Pebble...

[JakaB]

Does anybody really think we have paid too high a price having Pebble open to the public....would golf be just a little better if it were private....You know everyone on this board would still find a way to play it...hell I would probably even played it by now if it were private....Just last week I talked to a union business agent that played Pebble earlier in the year...the look in his eye and his crackeling voice were worth every bitch I have heard on the board about slow rounds and Disney like appointments.....Nobody hates golfers and tourists more than me....but some things come with a price....and $350/round is not the price that gets people on this board...lets say you could be one of 150 members who can play Pebble once a week all year long...thats 1400/month...trade in the V12 on an 8 and call me stupid...its a deal of the century....admit it people...its the ignorant masses of FreddieC's that spoil the fun....nobody likes a golfer who they have never met..pure and simple.

[DF-SDGA]

My one round at Pebble took 3 hours and 30 minutes.  It was one of the greatest experiences I can imagine, and now I'm scared to go back for fear of ruining the memory after a six hour round.

As much as I appreciate great courses, I cannot handle 5 hours and 45 minutes as someone mentioned earlier.  

[Rick Shefchik]

The five-hour round talk is the extreme, not the norm, based on my two days there. You're not likely to finish in 4, but I had no complaints about the pace, except for the guys ahead of us the first day who decided they weren't going to tee off on #10 until the rain let up. One of our caddies rather pointedly explained to them that they were either going to tee off or step aside. They teed off.

The pace of play was much slower at Spyglass.

[Dan Grossman]

I agree with Rick concerning his thoughts on Pebble.  I love Pasa (and play it more than any other top 100 course), but Pebble is my favorite course in the country.  I played well when I played it, but when I added up my card, I couldn't believe that I didn't break 80.  Like Pasatiempo, it plays longer than the scorecard.  The greens are TINY and sloping.  The fairways are wonderfully undulating and natural.  Even two blind tee shots!  

I don't understand the whole argument about no one liking the course if it was in Nebraska.  Of course not.  Holes like 4, 8, 9, 10 and 18 would not be nearly as intimidating without the ocean breeze and crashing waves.  Imagine if the chasm on #8 was replaced with a marsh?  Most folks would not be able to figure out what the architect was thinking....  A blind drive with a hazard 220yds off the tee???

Putting the atmosphere aside (which everyone SHOULD be doing when comparing the architecture of Pebble vs. the architecture of other top courses), why is Pebble not one of the top 5 courses in the country?  Rather than discuss the strengths and weakness of just Pebble, we should really be discussing its strengths and weaknesses versus other courses.  We probably shouldn't do it in a vacuum.

[Raymond]

As we all attest, each one of us has our own criteria for what constitutes the best. Since I haven't had the opportunity to play the East Coast contenders such as NGLA, Shinnecock, PV, etc., I'm not qualified to make judgements on "THE BEST". However, I have played in the neighborhood of 30 of the so-called top 100 along with the must plays in Scotland-Ireland.
I've played Pebble Beach about a half dozen times and if I had only one course to play on my last day on earth it would be Pebble Beach. It's not the perfect 18 holes but doggone close enough!

[Bill_McBride]

Shivas, re # 4 Pebble.......  the first time I ever played it, maybe age 17, I had parred the first 3 and striped a spoon off the tee.  Back right pin, hit a really sweet wedge at the hole.  Got up there and never did find my ball.  It's so close from that back right pin to the ocean below............... probably the sneakiest tough little par 4 or 3-1/2 par around.  

[TEPaul]

"I have always gotten the feeling...and I know that I'm right...that many of the "regulars" on this site would rate Pebble higher if it were private...."

JakaB:

No way, but I would rate ANGC higher if it went public. At least that way they wouldn't spend $18 mil on the course in a single year. The only thing I can say about the way it is now is I could live very comfortably underneath the 12th green. There's everything and anything any man would need under that green.