It's Up To Arnie To Restore Pebble Beach's 14th Green

Jim McCabe tells us how the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach came to be announced and slips in this about the 14th green.

Harper said they will hold tickets at 37,500, the same as 2010, but one thing that won’t be the same come 2019 is Pebble Beach’s diabolical 14th green.

“It will be rebuilt according to USGA specs,” Perocchi said, though he emphasized it’s part of Pebble’s long-range plan to convert all of its greens. The 14th as it currently sits presents an enormous challenge to players, even with wedges in their hands. There’s very little room to land approach shots to an elevated left side, and the right side is very low and hole locations are virtually non-existent.

Perocchi said Arnold Palmer – not only an icon, but part of the group that owns Pebble Beach – will oversee development of a plan for the 14th. Expect an expansion of the upper left side of the green, as well as a softening of the steep slope to the right. No decision has been made as to when the changes will be made, but Perocchi said it probably would be in the next two to four years.