PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA | One of the most wonderful trends in resort golf has been the creation of short courses at top destinations. Generally, these are enjoyable par-3 layouts designed as artfully as the big courses there and featuring an array of testy yet fun shots on holes requiring nothing more than an 8- or 9-iron. Think of The Preserve at Bandon Dunes and The Cradle at Pinehurst. The Nest at Cabot Links in Nova Scotia, too.
Now comes The Hay at the Pebble Beach Golf Resort. And though it has only been opened for a month, the Hay has to be regarded as one of the best of the bunch. For its incomparable setting, with the waters of Carmel Bay and craggy Point Lobos in constant view. For the way Tiger Woods designed and routed its nine holes on property that had long been the site of the Peter Hay Golf Course – and the brilliant rendition of the iconic par-3 seventh on the Pebble Beach Golf Links he produced there. For the stories of resort lore that each hole tells through its appellations and yardages, and the fact that golfers 12 years of age and under play for free.
Simply put, the Hay is a gas to play. It also makes one of the great golf getaways in the world even better.
As for the well-contoured, 20,000-square foot putting green located at the north end of the property, it is modeled after the fabled Himalayas course in St. Andrews and boasts 18 holes that can be routed in a dozen different ways.
Simply put, the Hay is a gas to play. It also makes one of the great golf getaways in the world even better.
Routed across eight acres of land and named after the longtime head professional at both the Pebble Beach and Del Monte layouts, the original Peter Hay Golf Course came on line in 1957. It was designed to serve as a place to introduce newcomers to the game, especially juniors, and quickly proved to be a popular part of the resort’s portfolio.
A few years ago, executives at the Pebble Beach Company started thinking about ways to enhance Peter Hay. They selected Tiger Woods as the architect and signed a deal with his TGR Design firm in December 2019. Work began on the property in the spring of 2020 and continued through the summer and fall in spite of challenges posed by the pandemic. Then on April 16 of this year, the Hay officially opened.
John Sawin, the director of golf at Pebble Beach, is enthralled by the completed course, which is constructed on the same, eight-acre footprint as the original and features 60 feet of elevation change. He describes the facility, where tee times are required and cost $65 per round, as an “on-ramp to the game” and marvels at how popular it has become.
“We are already on a pace to record 60,000-plus rounds a year, and that would be six times what we had when it was Peter Hay,” said Sawin, adding that the entire facility will also be available to rent for outings.
I well understand his enthusiasm and that of the players who have been flocking to the Hay as we played a round together earlier this month. The opening hole plays downhill to a kidney-shaped green bisected by a Biarritz-like swale and backed in the distance by cerulean-colored Carmel Bay. I savored the view for a moment before pulling a wedge from my bag. The hole is called Hay, and measures 57 yards from the middle of the tee to the middle of the green, honoring the year that the original course opened.
Next up is the replica of No. 7 on the Golf Links, and it is a beaut. Its appellation, quite understandably, is Seven, and the scorecard has its distance at 106 yards, just like the original. I find it to be a stunning rendition. So does Sawin, and with no one on the holes behind or in front of us, we thought nothing of hitting second tee shots to the well-bunkered green.
The third hole, named Watson for the man who captured the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble and running an obvious 82 yards, plays from north to south. Then the Hay heads back uphill, with a pair of holes cutting through groves of live oaks. The first of those, No. 4, is Crosby. It measures 47 yards, in honor of the year Bing brought his famous Clambake to the Monterey Peninsula from Southern California.
As for the 48-yard fifth hole, it has been dubbed Grace, after the 1948 U.S. Women’s Amateur victor, Grace Lenczyk.
I relished the shots at each hole, the way they pivot slightly so we were never hitting tee shots into the same direction, and the undulations that endow each green with good character.
We also stopped to read the plaques by the tees that relate some of the most compelling moments in Pebble’s history. The sixth for Lanny Watkins and his triumph in the 1977 PGA Championship at the resort. The seventh for Jack Nicklaus, specifically the 1961 U.S. Amateur that he took there. No. 8 pays homage to Tom Kite and his 1992 U.S. Open win in very difficult conditions. The Hay also opens up the possibilities for a bit of cross-country golf, and Sawin pointed out that you can hit to five different greens from that hole’s tee.
Then there is the ninth, named after Tiger and playing 100 yards to commemorate his prevailing in the 100th U.S. Open in 2000.
That last hole heads uphill to a thumbprint green that Sawin expects to be the site of multiple holes-in-one through the years. A restaurant is rising behind that putting surface and will also boast a bar, terrace and fire pit when it opens in September.
The “hang” at that eatery will no doubt be great. As great as the golf at the newly revamped Hay.