Is pebble beach a hard course?

[ronaldkuntoro]

For you who have played at Pebble beach before, how do you rate the course difficulty?
Is it fun to play there? Tell me your stories....

Is there anyway to play at Pebble Beach without paying the 400 $ green fee?? :P

[GoneGolfin]

Only if your an ambassador or know one. And yes it is difficult but its beautiful.

[ET-Taylor]

im guessing its not difficult if you hit it down the middle on to the green and putt well

[delav]

Obviously course conditions come into play here, too.

Golf Digest ran a special article for the 2010 US Open, and the course sounded pretty treacherous. I'd imagine it's a huge challenge even playing non-tournament tees and normal conditions, given the wind, rough, and difficult-to-read greens and enormous pot bunkers.

It's certainly on my bucket list.

[ronaldkuntoro]

Obviously course conditions come into play here, too.

In Golf Digest Open Challenge at Pebble Beach, the best score is Mark Walbergh (98)... I wonder if I got the spot, can I score under 100 too?

[delav]

In Golf Digest Open Challenge at Pebble Beach, the best score is Mark Walbergh (98)... I wonder if I got the spot, can I score under 100 too?

Honestly, if I could break 100 in those conditions I'd probably consider it a good day.

[michaeljames92]

Honestly, if I could break 100 in those conditions I'd probably consider it a good day.

Really? Ok it wouldn't be easy but surely you wouldn't shoot +28. Thats bogeying every second hole, and doubling the others. and you'd probably have a few pars in there so i reckon you would break 100. You could play every par 4 as a 3 shotter and probably still break 100

[Frito]

When those guys were trying to break 100 wasn't the difficult part about it being on live t.v. ?

[ET-Taylor]

Really? Ok it wouldn't be easy but surely you wouldn't shoot +28. Thats bogeying every second hole, and doubling the others. and you'd probably have a few pars in there so i reckon you would break 100. You could play every par 4 as a 3 shotter and probably still break 100

and of course the 4th isnt very long so it would be a clear 2 shotter

[CrazyXGolfer]

I no people who have played it and said it;s amazing!
I also no people have played tornys on there, they said it's hard, but not anything extreme.
Ive also herd the greens are never really that good there. When I say that, I mean it in the nice'st way. They are still great compard to probs what most people would play on, but not special greens. They say they get a bit bumpy.

[Clambake]

The answer to "Is PB a hard course?" is......it depends. PB's toughness is largely tied to two things: the weather and if they're growing US Open rough. Under normal circumstances the rough isn't too bad. It will punish errant tee shots and wayward approach shots, but not brutally so as it leaves you with the chance to recover. If the weather is real benign, then Pebble isn't all that tough from the tee as the fairways are pretty generous. Good iron shots are still needed into the greens as the greens are quite small and well guarded. A fair but not overly hard test of golf.

But when the wind blows Pebble becomes a very different animal altogether. Those generous fairways suddenly become very narrow, and those small greens start looking like little green floormats out in the distance.

And BTW, I haven't found the greens to be all that bumpy. They do have that odd poa annua appearance where their speed changes inconsistently towards the end of the day, but I found they still roll very true.

Oh, and the greens fee isn't $400. It's $495. And still worth it to do it at least once or twice.

[65withatriple]

I played there in April, two month before the Open. The fairways were already narrowed to US Open specs but not quite as high yet. The greens were much, much softer than they were during the Open. I would not say it is one of the harder courses I've played. But the wind was only blowing 10-15 that day. I will say its hard to concentrate on golf in such a beautiful place. With that being said I think I shot an 82 with 4 doubles. HA HA!

[Chas]

The answer to "Is PB a hard course?" is......it depends. PB's toughness is largely tied to two things: the weather and if they're growing US Open rough. Under normal circumstances the rough isn't too bad. It will punish errant tee shots and wayward approach shots, but not brutally so as it leaves you with the chance to recover. If the weather is real benign, then Pebble isn't all that tough from the tee as the fairways are pretty generous. Good iron shots are still needed into the greens as the greens are quite small and well guarded. A fair but not overly hard test of golf.

I just played last Tuesday and agree with all of that. A cold front was coming through just as we tee'd off with winds 20 gusting 35 much of the day and two periods of very heavy rain that soaked my pants (too late for the waterproofs), so I would say the course was pretty tough. But Clambake is right, many of the tee shots give you room to deviate (on one side at least). I lost a ball, on the par 5 6th, to one of my classic big pushes into the beach/rocks. I should have played 3W off the tee almost all day like I did at Spyglass the day before, my driver just isn't there yet when it counts ..... Spyglass is much more demanding of accuracy off the tee than Pebble. On the other hand, many of the greens at Pebble are pretty small and very well protected, by bunkers and/or cliffs to the beach.

I didn't mind the weather so much really, it's part of the challenge and reminds you of what the pros have to deal with sometimes to win a tournament. You just deal with it. The sun did come out as we walked onto the 18th tee, where I proceeded to hit another big push that bounced off the cart path and into someone's garden according to my caddie. I didn't know that was possible ...... :) But I hit a decent 5W and 6i or something off the fairway and then 2 putted for bogie. On the greens: they were the best greens I've ever seen (Spyglass was equally good), better than Torrey for example. Very smooth. Since the whole course basically slopes towards the ocean off of the higher ground inland the ball almost always breaks that way. I was not putting at all well at either course - many 3 putts - but did nail one big left breaking downhill putt with the help of my caddie Mike. It was about a 6 footer and he said, "aim about 3 ft to the right and play for an 8 inch hole .... but hit the ball" so I did and the ball dropped in very nicely. Without him I'd have ended up way below the hole for sure. $495 is correct, with a discount for the season. Spyglass was $350.

[jcard71]

By far the best course I have ever played! I also played Spyglass and the Old Course St. Andrews, but Pebble beats both of them in in my opinion.

I think the first five holes at Spyglass were the best stretch of 5 holes I have ever played, but then it turns inland.

I played the tips at Pebble and shot 81, but remember, the challenge on TV was from the same tees as the US Open...big difference. Holes, 8, 9, 10 are as tough as they get!

[Chas]

Wow, 81 from the tips !!! ..... but but but, what was the weather like that day ??


For me, the back 9 at Spyglass may have been my best to date all things considered. Bogied every hole except for a double on the 11th (stupid lost ball - no caddie) and pars on 12 and 14.

[OCdude12]

I'll throw my 2 cents in as well, the one time I played Pebble was in mid April. Got lucky as it was raining on the drive down from SF but cleared up by the time we played in the afternoon. Didn't play all the way back since it was for a practice match in high school, but I didn't think it was too tough all considered. Fairways are decently wide, which they purposely do (so I was told) to try and keep up the pace of play considering they have people coming from all over the world to play, ranging in skill level. Not sure how true that is, I'll buy it though.

Greens are small, pretty fast and yes, little bumpy in the afternoon, but still spectacular to putt on. From a shotmaking standpoint, there are definitely harder golf courses down in that area, most notably Spyglass. That's the toughest course I think I've ever played, whether its off the tee, approach shots or putting. They can get those greens going fast and it really penalizes you when you're above the hole. There's definitely more contour to the Spyglass greens compared to Pebble's which are just slick and tilted.

I know the price gets discussed a lot in this forum about being too much, obviously $495 is A LOT for golf, but please do yourself the favor at least once in your life if you really enjoy golf and pay it. I'm positive some of the naysayers have spent $495 in worse ways. Save up $10 a week for a year and theres your greens fee...and, BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!

[allin]

Honestly, if I could break 100 in those conditions I'd probably consider it a good day.

Ive played it once, was an almost perfect day in early September, only slightly windy, temps in low 60s. I was carrying a 15-16 handicap at the time and shot 94. The course was hardly set up like a tournament, rough was modest, green speeds just average or a little above. I birdied the 18th with a long putt, my only birdie, only 2 pars, the rest were bogey or worse, including one I put in the Ocean giving me a triple. We probably should have played one more tee forward, we played a middle set of tees. At the time there were only 3 teeing positions available on most holes, the short par 3s only had two. I don't know if that is typical. Some of the tees needed reseeding, which suprised me a little. So 100 in tournament set up would be a good score, equivalent to 82 or so on my home course.

[Chas]

I had so many up-and-down opportunities from near the fringe, at both Pebble and Spyglass, and made maybe two of them the whole blasted time - not even funny. Again, the ground was wet both days which really did me in chipping from the rough (not a San Diego phenomenon ... pathetic excuse really I know).

Getting to nearish the green in "regulation" isn't the problem really (just avoid the rocks/pine forest is all). But be ready to play some tricky little shots over a greenside bunker to a short pin on a small green with bunker + cliff/rocks behind, that type of thing.

practice practice practice.