Pebble Beach Resort’s renovated short course, designed with the help of Tiger Woods and located on the former site of the historic Peter Hay Golf Course, is complete and set to welcome golfers next month.
John Sawin, Pebble Beach Company’s vice president and director of golf, said that despite the pandemic and last month’s serious car accident suffered by Woods, the course will be officially open for play on April 16.
Named “The Hay,” the executive short course is comprised of a putting course and nine par-3 holes located directly between the Pebble Beach Pro Shop and the Golf Academy. It was a collaboration between Pebble Beach and Woods’ company TGR Design. The venture officially broke ground in March 2020.
The course is 670 yards with holes ranging from 47 to 106 yards. Sawin said both the resort and Woods accomplished their goals of taking better advantage of the scenic views from the site, highlighting its history and adding more variety to the holes.
“One of Tiger’s big things was for it to be playable for everyone and that nobody feels intimidated,” said Sawin, “What has resulted is a course that is friendly and playable for the junior golfer but also intriguing and challenging and able to double as a short-game practice area for the pros.”
Sawin, along with Steve Aitchison, senior vice president, capital services and Bubba Wright, superintendent of Pebble Beach Golf Links, acted as a project lead from the Pebble Beach Company, working with Woods and his team.
The re-designed property also includes a 5,000 square-foot food and beverage venue that will be complete with a full kitchen and bar and indoor seating. It’s set to open in the fall. The patio area there is positioned for expansive views of the putting and short course, Carmel Bay and Point Lobos.
Woods aligned each hole’s yardage to correspond with a significant year in Pebble Beach history, with accompanying plaques on each tee telling a story, creating a sense guests are walking amongst the resort’s rich championship heritage. The only exception is the course’s second hole, which at 107 yards, will be a replica of the famous seventh hole at Pebble Beach with all the dynamics of elevation, views and the way it plays.
“It’s pulling Pebble Beach into this property literally,” said Sawin.
Woods said back when the plans were released, “Pebble Beach is such an iconic golf destination, we want guests to feel the entirety of that spirit when they play the course. We also know not everyone who comes to Pebble Beach will have a chance to play the U.S. Open course, so we wanted to create the opportunity for all visitors to experience one of its most famous holes.”
In general, “The Hay” is created to better capture the ocean views, with four holes playing directly toward Carmel Bay.
“One goal was to make it completely unrecognizable, which starts with the routing,” explained Sawin. While Peter Hay went counter-clockwise, Woods changed the course design to work clockwise to better take in the pristine views.
“He wanted the maximum number of shots played directly to the water.”
At its entrance, players come upon the course’s 20,000-square foot putting course, three times the size of Pebble Beach Golf Links’ current largest putting green.
“This was a big focus of Tiger’s,” noted Sawin, as putting is often seen as “the lowest common denominator of golf” literally and figuratively.
“It pulls people into the game and Tiger viewed this as welcoming them to the game.”
Using the analogy of a skate park to describe its distinct design features – its gradual slopes and slight curves – the putting area was created to be set up in a dozen different ways.
“It’s fun to see creatively the different putting runs that are set up,” said Sawin.
Adjacent to the putting green will be the “family-friendly” restaurant and patio area – a casual space that will include fire pits and window walls. The restaurant will offer everything from milkshakes to quick grab-to-go wraps and fancier salmon dishes.
At 57 yards, the first hole marks the year the original Peter Hay course was built in 1957. Peter Hay was a former Monterey city councilman and long-time Pebble Beach golf professional.
“So this whole course has an evolution and each hole ends up with a story and a name and the plaques tell how they tie back to history,” explained Sawin.
For instance, at 82 yards, hole 3, which runs to the bottom of the property, is named after Tom Watson, who won the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Holes 4, 5 and 6 work their way back to the putting green.
An original grove of oak trees was incorporated adding variety to the fourth green and fifth hole. Mow patterns and native grasses under the oaks as well the light that streams through the trees at certain times of day adds another dimension to that part of the course.
The ninth hole is 100 yards and is dubbed “Tiger.” It represents Tiger’s U.S. Open win at Pebble Beach in 2000, the 100th playing of the tournament, and when he and Pebble Beach formed their partnership on the new short course during Pebble Beach’s centennial celebration.
“It’s a fun finishing hole that plays right up to the restaurant and a natural amphitheater with that whole area built for a lot of excitement,” said Sawin.
Sawin said working on the course during COVID-19 meant adapting by communicating virtually with the senior designer on the ground through pictures and drone video.
“When Tiger came on site he spent a lot of time walking the property,” explained Sawin, noting that brain-storming sessions about its design centered around maximizing the course’s potential.
As Woods had previously noted, TGR design aimed to build on Peter Hay’s vision by incorporating more variety into hole lengths and shot options and more puttable areas within the green surrounds.
Sawin said that during the renovation the design and construction teams worked with what they had in the sense that no trees were cut down and that 30,000 cubic yards of dirt already on the property was moved. Water conservation played a big part too. While the former Peter Hay Golf Course consisted of eight holes of irrigated ryegrass rough, all of the new course’s perimeter areas were seeded with native grasses that allow for better water usage.
While Peter Hay played host to dozens of junior golf tournaments and charity events, the use of the new short course will be “flexible” as Sawin described it, noting its capacity for special activations and future junior and pro events like the AT&T Pro-Am.
Pebble Beach CEO Bill Perocchi previously said he expects all aspects of the new facility to be very popular for junior golf events, resort golfers, outings, resident hangouts, and everything in between.
Sawin said the project has been the most fun of his professional career.
“It’s been such a privilege working with Tiger and his team,” said Sawin. “They’ve been very collaborative and always willing to listen.
“We started the creation with Peter Hay,” he said, “and we finish with Tiger Woods’ renovation.”