Pebble Beach Flyovers: Seventh And Eighth Holes

I won’t bother with the 1929 look as we focus on the present, but I had to grab the 1972 version (above) so you can see how much of the green had been lost by then. And yet, there was a nicer shape on the right side defining the back right peninsula.

Either way, with shape and character or more circular, the 7th is arguably golf’s most dramatic location and dramatic shot, and one fine place to hang out during next week’s U.S. Open.

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Regarding the 8th, modified by Alister MacKenzie in 1926 and again by Chandler Egan and friends for the 1929 US Amateur, the fairway has been narrowed substantially since this flyover, rendering the aiming rock into a left side rock. The scenery is spectacular, so I’ll save the architectural quibbling until after the flyover…

As for the state of the 8th, the green is down to a small area for hole locations and severely limits the USGA’s options at US Open green speeds.

There was some spectacular work down here in 1929, including that bunker down the cliff! From the USGA’s 1929 Amateur gallery:

And today…note how much of the left portion of the green is gone.