Pebble Beach No. 5 - California, USA

Hole Description

It’s all the most fabled course in the world needed, another hole along the ocean.

But thats what Pebble Beach got with the newly constructed 5th hole. And it’s as if this stunning par 3 has been there since golfers first walked the fairways in 1919.

Pebble Beach Co. acquired the seaside tract from private ownership in the 90s and turned to a golfer who knows a little something about Pebble Beach and course design: Jack Nicklaus. His result is a wonderful hole that gives this most felicitous meeting of land and sea an unbroken string of ocean-side holes starting at #4 and stretching through the 10th.

The 5th is a dramatic addition. From the teeing ground, the golfer sees a flat kidney-shaped green that clearly favors a left-to-right trajectory. Of concern, however, is a mature oak tree some 15 yards short and to the left of the green. The tree can easily intercept a ball that starts too far left, leaving a problematic chip. Or, the golfer can play a draw but if the ball doesn’t come back or worse still goes straight, down it goes to the beach below. Bunkers left and right compound tee shots.

From high handicappers to pros, the praise for this hole is universal: the new hole is marvelous in its design and playability.