Pebble Beach Golf Links is to be savored. Literally, this is a part of the world that feels magical. We am sure it’s inspired countless stories of magical forest tales. If you’re lucky you might see a rainbow on the drive through the forest, and if you do you will swear that Leprechauns exist and they call this area home. If we had Druids in California, this is where they would have built Stonehenge. 

All great bucket list golf courses are on magical land like this, and Pebble is no exception. You can just feel the aura of the place when you walk around the grounds, range, shops, putting green and for sure… the number 1 tee box. Get there early and make sure you soak in the entire experience. 

The first tee is the second most intimidating tee shot in public golf. (Second only to the first tee at the Old Course, St. Andrews). Not that it’s a particularly difficult shot, it’s not. A couple hundred yard fade is all that’s required. However, nerves will be palpable as stragglers and visitors regularly watch the golfers set off on the journey. Oh and the diners at the cafe patio might be watching. Lest we say anything about the webcam that broadcasts your inaugural shot on Pebble to the world. So, be sure to have some sort of plan to deal with the nerves, because they will come. Striping it down the middle will feel so good!

There are two schools of thought when playing bucket list golf. The first school is that you do a ton of research about the course before you play it. Maybe even play it on Tiger Woods golf video game over and over before you play it in reality. Then there is the “Riggs Method” from the Foreplay Podcast at Barstool Sports…just go with no prep, and let the course surprise you. We am certainly in the first school and certainly this is true for Pebble Beach. You’re going to play it for the first time just once in your life, so my advice is study the course, and play it from one set of tees forward of where you would normally play. This will enable you to maximize the experience, and anything less, is frankly an insult to the course designers. 

The history of Pebble Beach is too long to go into in detail in this blog. However, this area has been a local excursion area since the 1800’s. People would take the train down from San Francisco to the area to visit and recreate. The course was the second course to be built in what would become the Pebble Beach Resort. It was designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant and it opened in 1919. It went through a revision in 1928 by Charles Egan, but many famous architects have worked on aspects of the course including Alastair MacKenzie and even Jack Nicklaus. It’s rumored that Industrial Light and Magic was contracted to fully rebuild the coastline and tee box of the 18th hole to be restored and fully blend into the area. So literally everyone has gotten in on the act of designing Pebble Beach Golf Links. 

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Even with all this work, the basic 102-year-old design must have strongly rhymed with earlier versions of itself. It’s essentially a figure 8 design. You start for the first 3 holes inland, then you cross over the 17 tee box to hole 4. This is where you begin your ascent to glory with the breathtaking pacific coast on your right (and ready to eat badly sliced golf balls). The majesty of the coming holes are genuinely epic, and very possibly the best 7 holes in golf. If these 7 holes are an undisputed “crown of golf”, then the center jewels are holes 6, 7 and 8. 

6 is a par 5 with the ocean on your right and a blind shot to a severely elevated green on your second shot. There used to be a famed Cypress tree that gave you a line but it was killed in a storm years ago. From here, you turn to what may be one of the most famous holes in golf, a 100 yard par 3 straight out into the ocean. This hole can play anywhere from 50 to 200 yards depending on the weather. From there you play number 8, another epic and famous hole. From a lower tee box you hit a blind shot up to a fairway that runs out over a cliff. Be sure you know the number and select the club very carefully as your ball will go careening off the cliff if you take too much club. No matter what set of tees you are playing, definitely play this one from the lower tee box for full effect.  

Your second shot here, is straight over a cliff, the water, and the beach. Many things can go very wrong on this second shot. Not the least of which is being so distracted by the beauty of the hole that you forget to pay attention to making a good golf shot. The worst of which would be gazing at the view so intently you fall off the cliff into the rocky ocean. Once on the green of number 8, be sure to turn around and look backwards at the fairway and the carry you just made. Take a selfie. It’s truly epic. Your friends back home will be ”jelly”, as the Millennials say.

After 9 be sure to hit the turnstand, Nevilles. They make a mean bloody mary and are available at the 10 tee and 13 tee boxes. After number 10 the course turns inland again and it’s almost a relief. So much staggering beauty can be exhausting. Things start to pick up in peekaboo style on number 13 tee box. Be sure to have your caddy point out Bing Crosby’s house. Many an epic party happened here in the days of the old Clam Bake. This hole is not seaside, but you can certainly see the sea from it. 

From there you tackle a big par 5 with a tiny sloping green with a false front and a giant bunker and head inland once again. On holes 15 and 16 will have you anticipating that the round is coming to an end, and in no way do you want it to. You will find yourself walking slower and slower trying to delay the inevitable. 

The 17 tee box is where the big fireworks finale starts. This will be your final turn heading straight toward the water. Depending on weather and pin position this can go from a monster to a monstrosity very quickly. If you are lucky you will get a short front pin position that has a mouth you can hit a draw into and make birdie. If not, you have to contend with a very hard core bunker complex. 

That brings you to 18 tee box. Be sure to get multiple group photos in on this tee box from every direction. It’s a memory you will never forget. 

18 is a long par 5 headed right back at the Lodge at Pebble Beach with ocean down the entire left hand side. The aggressive line is a big drive left of the tree in the fairway. If you tug it a little, hopefully you will wind up in the very long bunker that goes almost the length of the hole next to the ocean. If you tug it too hard, your only saviour will be if the tide is out and you can hit one up from Pebble Beach itself. 

The key to the 18 green is to not approach it from the right side of the fairway, as there is a big tree and a large bunker protecting the front of 18 green like a sentinel. 

Oh, and don’t forget there’s only 100 or so people watching you make your approach shot to this green from The Bench, the perfect place to have an after round of refreshments. They won’t be shy about clapping for a good shot or long putt, and jeering the butter-knifed wedge. Your round is not complete, and your life is now just that much more magical for it. 

Best Buddies Golf Trip Rankings:

• Bucket list rank (from 1 to 5 buckets): 5 buckets 
• Caddies: 10
• Location: 10
• Spectacle/ visual: 10
• History: 10
• New/ancient: modern(ish)
• Playability : 9
• Memorability : 10
• Buddy-a-bility : 9
• Service/etc: 10
• Value: 6 (but if you can get access to it during COVID without the hotel stay 10)
• Shopping: 10
• Warm up facilities/Range: 10
• Food & Drink: 9