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.