Upon arriving we were greeted by two gentlemen, one of which, Juan, drove us to the driving range. He was such a nice and genuine good guy, hilarious too, he really made you feel like you were someplace special. At the driving range the balls were printed with "4:30" on the sides, with the intent of subliminal messages to the brain to finish your round in four and a half hours. I think more courses should try this, especially courses that visitors like to take pictures at, which is one of the major reasons the average round time is likely closer to five hours. Both practice greens, the chipping green and the putting green, were very well taken care of as it really did feel like they were the same speed as the the course. That is a feature that more courses should aim for.
The day really couldn't have been setup much better. The fog tried and tried to hover above the famed 17 Mile Drive, however the sun constantly beat it off with a stick. There were a few holes where I even became hot enough to have to take off all my layers but my first, and this from a guy where 80 is perfect weather. It was a day designed for a perfect day at one of the most amazing golf courses in the world.
The round begins with the starter letting you know out of the spirit of the game that there are no mulligans on the first hole, which if there isn't pressure on you on the first tee of any course, this just gives you a taste of the pressure you'll feel throughout the day. Side note... You do NOT need a driver off the first tee, and if you do, make sure you play from the right tee. Take that into consideration when selecting the tees you play from. They also inform you that the flags are not color coordinated with red/white/blue like so many courses do and there are no pin placement sheets. There are two reasons: 1) Pace of play. If you have a general number to the middle of the green, the less you try to act like a tour pro and slow play the entire course. 2) These are the smallest greens on the PGA TOUR, so if you hit the greens, your longest putt is probably around 30 feet. I do love their only actual RULE of the course, HAVE FUN! Don't get upset if you play bad, you're not alone. Don't be afraid to drop balls, it speeds up play. And don't be afraid to take pictures in a fast manner, and when it's already backed up is best. Make sure your friends are prepared to take pictures so it takes less time. Finally... Walk the course. If you can't walk 18 holes and carry your bag, get a caddie because it'll be worth it. Please trust me on that one.
The Par 5 2nd hole. Very fun, very reachable. But not fun if you happen to end up in the green side bunker.
Par 4 3rd hole. One of the very interesting holes in the 2010 US Open, as this is when the real collapse of Dustin Johnson happened. You can understand why. Getting greedy trying to cut the corner to have a wedge in can be worth it, as long as you don't miss the fairway. It's a difficult one to hit.
The view walking down the 4th hole. Being able to see the tree at 6 and 7 can get you pretty excited, just keep your cool the best you can. You still have a great task to take down.
The Par 5 6th hole allows you go get pretty adventurous off the tee. Keep in mind the fairway does kick fairly well left to right, and does flatten out a hint the closer to the ocean you get. Just don't get too close.
This is the view from the green of 6 back to the fairway. The second shot is the most crucial. When you get to your ball just look at the large hill you're going to have to hit over and think to yourself... "What's the longest and highest club I can get over that hill?" I took a club less just to make sure the ball wouldn't just get stuck in the hillside.
6 green. The tree is the aiming point from the fairway... If you can see it. When you walk up to your ball take a mental note of where the tree is in comparison to the rocks and the hill. The run up kicks hard left to right so if you aim for the left side of the tree you'll probably be okay.
Famous number 7. The Par 3. Depending on the wind I hear you can hit up to a 5 iron. On this picture perfect day everyone in the group was able to take a lob wedge. A soft lob wedge. The wind is the main feature on this hole because there really is nowhere to go.
Par 4 number 8 has a big rock in the middle of the hill that you can see from the tee box. This is the only aiming point that the course gives you. If you fly over that you'll be in the center of the fairway, all you have to do is read the sign that tells you how far until the end of the fairway. Keep in mind it's uphill, and watch the wind because you do not want to have to hit a wood for your second shot. The intimidation factor from this view is more than every second shot on the course.
The last of the front 9 has a wicked hole. From the tee box it looks like it combines with number 10 for the longest hole in the world. The fairway may not be wide, and kicks harder than Pele left to right, but there is a ton of room to the right of the fairway with ankle high rough. This hole is definitely a thinkers hole, you want to make sure you don't take yourself out of the hole.
We finally made it! With about 10 minutes of pure sunlight, we are teeing off the famed 18th hole. All I can say is walking up to this tee box, I had just enough gas left in the tank to hit the fairway one more time.
The trees you see to the right are in the middle of the fairway, and for most right handers is a good aiming point because worst comes to worst if you cut the ball you'll make sure your ball stays dry. Play the last hole smart and you'll be able to walk away with a birdie or par to end one heck of a day.
Pebble Beach is one of the finest golf resorts you can ever visit, their Pebble Beach Golf Links is absolutely the best golf experience that I have had, and would encourage anyone that is able to save $1000 to stay and play the course to do so. If you love, or even just like golf, you have put this on your bucket list.
I'll let you know once I play all the courses here AND play up at Bandon which resort is my favorite and why... which has the overall best course in the battle Pebble Beach v. Bandon Dunes... and which has the best compilation of courses as each resort has 4 full 18 holes courses. I'll tell you one thing. I can't wait!
