Pebble Beach Golf Links turns 107 this year, and it still doesn't play like anywhere else. That's not just marketing — it's architectural fact. When Jack Neville and Douglas Grant routed the course in 1919, they made a decision that seems obvious in hindsight but was radical at the time: put as many holes as possible along the cliffs of Stillwater Cove and Carmel Bay. The result is a figure-eight layout where the ocean isn't scenery — it's the primary hazard on at least nine holes.
With the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am starting this week — Rory McIlroy defending, Scottie Scheffler lurking, and $20 million on the line — it's worth breaking down what actually makes this course so hard. Not just "it's pretty and windy," but the specific design decisions that separate winners from the field.
The Friendly Start That Lulls You to Sleep (Holes 1–5)
Here's the thing about Pebble Beach that television doesn't convey: the first five holes are relatively gentle. You're playing inland, the ocean is out of sight, and the scoring is there if you're hitting it well. The first is a short par 4. The second is a reachable par 5. Holes 3 and 4 are manageable par 4s.
This matters strategically because the course is setting a trap. Amateurs and inexperienced pros who don't go low on the front give away strokes they can never get back. The back nine is brutally hard. You need to bank birdies early.
The exception is the par-3 fifth, which plays to a small, elevated green with bunkers front-left and a steep drop-off behind. It's a preview of what's coming — a hole where par is a perfectly good score.
The Clifftop Gauntlet (Holes 6–10)
This is where Pebble Beach becomes Pebble Beach.
Hole 6 is a par 5 that climbs dramatically uphill, with cliffs dropping off to the right and five bunkers guarding the left. The second shot is the key: you're hitting to a fairway that rises four stories above the ocean, and most amateurs simply don't have the club to get up that hill from the rough. Pros who reach the green in two have a real eagle chance. Everyone else is scrambling for par.
Hole 7 is the signature hole, and it's only 106 yards. The shortest hole on the PGA Tour, and one of the most intimidating shots in golf. You're standing on a cliff, hitting downhill to a tiny green perched on Arrowhead Point with the Pacific Ocean pounding on three sides. Club selection is entirely wind-dependent — it can play anywhere from a lob wedge to a 7-iron on the same day. When William Herbert Fowler reviewed the course in 1920, he recommended removing this hole entirely, calling it "unfit for championship play." He was spectacularly wrong.
Hole 8 features what Jack Nicklaus called "the finest second shot in golf." After a blind tee shot, you're standing on a cliff 10 stories above the ocean, looking at a tiny green that juts out toward the water. The approach requires carrying a chasm of rocks and surf. Miss right, and you're in the Pacific. Miss left, and you're in a bunker with almost no green to work with. This hole alone is worth the price of admission.
Holes 9 and 10 continue along the cliffs. The 9th plays downhill to a green near the shoreline, and the 10th doglegs hard left along the cliff edge. Combined, holes 6 through 10 are the most visually stunning stretch in championship golf — and among the hardest. If you can play them in even par, you're having a great day.
The Quiet Middle (Holes 11–14)
The course heads back inland for a stretch, and the drama dips. These aren't weak holes — the 12th and 13th are solid par 4s that demand accuracy — but they don't have the scenery or the terror of the coastal stretch. This is where course management matters most. The greens at Pebble Beach are small — among the smallest on Tour — and they're Poa annua, which gets bumpy in the afternoon. Lag putting and avoiding three-putts through this stretch is how you protect a good round.
Here's a stat that tells the story: 44 percent of approach shots at Pebble Beach come from 50 to 150 yards. This is a wedge course. The players who dial in their distance control with scoring clubs are the ones who contend. Last year, McIlroy's two eagles on the par 5s were the difference — and both started with precise wedge approaches.
The Brutal Finish (Holes 15–18)
If Pebble Beach lulls you early, it punishes you late.
Hole 15 is a tricky par 4 where the fairway pinches at driving distance, and the green is nestled against the coast. It's the kind of hole where bogey lurks if your tee shot is even slightly offline.
Hole 16 plays as a long par 4 back toward the ocean. The fairway tilts right-to-left, and the approach is into a green that's exposed to whatever the wind off Stillwater Cove is doing. This is a hole where par feels like birdie.
Hole 17 is one of the great par 3s in golf, playing across a portion of the cove to a green shaped like an hourglass. The pin position changes this hole dramatically. Front-left is reasonable. Back-right, perched near the cliff edge, is one of the most terrifying pin locations in professional golf. Tom Watson famously chipped in here during the 1982 U.S. Open — one of the greatest shots ever struck — but for every miracle, there are hundreds of balls that have found the ocean.
Hole 18 is the greatest closing hole in golf. Originally a short par 4, it was extended along Stillwater Cove into a sweeping, dogleg-left par 5. The entire left side is ocean. The tee shot demands a draw along the coast, and going for the green in two means carrying your second shot over the water to a front-left pin. The conservative play is to lay up to wedge distance — but in a tournament, with the lead on the line, the temptation to go for it has created some of the most dramatic moments in the sport's history.
What Amateurs Can Learn From Watching This Week
When you watch the AT&T Pro-Am, pay attention to three things:
1. Club selection on the par 3s. Watch how much club the pros take on 5, 7, and 17. Amateurs almost always under-club on seaside holes. The wind is stronger than it looks on TV, and the consequences of coming up short at Pebble are severe.
2. Par-5 strategy. The par 5s (2, 6, 14, 18) are where scoring happens. Notice how the best players don't just bomb driver — they position their tee shot to give themselves the best angle for their approach, even if it means hitting less than driver.
3. Wedge precision. This is an approach-shot course. Strokes Gained: Approach is the stat that matters most here. Watch how precise the contenders are from 100-150 yards. That's the skill that separates the top 10 from the field.
Pebble Beach rewards thinking golfers. It's not the longest course on Tour. It doesn't have the deepest rough or the fastest greens. What it has is relentless variety — every hole asks a different question, and the ocean ensures the conditions are never the same twice. After 107 years, the questions Jack Neville and Douglas Grant built into this course still don't have easy answers. That's what makes it the ultimate test.
