I just returned from my first rounds at Pebble, so I'll weigh in here.
I loved Pebble Beach. Loved it. I also played Pasatiempo, which I admired and enjoyed greatly; and Spyglass, which I found to be a strong golf course with fantastic ocean views, but for which I felt no particular love.
Why did I love Pebble? Because the acknowledged great holes were everything I hoped they'd be, and several of the holes you don't hear much about were better than I expected.
I'll grant the criticism of #2 (temp green, as well, but still, I made two easy pars there) and #15 (defenseless, if it weren't for the rough). Otherwise, it's easily the best course I've played -- including TOC.
Of the non-great holes, I was particularly impressed by #4 and #13.
Looking down the fairway on #4, at least five clubs come to mind for a tee-shot: a driver, a three-wood, a five-wood, or either of your two longest irons. It depends on the wind and how accurate you're feeling; the hole plays more uphill than you realize from TV, and the bunkers pinch in closer as you near the green. I hit a perfect 2-iron the first day, but with a little wind into my face the second day, I slightly mishit the 2-iron and put my drive into the cross bunker that guards the fairway. There's nothing to do but pitch out from there.
#13 is also more uphill than I realized, and presents similar problems off the tee -- that J-shaped bunker guarding the left side of the fairway and the bunkers up the right side. The approach shot is probably two extra clubs because of the elevation.
I agree with Mike Hendren about #14 -- much tougher than I imagined it would be. I nutted a drive down the left side the second day and hit a solid 3-wood second, and still had 155 uphill, into a slight wind, to try to reach that little table-top left side over the huge bunker. I didn't take enough club, with predictable results.
As for #18, the pros may eat it up, but I don't think there's a tougher drive on the course. I played it both days with a crosswind coming off the ocean, meaning the ideal shot is a draw, but a hook will get you wet, and failure to pull off the draw will leave you in the fairway bunker on the right, or worse.
As for the mainenance issues, I wasn't bothered at all by the crews out on the course. I'm used to playing my golf in the early morning and waiting for the guys on the mowers at my home course, who couldn't be less concerned about how long you have to wait for them. That wasn't my experience at Pebble. In fact, as we played #11 the first day, an army of grounds crew guys stood and waited for us to hit our approach shots, then marched across the fairway two-by-two towards the 10th hole (kind of reminded me of the opening to that old TV show about the Texas Rangers, "26 Men.")
I was more distracted by the traffic around the 16th tee. I didn't realize that cars actually drove between the 16th tee and fairway and up the left side of 15 to get to their homes. After waiting for several cars to pass, I hit my only completely terrible drive on 16 the second day.
I agree with the comment that the Pebble Beach Lodge is reminiscent of a golf Disneyworld. I guess that should have bothered me, but it didn't -- not at all. My wife and I saw this as a once-in-20-years experience, and if the employees wanted to cater to our every whim almost before we could think of it, that's not such a bad thing. Once you put your peg in the ground on #1, it was all golf, and nearly all of it was great golf.
I really have no idea where Pebble Beach should be ranked, but it's my favorite course on earth, and I just can't imagine someone not feeling uplifted by playing there.
Rick