I really think this hole stands out to me as much as any hole . It requires a well thought out decision on the tee, leave a short iron off the downslope or try to leave it up on the top and hit from a level lie.  The barranca in front of the green makes the hole imo.  Green cants from right to left and a little draw to the back left pin takes the slope really well.  The place you can't miss is the right either off the tee or greenside.  I like this hole alot the only one better to me is the 4th.
Lance

I also thought this was a great hole that nobody talks about.

Need good decision-making off the tee - I think the orientation of the tee box, the sight of the green in the distance, and the opening between the center bunker and the tree on the right suckers you into playing too far to the right.



You have to place your tee shot well to set up the proper approach to the green:



The green complex is difficult.  I misjudged my approach and went over the green - there is a steep drop-off behind the green.  I thought this was a great view at the green looking through the trees back towards the seaside holes:



Andy

It truely is amazing they haven't butchered this great hole by adding a bunker left, on the outside of the dogleg, yet.

The centerline nasties, that exist on this hole, are the crescendo of cross carries, which is Pebble Beach.

The bunker at the elbow of the leg, is one of the most severe,on the course, or anywhere. I'm assuming it's similar to some of those nasty ones at TOC, since if found, going for the green is usually ill-advised.

The green fronting bunker complex is a massive thing, serpentining to and fro.

The little hillock, just right of the green, likely had a much larger role in the playing of this hole, until the uber irrigation, standard maintenance mindset took over.

Andy, You are not alone in mis-judging the approach. Notoriously, the shot requires a little extra yardage,(into prevailing) to acheive the perfect distance, BUT, the downhill nature of one's lie, usually provides for it.

I agree, a bunker left would be bad thing.
#16 is an excellent hole just the way it is.
I remember watching my approach feed towards the back left pin thinking "remember this, I don't know when you'll have a chance to come back".

-Ted

The two "framing trees" affect the hacker
more than the scratch man.  (Was Fazio here?)
The shot is aerial, after all.

Are they necessary?  Desirable?

If you were to lose one, which, left? Right?

I'd remove the right one first, it visually clutters the hole.

p.s.  This is one of my favorite PBGL® holes.

I like the two framing trees and would chose to let them be. But if I had to chose, I'd lose the one on the right before the one on the left.

If I remember correctly, a drive not hit far enough left could be blocked by the tree on th right from a shot into a back right pin. The scratch man is probably much more likely to be firing at tucked pins than the hack is, so maybe the trees affect birdies as much as bogeys and doubles.

-Ted

I played Pebble in '99.
I remember liking the 16th a lot.
The approach still really sticks out in my mind after these 5 or 6 years. I played to a back left pin and remember thinking that the green was very well done. I thought it fit well with the lay of the land and had some real character.
What do you guys think of of the 16th?

-Ted

This is just a great golf holf.  Nothing more to say

Fairways and Greens
Dave

This is my favorite hole on the course. It may have somthing to do with the fact it was my only birdie when I played there when I was a young lad. What a fun hole.

I love the hole for all the previously mentioned reasons and a few personal ones as well.....when I was a greenskeeper in the 70's, we hand raked bunkers and the fairway bunkers on 16 were my favorites to practice my zen and the art of bunker raking patterns in.....I would carefully rake out from the little islands in the stream, creating great patterns in the sand, and it would give me great pleasure to know that some golfer actually noticed these patterns during play!
  As head of special projects, I noticed that the oak grove left of greenside had become densely overgrown and I felt sure we were missing an ocean view and that air circulation might be improved if it was cleared, so I grabbed a new chicagoan and we spent two days with chainsaws and weed eaters and were real proud of the results until the chicagoan wound up in the hospital covered from head to toe [and internally] with poison oak....I didn't make it to the hospital but I do know what Western Poison Oak looks like to this day [didn't have it growing up east]....from the pictures it seems they are still keeping the growth down, so all the effort was not in vain.....just remembered the chicagoans name ,John Carlyle.... he was doing undercover work as a greenskeeper to write a story for Playboy....you anywheres out there John?
....Mr Biggers long gone .

A much better hole for the mid distance hitters than the long hitters.
For me I have to weigh up the options of driver versus lay up because the over the bunker route is not feasible..however, there is a very fair an mount of room left of the traps to encourage the driver option.

I love the hole it is the perfect set up for what is to follow, great green which makes you think about where leave your approach, and that back left pin placement is just wonderful.

But as Shivas said for the long hitters..hell just boom it over the bunkers and flip on a sand wedge..more boring pro golf stuff...something has got to be done..but that has only encompassed about a hundred other threads...so I will leave it alone.

Tom
I think you misunderstood my posting a little.
I did not mean it to sound as though I am one of those technology complainers..not at all.. I think as you do that having that option available makes it a better hole.

Dave, Sorry, my local affiliate didnt air the telecast at the normal time. They aired it late night and I missed the shot you speak of.

I did however see his drive on Sunday, which was as far left as one could be. Perhaps pin placements dictated both drives, and Phil is just that frick'in good. Or, the Javier (heavy air) on Sunday dictated it. Or, he miss hit one or both of those drives. We will never know.

But I did interpret your original hypothesis as a little further right, than the left edge of the nursemaid they are calling that bunker, today.

Did anyone else notice the new bunkerwork around the entire course? I must say it smacks of an architectural blunder, indeed.

These pictures were taken in April of 2004.

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