Pebble Beach Course Condition - 1963

[xrayvizhen]

Sitting around with relatively nothing to do I've been watching a number of videos of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf. I used to love watching this show when I was a kid, actually bought the VHS tape of Hogan vs Snead when it became available and have been pleased to see many of them now available on YouTube.

I just watched a 23 year-old Jack Nicklaus beat a 50-something year old Sam Snead by one shot at Pebble and was really interested to note that the course conditions as shown on the somewhat grainy film reveals that Pebble Beach in 1963 looked pretty much like any other muni - bald spots on many of the fairways, especially on well traveled pathways, weeds here and there on the fairways, beach sand in poorly trimmed bunkers and fairly rough and grainy greens. Compared to the absolutely pristine conditions I played on just a few years ago when I was out there it was rather startling and actually somewhat pleasing to note that despite the roughness of the course, these guys didn't seem to mind much and took it all in stride like this was normal. I wonder how difficult it would have been and how much it would have cost to play Pebble Beach in 1963?

Neither Snead nor Nicklaus played terrifically, each shooting just around par for the round. Maybe the fact that from what I've read about the show they didn't have very many cameras covering the matches and rounds during the series took one to two full days to complete because the cameras had to be moved from hole to hole taking time to set up and relocate after each was completed. Made it kind of hard to get into a rhythm I would imagine.

Anyway if you happen to be sitting around your house with nothing to do and are getting tired of watching the 2018 Wells Fargo tournament or some other boring event over and over again on the Golf Channel, the Shell shows on YouTube are much better entertainment.

[Piz]

Ken Venturi was asked, during a broadcast, what the biggest technological innovation in golf had been...in his lifetime.  Venturi answered, without hesitation, the lawnmower.

[DaveP043]

45 minutes ago, xrayvizhen said:

I just watched a 23 year-old Jack Nicklaus beat a 50-something year old Sam Snead by one shot at Pebble and was really interested to note that the course conditions as shown on the somewhat grainy film reveals that Pebble Beach in 1963 looked pretty much like any other muni - bald spots on many of the fairways, especially on well traveled pathways, weeds here and there on the fairways, beach sand in poorly trimmed bunkers and fairly rough and grainy greens. Compared to the absolutely pristine conditions I played on just a few years ago when I was out there it was rather startling and actually somewhat pleasing to note that despite the roughness of the course, these guys didn't seem to mind much and took it all in stride like this was normal.

At the time, these guys were being paid pretty well for an exhibition match, they were definitely not going to have anything but praise for the courses and the hospitality.  What I find interesting in just about all of the old film is the speed of the greens.  The finest courses in the world were played with greens that most local munis would find embarrassing now.

[iacas]

Embed the video man!

 

[sjduffers]

A few months ago, I played with an older (much older) gentleman who grew up around Peeble Beach: so that must have been in the 60s or thereabout. He had some interesting stories and I recall him saying that he was paying less than $20, whenever he was paying, to get on.  Good times, compared to what $600 now?

Edited May 10, 2020 by sjduffers

[lastings]

That was fantastic. 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 5/10/2020 at 6:31 PM, sjduffers said:

A few months ago, I played with an older (much older) gentleman who grew up around Peeble Beach: so that must have been in the 60s or thereabout. He had some interesting stories and I recall him saying that he was paying less than $20, whenever he was paying, to get on.  Good times, compared to what $600 now?

You answered my question. I was wondering what it cost to play Pebble back then. 

On 5/8/2020 at 11:04 AM, DaveP043 said:

At the time, these guys were being paid pretty well for an exhibition match, they were definitely not going to have anything but praise for the courses and the hospitality.  What I find interesting in just about all of the old film is the speed of the greens.  The finest courses in the world were played with greens that most local munis would find embarrassing now.

Yeah. You see that wristy "rap" that they give the ball, even at Augusta. Here's something that surprised me. The first time I went to Oakmont for the US Open was 1973. As you know, Oakmont greens are lightning fast. They had these odd looking, green, "turleback" walk behind greens mowers that I had never seen before. The last time I went was in 1994 when Ernie Els won. I expected to see new, state of the art mowers there but no, they had the same old green turlebacks they had 21 years earlier! I figure that they must be re-engineered and re-tooled by some genius member of Oakmont's green keeping staff. 

And a thought  just occurred. Let's not forget the influence of new grass strains. Penn State's agronomy department has developed a slew of them!