Pebble Beach Flyovers: First And Second Holes

The countdown to Pebble Beach commences with two-a-days!

So here goes, the par-4 first, with a fairway narrowed and two trees lost this winter at the corner of the dogleg since this flyover was shot. Even then, the design elements here will still lead to a lot of irons off the first tee. In these crazy times, we might see a few players bomb-and-gouge a driver here, though I don’t know if the risk is worth it, particularly with an annoying cart path too close to play and potentially sending a ball in a less-than-appealing direction.

The second is reduced to a par-4 in the U.S. Open, but in firmer-than-February conditions with afternoon breezes, was still a short iron approach during last summer’s U.S. Amateur. The barranca is raked like a bunker these days, prompting some players to take daring goes at the green last summer from the rough or fairway bunkers. But that was match play.

The second green is tiny and one of the more deceptively difficult to read on the course.