Sites: Pebble Beach Golf Links California
Spyglass Hill Golf Course, California
Poppy Hills Golf Course California
Course Architects:
Jack Neville, Douglas Grant (PEBBLE BEACH, 1919),
W.Herbert Fowler (1921), Alister MacKenzie (1926),
Chandler Egan (1929), Jack Nicklaus (1998);
Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (SPYGLASS, 1966);
Robert Trent Jones, Jr. (POPPY HILLS, 1986)
Pars: 72
Yardage: 6,816 (Pebble Beach)
Hole-by-Hole: 1 - Par 4 381 Yds 10 - Par 4 446 Yds
2 - Par 5 502 Yds 11 - Par 4 380 Yds
3 - Par 4 390 Yds 12 - Par 3 202 Yds
4 - Par 4 331 Yds 13 - Par 4 399 Yds
5 - Par 3 188 Yds 14 - Par 5 573 Yds
6 - Par 5 513 Yds 15 - Par 4 397 Yds
7 - Par 3 106 Yds 16 - Par 4 403 Yds
8 - Par 4 418 Yds 17 - Par 3 178 Yds
9 - Par 4 466 Yds 18 - Par 5 543 Yds
------------- -------------
36 3,295 Yds 36 3,551 Yds
Yardage: 6,858 (Spyglass Hill)
Hole-by-Hole: 1 - Par 5 595 Yds 10 - Par 4 407 Yds
2 - Par 4 349 Yds 11 - Par 5 528 Yds
3 - Par 3 152 Yds 12 - Par 3 178 Yds
4 - Par 4 370 Yds 13 - Par 4 441 Yds
5 - Par 3 183 Yds 14 - Par 5 560 Yds
6 - Par 4 416 Yds 15 - Par 3 125 Yds
7 - Par 5 529 Yds 16 - Par 4 462 Yds
8 - Par 4 399 Yds 17 - Par 4 325 Yds
9 - Par 4 431 Yds 18 - Par 4 408 Yds
------------- -------------
36 3,424 Yds 36 3,434 Yds
Yardage: 6,833 (Poppy Hills)
Hole-by-Hole: 1 - Par 4 413 Yds 10 - Par 5 511 Yds
2 - Par 3 174 Yds 11 - Par 3 203 Yds
3 - Par 4 406 Yds 12 - Par 5 531 Yds
4 - Par 5 550 Yds 13 - Par 4 393 Yds
5 - Par 4 426 Yds 14 - Par 4 400 Yds
6 - Par 3 181 Yds 15 - Par 3 210 Yds
7 - Par 4 388 Yds 16 - Par 4 439 Yds
8 - Par 4 390 Yds 17 - Par 3 163 Yds
9 - Par 5 555 Yds 18 - Par 5 500 Yds
------------- -------------
36 3,483 Yds 36 3,350 Yds
Hole
Par
Yards
1
4
381
With the rough grown in on the right as part of the championship course set-up, what was once a soft dogleg par 4 now bends abruptly to the right. Although the fairway slope will help a ball that is hit from left to right, length is not important here. It's the first hole, and the priority is to keep the ball in the fairway to allow a clean approach to a very narrow green. Look for the players to hit long irons from the tee.
2
5
502
Because this hole normally plays as a par 5 the green is quite narrow, which means you want to leave as short an approach as possible. That means that, even though the fairway is only 30 yards wide, players will be hitting driver as hard and as long as possible. The change also will alter the way the players approach the course. When this was a par 5, the idea was to pick up birdies before you hit the ocean holes. Not anymore.
3
4
390
This is almost a mirror image of the first hole, but with a sharper turn. Again, the idea is to hit the fairway, probably with a long iron or a fairway wood, to have any chance of birdie. The tee shot sets up nicely for players who hit a draw, which is to say just about everyone in the field. The reverse is true for the approach shot. Because the green slopes softly from right to left, it calls for a high fade.
4
4
331
With the tendency to keep well away from the ocean on the right, a lot of players could end up in the rough and the large bunker to the left. That will leave a short but tricky approach to a green that sits close to the cliffs.
5
3
188
This new par 3 made its U.S. Open debut in 2000, and what an entry it was. Although the prevailing wind blows from the ocean, it has a tendency to swirl, which will make club selection perplexing. And watch what happens to the pro who thinks a ball hit short and left will then feed into the green. It looks as though it should do that, but it more than likely will kick forward into the rough or sand, and that will leave a very delicate chip to a slick, sloping green.
6
5
513
This hole demands the driver. That's because a ball not hit far enough probably will prevent the player from reaching the second landing area, past the swath of rough, on the second shot. That will mean a lay-up and a blind third shot to a small green with a long iron. That's not something to look forward to, so expect to see the field cranking driver here.
7
3
106
The shortest hole in major championship golf is all about the wind. In the 1992 U.S. Open, for example, eventual champion Tom Kite hit a sand wedge for his tee shot on Saturday and a 6-iron on Sunday. If the wind does blow, look for players to switch from club to club before hitting.
8
4
418
The competitors will have spent their practice rounds stepping off the landing area because it's absolutely crucial that they find the fairway with what probably will be a 3-wood or 2-iron hit blind from the tee. Unfortunately, however, there's not much fairway to find. Those who hit safely will face a middle iron over the waves. Those who don't probably will play for bogey.
9
4
466
This is the toughest hole on the golf course. Because the fairway slopes severely toward the ocean, the approach must be hit from a hanging lie. What usually happens is that the player leaks it to the right a little or overcompensates and ends up in the left rough or the greenside bunker. The approach to No. 8 may be the most critical on the course, but the approach to the ninth is just as difficult and if you've missed the eighth, the ninth is not place to pick up lost strokes.
10
4
446
The last in this stretch of holes along Carmel Bay is another long par 4 that slopes toward the water. It's a tough, tough tee shot. If it lands in the center or right of the fairway, the ball likely will roll into deep rough to the right. A ball hit left should stay safe. But a ball hit too far left could find rough or sand.
11
4
380
The prevailing wind blows off the sea and should help the tee shot, yet it still must be hit blind to a landing area that is only 28 yards wide. On the approach, only the front left of the green is visible, so on most days players will be hitting two blind shots in a row. It is not good to hit the approach long here. Because the green slopes so severely from back to front, a chip or even a putt could easily run right off the putting surface.
12
3
202
This will be a tough green to hold because it is the firmest on the course. The players will fare best if they can feed their tee shots in from right to left, and do so softly. Just about anything that hits the middle of the green will bounce into rough or sand behind the green.
13
3
399
Three fairway bunkers have been added to the right side (in a mirror configuration of those just short of the green), but this remains a birdie opportunity. Players overjuicing their approaches will chip back from a closely mown area behind the green to the slickest putting surface on the course.
14
5
573
Rough grown in on the left side of the landing area should take the driver out of play. It is possible to carry the fairway bunker on the right, but that shot runs the risk of going all the way through the fairway and finding the rough. Most players will play two shots, then attack the flag.
15
4
397
This probably is one of the more straightforward holes on the golf course, and although the fairway has been pinched in to about 30 yards, players should be able to hit a long iron or fairway wood off the tee and still get the approach close for a real chance at birdie.
16
4
403
The prime tee shot is hit from left to right with a 2- or 3-iron to the upper shelf of the fairway, between 230-240 yards out. A ball hit too long will bound down into a depression and probably into the left rough, while a ball hit too far right will either find sand or rough, or have tree limbs interfering with the approach. This is a tricky green, too, as shots tend to slide to the left when they land.
17
3
178
Conditions can be deceptive here. With a hedge running along the right side, and temporary grandstands to the right of and behind the green, it might seem calm even on a windy day. Players should pay attention to what the flag is doing and expect there to be more wind than they think.
18
5
543
A new tee further out to sea actually makes the tee shot a little easier, but it still must negotiate the coastline. Only the longest hitters will be able to reach the green in two if they keep their balls in the fairway, although a good, hard drive will bounce considerably because these fairways run firm and fast in the summer.
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