I just read Ran's recent review of Cypress Point.  It sounds like such a magical place.  The few people I know who have played both CPC and Pebble tend to prefer CPC, although that has a lot to do with the ambiance of an exclusive private club vs a golf mill.  

Setting aside the superior conditioning of CPC as well as the history which clearly favors Pebble, which is the better course?

I just read Ran's recent review of Cypress Point.  It sounds like such a magical place.  The few people I know who have played both CPC and Pebble tend to prefer CPC, although that has a lot to do with the ambiance of an exclusive private club vs a golf mill.  

Setting aside the superior conditioning of CPC as well as the history which clearly favors Pebble, which is the better course?

I've only seen parts of Cypress Point, but have played Pebble, on what I saw CP. I seem to be in a minority opinion on this one but I found a lot of Pebble very average in places. The holes on the ocean are visually stunning ofcourse which makes the overall experience still high.

These are two great golf courses.  I had the great fortune of playing Cypress Point in the morning and Pebble Beach in the afternoon a couple of weeks ago, and I would take Cypress for many reasons.  1) The variety of holes is incredible.  Six in the forest, six in the dunes, and six on or near the water.  Each with a variety of great holes.  It is one of those courses that when you play it back in your head, you can remember every hole distinctly.  2)The bunkering is magical.  The size, variety, and framing of features will blow you away alone.  3)The history of the place makes your hair stand on end.  That plays into the overall experience as far as I am concerned.  4)How many courses can you play that have trees like that?  A couple of the trees on #14 looked as if they were groves of five or six trees, and they were one tree.  5)  It was a fun golf course that didn't leave you with your tongue hanging out.  You could play it every day and enjoy it.  6)  #15, #16, #17.  Did I mention the views?  I could go on and on, but I will stop.
   Having said that, Pebble is a world class golf course with tiny greens and beautiful vistas, but CPC wins hands down.  Both golf courses were in great shape.  I was especially impressed with the conditioning at Pebble Beach due to the number of rounds that they put through and the size of the greens.  It was in perfect shape, as was Cypress Point.  
  The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition is filled with 10's, but some are stronger 10's than others.

I'm not sure what all of you were looking at, but pebble has a far nice 19th hole with the lodge and all the bars and such.  This has got to be the sign of the better course....

Having played both and caddied at both, IMHO Pebble is the better championship test but I would play at CPC given the choice.

I was lucky enough to play Cypress once and have had 4-5 rounds at Pebble, all in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The atmosphere at Cypress is absolutely mystical. The pedastal sinks and wooden lockers in the tiny locker room. The fact that you are probably one of 2-3 groups on the course at any time. As Pete said, 6 holes in the forest, six in the dunes and 6 at or near the ocean make it incredible. Also the fact that it is a MacKenzie and all that he did. Someone mentioned the 19th hole at Pebble gives it the nod. On that I differ. The tiny clubhouse at Cypress is so intimate whereas Pebble is just a big yuppy bar where people come to say they have been to Pebble even if they are not golfers.

However, I think Pebble wins, hands down as a golf course. The only exception to that would be the first two holes at Pebble. They are just no where near the rest of the place. The stretch from 4-10 at Pebble is just out of this world, and not just for scenery. They are all fabulous holes (okay maybe 4 is weak but it is a good short par 4). Love 16. The trees around the green require your tee shot to be precise so you do not get hung up in those trees. 17 and 18 are just great walks and always demanding.

Pebble wins in this guys eyes, assuming you are looking at the golf course.

Bob Jenkins

This is a FANTASTIC THREAD....

...the first time i can recollect the entire membership of Golf Club Atlas being split 100% (seemingly) down the middle!  These golf courses, vastly different, always seem to have there admirers - one designed by a legend, one not, one a major championship course, one that could be but isnt, one a private, private members club, one that is the opposite, one with the best finishing hole in golf, one certainly doesnt.. One of the best clubhouse locations anywhere in the world, one not so much so.. one with the quaintest entrance, one with a big overpowering one!

Both are however, located in the BEST golfing destination in the World IMHO... and both deserve to be rated next to each other - pride of place... Yes one may have better this and that but my word, what an amazing piece of golfing terrain!

On that note...

""Gentlemen, Let us pause for a moment of thanks for being one of the few who have been so privileged to walk along these magnificent shores""  Clarke W.Bearden 1911-1998

Gene,

A dead heat - yes.

My sentiments exactly... without getting emotional   - i sat on that tee box for an hour on my own and took the customary picture of that plaque and thought the same as you.

Interesting.  I too tend to concur with Dr. Gene, which is damn near always a sensible thing to do....

But...

If I was forced to only play one, and we could somehow factor crowds OUT of the equation, I'd make it Pebble.

I've only played one of the two but my impression is that Cypress Point offers a far more fun round of golf for a double digit handicapper like myself. There really aren't any plain old hard, ornery holes at CPC where a big number beckons after one bad swing. There are certainly challenges and you need to play well to score well but with excellent caddies to point out the best route I think anyone has a chance of playing to their handicap while enjoying the incredible setting of the Cypress Point Club. What's not to love?

I suspect but can't say for sure that Pebble offers more overall difficulty or challenge for the stronger player. But it seems to be a common refrain from first-time visitors to Pebble Beach that they lost a couple of balls and shot a big score even though they loved every minute of it.

So maybe it depends somewhat on whether beauty plus getting beat up is worth more to you than beauty plus finishing with the same ball you started with. All I know is that I'd love to play Pebble Beach one day but I'd pass it up in a skinny minute for another trip around Cypress Point.

If I may put a spin on this one, while I think it will remain on topic.

If Pebble was also an ultra-private course that was tough to get on, which one would you most want to play.  I think sometimes people might pass on Pebble for a chance to play CPC because you can always get on Pebble but will rarely ever have a chance to play CPC.

Does this change anything?

Kalen,

To my mind, the crowded resort ambience of Pebble Beach and the historical mojo from all the great championships contested there are sort of a wash. And they're both in the most beautiful location I've ever seen. My comments in this thread are a best attempt to address playing the 18 holes of each course per se but frankly it is not possible to entirely eliminate the conditions under which one plays them (resort vs. private) from any subjective comparison.

Huck,

I wouldn't be at all surprised if someone with decent length/power on tap combined with a modicum of accuracy (I think that's a fair characterisation of your game) has a different experience difficulty-wise than my own. Unless there's a big wind, in which case either course gets tough, it seems to me that Pebble tends to heavily punish half-assed shots and/or those that are boldly conceived and weakly executed while rewarding strong ballstriking off the tee and precise execution on the approach.

Conversely, I think CPC punishes with fractional strokes in most situations. This is true both when poor decisions or plans are attempted (a well-struck shot can end up in the dunes) or with poorly-hit balls (you can end up with tricky and/or blind recovery shots). Is it possible you are more sensitive to the death of a thousand nicks than to the possibility of a full stroke (or more) penalty in a limited number of points during a round?

Once again, not having played Pebble all this is speculation and in any case your game and mine lead to very different experiences.

Neither a Doak 10, not to start anything......

CPC is a Doak 10, actually a perfect 10 if my memory is right.  And he put Pebble in the top 10 in the US, closer to 10 then 1.  (without my Confidential Guide handy)...

IMHO it isn't even close.  CPC is everything good about Golf, Pebble is about golf going wrong...