Bunkers were reshaped and relocated, fairways were widened and re-shaped and a natural barranca was brought back into play as a strategic hazard. Gil Hanse’s team restored George Thomas’s classic to perfection in 2010. Does anything in golf compare with that final stroll up the par-5 18th as it curves left around Carmel Bay? Hard for a course this well known to exceed first time expectations - but it does, which is a true feat.īook a tee time at Pebble Beach. Even today, no more thrilling, spectacular stretch exists than holes 4 through 10.

The first great American public oceanside course, Pebble benefits from an ingenious routing that brings the player right to the ocean’s edge, then away into the woods, then back again. The drivable 1/2-par 9th is another design standout with its angled green toward play.

How did MacKenzie get the best from the land? In part, by breaking the “rules” and having back-to-back par-5s on the front and back-to-back par-3s on the back. The iconic par-3 16th, which extends into the churning Pacific, is perhaps the most dramatic and photographed hole in the game, but there are endless other highlights - from heaving dunes to jagged coastline - that golfers won’t soon forget. For the lucky few who get to play here, they enjoy one of the best walks in the sport as MacKenzie effortlessly transports the player around the diverse property. Cypress Point (Pebble Beach) Īs Alister MacKenzie must have felt about his 1928 design, it’s almost inconceivable that land this stunning was made available for golf. Best California golf courses (2020/2021) 1.

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