Spyglass Hill Golf Course
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Spyglass Hill Golf Course is a golf course located in the Monterey Peninsula of California. The course is part of the Pebble Beach Company, which owns the Pebble Beach Golf Links, The Links at Spanish Bay, and the Del Monte Golf Course. It was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and opened on March 11, 1966, after six years of planning, design, and construction. Golf Digest, in its 2003-2004 listing of "America's 100 Greatest Public Courses", ranked Spyglass Hill (known as "the Glass") fifth best. The course has been in the rotation for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, a February tournament on the West Coast Swing of the PGA Tour. The course is a 6,862 yard par 72 from the championship (blue) tees; it has a slope rating of 148 and a course rating of 75.8. The first five holes all have views of the Pacific Ocean, and the other thirteen wind through the Del Monte Forest. Phil Mickelson holds the course record with a 62, which he set in the first round of the 2005 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. On February 9, 2006, Luke Donald matched Mickelson's 62 during first round play at the 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
The holes on the course are named after characters in Treasure Island, the book by Robert Louis Stevenson. The first hole (Treasure Island, par 5 of 595 yards) goes downward and to left almost 90 degrees. From the tee, a player can see the tops of the trees in the Del Monte Forest, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the Monterey Peninsula. The green is fronted by a large bunker and the Pacific Ocean is in view. Another famous hole is the fourth, Blind Pew (370 yards from the blue tees), which Robert Trent Jones has called it his favorite par four because of its options. The green is the most photographed on the course and is surrounded by ice plants.
Spyglass Hill is also featured in the popular Tiger Woods PGA Tour games, along with 'sister' course Pebble Beach.
