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Ode to Pebble Beach
Updated: Friday September 07, 2001 12:42 PM
MONTEREY, Calif. -- Seagulls flutter, waves pound the beach, eyelids twitch. The air is thick with sea salt and anticipation. Somewhere, a sea lion barks. I am facing Jack Nicklaus' favorite shot in golf, the approach to Pebble Beach Golf Links' wondrous eighth hole. After a pretty good drive from the blue disk, I've got 213 yards to the flag, into the fan, every inch of it over that famous gaping chasm. Breathing in the shot at hand, a warm and fuzzy feeling washes over me.
I went home last week to reaffirm the answer. In the midst of a family visit I managed to squeeze in an epic day of golf -- the first group out at Pebble Beach, when every birdie putt leaves a trail in the dew, followed by an afternoon game at Cypress Point. The timing of my visit to Pebble couldn't have been more ironic, as just a few days earlier the Aug. 27 issue of Sports Illustrated had hit newsstands. In the Overrated/Underrated cover package was a selection of golf courses written up by my esteemed colleague, John Garrity. As many of you know, Pebble was selected as the most overrated course in golfdom. Now, let me say this at the outset: I love John Garrity. I admire his playful prose and often drink from his vast reservoir of knowledge. The guy was following professional golf before I was an itch in my father's trousers. That said, in regards to Pebble Beach I must violently disagree. Still buzzing from my recent round, I am here to declare that not only is Pebble my favorite course in the world, it is, at this moment, probably the most underrated. A month or so before we shredded Pebble in SI, a curious little item appeared in Golf Digest. Pebble Beach had just been voted the best course in the country by the magazine's large panel of judges, unseating perennial numero uno Pine Valley. This prompted Digest's editor-in-chief -- a Pine Valley member -- to repudiate his own rankings and all the data that go into them. In disparaging the Beach as unworthy of its lofty perch, this conflicted scribe cited the core of Garrity's argument: that there are some pedestrian holes at Pebble Beach, thereby negating the glorious seaside stretches (Garrity also cited Pebble's conditioning; more on that later). The Digest slight came on top of a frothing article in GolfWorld last summer, in which a crusty Scottish typist railed on Pebble with unusual vigor, his panties in a twist because Pebble is neither parkland nor a true links in character, and thus resistant to the rigid thinking of the Scotch. Assessing golf courses is like trying to quantify love or beauty. Everyone has different tastes -- though, it must be said, some are more cultivated than others. What I love most about the great golf courses are the indelible images they leave in the dark room of the mind. Take a course like Southern Hills, which I spent a solid week walking and studying during this year's U.S. Open. A very good test of golf, to be sure, but three months later I can't even remember what the place looks like. Pine Valley makes more of an impression, but its defining feature -- scrubby waste bunkers -- doesn't exactly compare to the glory of the pounding Pacific. And unlike, say, at Old Head, the coastline at Pebble Beach is not merely a scenic backdrop. For my money, PB offers more varied, more heroic, more memorable shot values than any course I've played, as the azure waters of the Pacific or idyllic Carmel beach are in play on no fewer than half the holes. And what an astonishing nine they are: three gorgeous par-3s (5, 7, 17) that demand finesse and precision, as does No. 4, the brilliant, short par-4; the man-sized demands of 8-9-10, the string of long, ferocious par-4s at the heart of the course; and the risk-reward par-5 masterpieces, Nos. 6 and 18 . These are the nine holes that even the fustiest critic must surely enjoy playing. What of the other nine? People love to dismiss the par-4 first, and it would indeed be just a trifling little hole but for the fact it is the first hole at Pebble Beach. Try taking the club back with Mr. and Mrs. Underhill watching from the balcony of their $1,000-a-night suite, an army of Japanese tourists snapping photos, hordes of displaced Midwesterners gawking at the silk sweaters, deer grazing in the rough, and some Hollywood starlet looking on from behind mirrored sunglasses. With the exception of having to tee off on No. 1 at the Old Course, in the shadow of the Royal & Ancient building, Pebble's first hole is probably the most daunting setting in golf. Yes, No. 2 is too easy a par-5, but 3 is a great little hole. After a tight drive around the corner, you have to play into the first blast of wind coming off the ocean, to one of the most well-protected greens on the course. Then it's on to the ocean holes. This progression of difficulty is part of what makes Pebble such a unique experience. Though 11-16 lack the sizzle of the Pacific, there are three outstanding holes here: the uphill, par-4 11th, with its tiny, little hourglass green, severely pitched from back to front; 14, the long, demanding, sharply doglegged, meat-and-potatoes par-5; and 16, an extra sporty, little par-4 that demands an exacting drive and pin-point approach. That leaves 12, 13 and 15 -- nice, straightforward golf holes, no more, no less. Hey, the average golfer should rejoice when playing them. Now's your chance to make a few pars! Anyway, the truest measure of a golf course is often who has won there. Just as Ben Hogan had Riviera, Pebble Beach is fast becoming Tiger's Alley, as he produced two unforgettable victories there within four months: his monster comeback at the 2000 Crosby Clambake and an epochal performance at the ensuing U.S. Open. This was the third national championship at Pebble to define an era, coming after Nicklaus' victory in 1972 and Tom Watson's 10 years later. The glittering victory parade is not limited to U.S. Opens. Perusing through the list of past champions at the Clambake, I was struck by the run of winners that began in 1972: Nicklaus, Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Gene Littler, Ben Crenshaw, Watson, Watson. Meanwhile, the last four champs have been Phil Mickelson, Payne Stewart, Woods, Davis Love. Not bad company to keep. Of course, I'm biased when it comes to Pebble Beach. It's old news that during my college summers I worked there as a cart boy. In fact, during my recent visit I wound up conferring with a couple of old cronies, and we got to talking about how much the place has changed in the 10 years since I left. In 1991 the Beach had just been bought by a shady Japanese tycoon, who came to town with reported ties to the yakuza and the dream of privatizing Pebble and selling memberships overseas. His brief reign capped a long period of neglect for Pebble Beach, and back then it was indeed a jewel that needed polishing. I played the course twice a week during the summer of '91, and there's no question Pebble was "poorly maintained," to use the term in Garrity's item. By my last summer, 1993, the course was under the stewardship of a second set of Japanese owners, who collectively treated Pebble Beach like the national treasure that it is. Millions of dollars were pumped into restoring the course and beefing up the maintenance, and this spirit of TLC continues with the iconic new ownership group, led by local boy Clint Eastwood, Arnie Palmer and Peter Ueberroth. Pebble Beach is now better than it's ever been, whether you're talking about the dazzling new fifth hole or the extended 18th tee and reshaped green. No, it's not as pure as Cypress Point, but these are false comparisons. The Point has fairways like the plushest carpet and greens that roll as true as a pool table. But this ultra-exclusive club hosts only a couple dozen players a day. Pebble is like Denny's -- it never closes its doors. Gloriously public, a couple hundred dreamers take their best shot every day. Having recently walked among them, I'm more convinced than ever that Pebble Beach still rates as the best experience in golf. Sports Illustrated senior writer Alan Shipnuck periodically waxes about life On Tour for CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or a nice, friendly comment.
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