The New 5th Hole at Pebble Beach
In 1998, Pebble Beach Golf Links unveiled its first new golf hole in almost 70 years. The new 5th hole, designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus and situated along the stunning oceanfront, is both a dazzling legacy for the future and a dramatic link to the past.
A Fateful Decision
In 1915, the Pacific Improvement Company hires Samuel F.B. Morse to help liquidate its land holdings in Monterey County, including the land that would become Pebble Beach. Eager to impress his new employers, Morse almost immediately sells off a single, five-acre parcel of land overlooking majestic Stillwater Cove. Morse comments at the time, “I will probably regret this.”
An Inland Hole
Later that year, it is decided to place a golf course rather than private homes along the Del Monte Forest coastline. Morse attempts to buy the Stillwater Cove property back, but the owner declines. When the course is built, the 5th hole is routed inland.
A Reality at Last
In 1995, Pebble Beach Company finally re-acquires this long-missing oceanfront link. After consulting with some of golf’s most notable names including Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Tom Watson, the Company begins work in 1997 with Nicklaus in charge. It opens for use in November of 1998, during the Pebble Beach Invitational.
From now on, when you visit Pebble Beach Resorts, you’ll see the coast as the original planners intended: blanketed by a rolling, unbroken golf-course landscape from The Lodge in the west to Carmel Beach in the east. And the bridge that you’ll cross—the physical link to the storied past of Pebble Beach—is called Sam’s Crossing, in honor of the man whose vision this stunning new 5th hole now fulfills.
5th Hole Yardage Information
- Pro Tee Yardage: 195
- Blue Tee Yardage: 192
- Gold Tee Yardage: 142
- White Tee Yardage: 130
- Red Tee Yardage: 112
- Handicap: 14