Pebble Beach Golf Links

"If I had only one more round to play, I would choose to play it at Pebble Beach. I've loved this course from the first time I saw it. It's possibly the best in the world."

--Jack Nicklaus

"During the round, I kept pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I played this course for the first time, and I loved it. It's the best course I'll ever play in this world."

--Bob Kaku

It may be outrageous to put my name next to Jack Nicklaus.' But I don't care.

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Signature No. 7 Par 3

 

My wife bought me a round at Pebble Beach for my birthday. Playing at Pebble Beach was one of the things would do someday. Well thanks to my wife, someday came. Needless to say, the green fee is pricey. But Pebble Beach is always in high demand. On my birthday, I took the day off from work and went there to see if I could get on standby. I got there at 7:30 AM and was the 7th person on the waiting list. The pro shop staffer told me, "I don't think you have a chance to get on today." Two weeks later, I tried again. I called Sunday morning and was told that Monday was totally booked. After church, my wife prayed that I would get on the course. In the afternoon I called again. There was a cancellation at 6:40 AM Monday. I took it.

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Here I am on, I believe it's, the 10th hole teebox.

I didn't play particularly well that day. But I had two memorable holes. One was on the signature No. 7 par 3 hole. It is 103 yards (from the white tees) severely downhill. A gentle breeze blew in from the sea. I was surprised when one of the guys in the foursome said that the hole was playing 110 yards. That's between a pitching wedge and 9-iron for me. I chose my 9-iron. I hit it right into the middle of the green and proceeded to 2-putt for par. The other memorable hole was the No. 8 par 4 hole. It started to get very foggy. I hit a good drive that flew a little to the right of the white aiming stone in the fairway. I had to hit my second shot over a cove to the green about 180 yards. I hit a bad slice into the Pacific Ocean, which is considered to be a lateral hazard (a gigantic one). I took a stroke penalty and dropped another ball. This time I hit it pretty straight into the thick fog. I had no idea where it landed or whether it made it across the cove. To my surprise, my ball sat on the greens about 6 feet from the hole. I drained it for a bogey 5.