So...has Pebble lost some luster?

[Matt_Cohn]

Do you want to play Pebble Beach as much as you did two weeks ago? Does the average golfer?

There's always been something magical about Pebble Beach but it just wasn't the same this week. The good-but-not-great winner, the brownness, the lack of magic on Sunday, the controversies about the course setup. I dunno. What do you think? Which do you want to play more?

Two days after the Open:


A few months before the Open:

[Sam Morrow]

I'd rather play it right now. I don't see how the course lost any luster.

[Michael Moore]

Do you want to play Pebble Beach as much as you did two weeks ago?

???

Yes, after preparing a delicious Father's Day barbecue for friends and family, watching the children run around the yard, and then settling down with a few beers to watch the astounding pictures of this gorgeous course for several hours, as dusk turned to dark and my very own cool ocean breeze came through the window, I would say that my interest in Pebble Beach was at the very least sustained.

[Matt_Ward]

Matt:

PB is still PB.

The issue for me was the set-up (pin placements on a few of the holes) and the desire to have greens which were cut way too close for comfort.

Credit McDowell for the win but the big three -- TW, Lefty and Ernie -- simply played horrible golf too in a final round. Conditions contributed to that but so did faulty execution and mental meltdowns.

[Fred Yanni]

PB hasn't lost any of its luster - conditions and course set up can't ruin what to date is my favorite 18 holes to walk in golf.  I haven't played a course with better scenery.  It also has maybe the best 4 hole stretch I have played (7-10).  

That said its not personally my favorite golf course.  It probably lands outside my top 10.  

[Bill_Yates]

Matt
So you're one of the millions of us who think "green = luster."

What you photos really show is "Before USGA" and "After USGA."  Remember, the new theme of the USGA is "brown is the new green."  So, all of us on this site who keep asking for more natural firm and fast conditions, this is what we will get.  And I for one think that on the right courses (ones whose designs allow for play on the ground, as well as, play through the air), firm, fast and brown is a great thing to do.

Now, will Pebble Beach return to the look and playability of photo #2 above?  Absolutely!

[Dean Stokes]

I love the browned out look. I think it adds to the course. However if you are having the course play hard and fast then some of the hay around the greens/fairways needs to be gone to allow for creativity. With such small, hard greens people are going to miss a lot of targets. Having to chip from 5 inch hay does nothing to heighten the experience or challenge the golfers skills.

[JR Potts]

Matt:

PB is still PB.

The issue for me was the set-up (pin placements on a few of the holes) and the desire to have greens which were cut way too close for comfort.

Credit McDowell for the win but the big three -- TW, Lefty and Ernie -- simply played horrible golf too in a final round. Conditions contributed to that but so did faulty execution and mental meltdowns.

Agreed 100%.

[Matt_Ward]

Bill:

Don't put words in my mouth.

I'm all for firm and fast so long as the essence of the game is not turned on its head -- that happened this past Sunday -- I salute McDowell but the USGA needs to rethink (which it won't) this slavish tendency to save par at all costs.

I don't see bouncing balls because greens are cropped too tight and then late in the day you get grass growth which only encourages more of the same stuff in happening. I want to see golf happen -- not flog.

[Mike Sweeney]

Nope.

Borrowed from Shackelford's site

[Rory Connaughton]

More interested in Pebble now than I was before the Open.  With the exception of 14 green and possibly 17 I found the presentation of the course very appealing.  I also found that I was in a much better position as a viewer to appreciate each hole than during the AT&T broadcast. The course looked better and the playability was far superior to what I have come to associate with PB from watching the AT&T.

[Bill_McBride]

Bill:

Don't put words in my mouth.

I'm all for firm and fast so long as the essence of the game is not turned on its head -- that happened this past Sunday -- I salute McDowell but the USGA needs to rethink (which it won't) this slavish tendency to save par at all costs.

I don't see bouncing balls because greens are cropped too tight and then late in the day you get grass growth which only encourages more of the same stuff in happening. I want to see golf happen -- not flog.

Matt, the fairways weren't too F&F, but the greens at 13-14 were over the top.

That was my take.  Get those greens to 11-12 and it all works.

[George Pazin]

Nope.

Nope it hasn't lost luster, or nope you don't want to play it as much? I'm assuming the former.

Every year I want to play it more and can afford it less...

[Bill_McBride]

More interested in Pebble now than I was before the Open.  With the exception of 14 green and possibly 17 I found the presentation of the course very appealing.  I also found that I was in a much better position as a viewer to appreciate each hole than during the AT&T broadcast. The course looked better and the playability was far superior to what I have come to associate with PB from watching the AT&T.

Plus no Ray Romano and George Lopez.     The AT&T is unwatchable until Sunday.

[Matt_Ward]

Bill McBride:

Agree w you -- keep the fairways moving but raise the height of the cut for the greens just a bit.

What amazes me is how people can advocate the higher green speeds when the greens when originally designed did not contemplate speeds being used today.

[Jud_T]

I do want to play there as much as i did 2 weeks ago, unfortunately my desire to return wasn't very high then either.....i'll probably make the obligatory trip with my son at some point, but that's about it.....joe 6-pack still wants to play there as much as he did 2 weeks ago...

[Michael Dugger]

Of course not....

[JLahrman]

Bill:

Don't put words in my mouth.

I'm all for firm and fast so long as the essence of the game is not turned on its head -- that happened this past Sunday -- I salute McDowell but the USGA needs to rethink (which it won't) this slavish tendency to save par at all costs.

I don't see bouncing balls because greens are cropped too tight and then late in the day you get grass growth which only encourages more of the same stuff in happening. I want to see golf happen -- not flog.

I think Bill's comment was directed at Matt Cohn, who initiated the post and posted the pictures.

But that's me putting words in Bill's mouth.  Yates, not McBride.

[Martin Toal]

I have played links courses where some of the par 4s were really par 6s and some of the par 3 were impossible, so hell yes, I would play at Pebble Beach anytime. Who said the player has a right to hit every green in regulation?

[Bill_Yates]

Matt Ward
My comments were directed to Matt Cohn. But I am glad you read my post.

[Andrew Summerell]

That 2nd photo really shows out the houses near the edge of the fairway. Although they have been there for a while, that’s one of the things that takes the lustre off Pebble for me.

[Richard Hetzel]

If it does, will they lower the $495 greens fee?

[John Moore II]

No, it hasn't really lost its luster, I'd still love to play there. However, I feel that given the length that tour pro's can hit the ball, its becoming less relevant for the US Open game.

[archie_struthers]

 

hasn't the luster become even more brilliant?

in fact ,  the holes from 7-10 never seemed more interesting

as to #17   I am still dying to lash my old callaway juiced up seven wood from the tee they played

[Dale_McCallon]

Watching the open made me want to go back more than ever.  I've never figured out why so much hate on this site for such an awesome place.  If money were no issue I'd be on a plane tomorrow.