Pebble vs. Spyglass

[Matt_Cohn]

Putting aside the fact that the angles are obviously different, I thought Matt's point was that the bottom of the two pictures showed a move toward using vegetation that didn't fit, and thus he liked the look in the top picture better (or at least the vegetation in the top picture).  My reaction was the opposite -- the bottom picture, to me, looks more like the surrounding area.  But maybe I misread his post.

Interesting. My take is somewhere in the middle. I prefer the sand to the iceplant, but I wish the vegetation behind the green (planted by the grounds crew) matched the vegetation in the front/left (natural). The stuff on the mound behind the green doesn't look right in person, and I don't know why they couldn't just plant vegetation that matched.

I wish I had a picture of the new flowerbed on #12. You'd all rise in fury, I think.

[Patrick_Mucci]

It's really a pretty simple question.   Did you prefer the look before, or the look today?  They are quite different. 

The question may be simple, but, the example isn't.

If that's the question, then two photos, taken from identical angles, one before and one after, should be presented.

It's like showing a photo of naked woman who's had breast augmentation, except, one photo is taken from the front and the other from the back.  While both may be appealing, for comparison's sake, both photos should be taken from the front,

[Matt_Cohn]

It's really a pretty simple question.   Did you prefer the look before, or the look today?  They are quite different. 

The question may be simple, but, the example isn't.

If that's the question, then two photos, taken from identical angles, one before and one after, should be presented.

It's like showing a photo of naked woman who's had breast augmentation, except, one photo is taken from the front and the other from the back.  While both may be appealing, for comparison's sake, both photos should be taken from the front,

Sorry my photo library and internet searches were insufficient for you, but you're more than welcome to find suitable comparison photos and post them yourself.

[Patrick_Mucci]

It's really a pretty simple question.   Did you prefer the look before, or the look today?  They are quite different. 

The question may be simple, but, the example isn't.

If that's the question, then two photos, taken from identical angles, one before and one after, should be presented.

It's like showing a photo of naked woman who's had breast augmentation, except, one photo is taken from the front and the other from the back.  While both may be appealing, for comparison's sake, both photos should be taken from the front,

Sorry my photo library and internet searches were insufficient for you, but you're more than welcome to find suitable comparison photos and post them yourself.

Matt, no need to apologize.


But, when asking people to choose between a "before" and "after" photo, it always makes the comparision and decision easier when both photos were taken from the same location

[Connor Dougherty]

I'm in both camps on the ice plant. Visually it's better with the ice plant, but the hole plays much much better without the thick layer lining it. The green's too narrow to have that kind of penal hazard attached to it.

For what it's worth, if I had the chance, I go 50-50. Pebble is very top heavy. Holes 4-10 and 18 are true world beaters (but I still think they could be better) and a few of the inland holes like 3,13, and 16 are very, very good. But 1 is unbearably awkward for an opener, 2 is meh, 14 and 15 are terrible, and 17 has lost everything that once made it a great par 3.

Spy doesn't have the firepower of 4-10, but there are so many good holes there, and very, very few weak ones. Spy is definitely the more difficult course and for what it's worth I think would set up really well for the pros. Ask yourself, would a slightly altered Spyglass or a heavily altered Pebble Beach work as a better host for the US Open? I find that only awkward hole is 16 (I feel like it's a much, much longer version of 1 at Pebble) and 18 (which, particularly for a finishing hole, couldn't be more boring).