What once was is new again at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Pebble Beach Company officials recently unveiled an alternate tee box area on the par-4 10th hole that is located along the cliffs just to the right of the green on hole No. 9.
The new tee box was the original teeing area for No. 10 when the course first opened in 1919, but was abandoned for everyday use after the 1929 U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach.
According to Pebble Beach Executive Vice President of Golf RJ Harper, following its closure the alternate tee was only used for special occasions, one of those being the 1963 Shell's Wonderful World of Golf match between Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead. After the Shell event the tee was permanently closed, with the more inland tee box becoming the lone teeing area for everyday play.
"We've been touching up this masterpiece for a long time. In examining the course's past, we thought it'd be terrific to have that tee available for special occasions, to play the hole again as it was originally designed to be played," Harper said. "It's a snapshot in time. Restoring that original design element and seeing it realized again is something special."
Situated along the cliffs, the alternate tee forces players to carry a large expanse of Carmel Beach to what becomes a perpendicular left-to-right sloping fairway. The series of bunkers that are on the left from the normal 10th tee box instead loom straight ahead. The new alternate tee also dares players
to try to chew off as much fairway as one may want, with the risk facing a second shot from the beach below.The hole plays at 381 yards from the alternate tee, with only 165 yards to the middle of the fairway and 227 yards to the last fairway bunker. From the regular tee box it plays at 446 yards from the blue tees and 409 from the whites. During the 2010 U.S. Open, where it ranked as the fourth most difficult hole (4.4059 stroke average), the 10th played at 495 yards.
The new alternate tee box on No. 10 follows renovation work on the green of the par-4 ninth. There, 600 square feet of surface area toward the left side of the green that had been lost was reclaimed, allowing a new pin placement directly behind the primary bunker protecting the green. The grade in the middle of the ninth green was also softened to USGA specifications, lessening the severity of its back-to-front slope to improve playability in severe weather conditions such as high winds.
Whether or not the USGA will use the alternate tee for the 2018 U.S. Amateur and 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach is unknown. PGA Tour and Pebble Beach officials could also opt to use it during the annual Champions Tour First Tee Open at Pebble Beach or AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Moore at APL: Playing what he calls his first year of competitive golf, Seaside resident Nick Moore's next stop is the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, which begins Monday at Laurel Hill GC in Virginia.
The 31-year-old former Monterey Peninsula College baseball standout, who only switched to golf eight years ago, won this year's NCGA Public Links Championship and recently reached the quarterfinals of the California State Amateur at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.
The U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship will mark his debut in a USGA event.
"Now that I'm comfortable with my game, I feel like I have more control of myself in the big events," Moore said. "It's all starting to fall into place."
If he wins, Moore will have a lot more to smile about. The winner of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship gets an automatic berth into next year's Masters and exemptions from local qualifying for the next three U.S. Opens.
Hickory Sticks: Hickory-shafted clubs and balls of yesteryear will be out this Saturday when the third annual Hickory Sticks Invitational tees off at Peter Hay GC. The nine-hole, two-person better ball tournament has become such a hit that this year's event is sold out. Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Pebble Beach Company Foundation.
NCGA Amateur: California State Amateur and Monterey City Am champ Cory McElyea will look for his third straight Monterey Bay area win when the NCGA Amateur Stroke Play Championship tees off Friday at Bayonet/Black Horse GC. The 54-hole championship runs through Sunday.
Other locals in the field include: Cal-bound Jay Burlison, Stevenson senior Seb Crampton, Seton Hall's JT Harper, Luke Vivolo, Evan and Kraig McLeod and Casey Boyns. Boyns tied for runner-up behind McElyea at the Monterey City Am. Former winners of the event include Lawson Little Jr., Charlie Seaver, John Brodie and Roger Maltbie.
Impact Zone: Carmel native Bobby Clampett's instructional "The IMPACT Zone Training System by Impact Zone Golf" has released a new fifth DVD to complement the original four-disc set that successfully debuted last December.
Called "The IMPACT ZONE High-Speed Training System," the companion disc utilizes Super Slo-Motion video allowing golfers to easily understand the keys to quality impact and apply the IMPACT ZONE Five Dynamics to every shot of the game.
"This new companion DVD is another step in our goal to reach golfers around the world, to help them improve their game," said Clampett, whose transformational method of learning and teaching golf has flourished around the success of his book, "The Impact Zone."
DVD No. 5 is available in disc form ($29.95) and digital video download ($19.95). The original set is $89 for the discs ($79 for download). All are available at www.getimpactzone.com.
NCGA Junior: Stevenson senior Seb Crampton finished at 1-over 217 to place T-4 at this week's NCGA Jr. Championship at Spyglass Hill. Winning the title was Corey Pereira at 212. In girls' play, Catalina junior Chloe Corriveau finished T-3 at 158, six strokes behind winner Samantha Hutchinson.
Aces: Young Sohn aced the 178-yard fourth hole at Del Monte GC using a 5-iron. ... Larry Bohn aced the 189-yard sixth hole at Del Monte using a hybrid?Oliver Brennan aced the 209-yard 14th at Del Monte using a 6-iron. ... Glen Valenzuela aced the 147-yard 12th at Del Monte using a 7-iron.
Jerry Stewart can be reached at 384-7916 or at jerry_stewart@sbcglobal.net.
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