As we begin, I could easily justify adding a dateline to this piece since my mind’s eye has such a grasp of what Pebble Beach is, that I can vividly recall all that is great about the landscape in that jewel of a golf course at Carmel by-the-sea.
I can hear the seagulls squawking as they dip and dive aimlessly in the wind at one of the truly garden spots on earth. Those who have spent time there would likely agree that the creator may have had Pebble Beach in mind when creating the Garden of Eden.
If you have even the most casual interest in golf, you surely know all the superlatives that have come Pebble’s way. “The greatest meeting of land and water in the world.” That is attributed to golf writer, “Herbert Warren Wind.”
Esteemed British golf writer, Pat Ward-Thomas said that of all the U. S. courses. “…none has a more noble setting than Pebble Beach. Its very name is symbolic of rare and varied challenge against a background of majestic beauty.”
Jack Nicklaus, who won at Pebble as an amateur in 1961, also won the U. S. Open there in 1972, the only golfer to hold that distinction at a course he has been infatuated with since his first trip there. “If I had only one more round of golf to play, I would choose to play it at Pebble Beach,” Jack has said. “I’ve loved this golf course from the first time I saw it, at the 1961 Amateur. I can’t imagine anyone ever creating a finer all-around test of golf in a more sensational setting.”
However, Pebble Beach was a nightmare for Nicklaus at the 1976 Crosby when he, after a 37 on the first nine holes, in the final round, posted a forgettable 45 to shoot an unimaginable 82.
He then flew to Tokyo and was greeted by a phalanx of writers and broadcasters who shouted, “Mr. Nickraus, Mr. Nickraus, how you shoot 82?” Bob Hope said that “Pebble is Alcatraz with grass.”
Most would likely say the layout is heaven on earth, no matter your score. Just walking Pebble Beach, like the Augusta National, is the most rewarding and inspirational outdoor experience there is.
The restaurants in Carmel, one with a Georgia connection, “The La Balena” (Anna Bartolini is from Georgia and her husband, Emanuele, from Florence, Italy), get the highest reviews. The settings all receive high marks, and nobody ever admits to having a bad meal at these cozy establishments.
What brought about these mid-summer reflections was a phone conversation with former Bulldog quarterback, Fran Tarkenton, who spends ten days in Carmel each summer, choosing this time of the year when it is not so crowded there and the weather in Atlanta warrants getting away.
While the Hall of Famer (one of the few to be elected to both the college and NFL Halls) does not have an established handicap, he is a very proficient player.
He has had five holes in one in his golfing life and earlier this week, made an ace on the par 3 fifth hole at Pebble Beach. He was playing the white tees and had a distance of about 130 yards. “I hit a 9-iron on the green, left of the hole. It rolled to the right about five yards and went right into the cup,” he said.
“No. 10,” as I call him, has the distinction of having also aced the par 3 16th hole at Augusta, giving him impressive bookends with his hole-in-one collection.
Here is what golf course architect, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. has to say about the fifth hole at Pebble Beach: “The first four holes set the stage for the curious uphill par 3, 170 yard fifth, which completes the opening sequence of holes. This narrow hole seems out of place. When Sam Morse acquired this property, a subdivision of 80-foot lots had been recorded; he immediately bought them up. He could not obtain, however, the grand ocean-front property, owned by the Beatty family, where he had wanted to design a downhill seaside par-3. To this day, the property has squeezed the middle-iron shot with its walled boundary.”
Tarkenton finished the day with a 75, not bad for a casual golfer who was introduced to the game at a course in Oconee County by the name of Green Hills Country Club.