Introducing The Hay: Pebble Beach the Tiger Woods Way
There’s a new must-play during your next Pebble Beach stay – a reimagined nine-hole short course now known as The Hay.
Overlooking the site of his most masterful Major championship performance, Tiger Woods and his TGR Design firm teamed up with Pebble Beach Resorts to rejuvenate the historic Peter Hay Golf Course. The result is a course overflowing with fun, including an exact replica of the famed No. 7 at Pebble Beach Golf Links, as well as eight other holes that can be played with any club in the bag, and an additional 20,000 square-foot putting course that sprawls 100 yards, yielding endless routings.
The Hay debuts April 16, with an ocean-view restaurant opening later this year.
“It’s a huge honor to be able to add my name to this facility,” said Woods, who won both the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the U.S. Open across the street at Pebble Beach in 2000. “Short courses – that’s how I started. I grew up playing a par-3 course in Long Beach. I always thought it’s the easiest way to learn. It can attract the youth to play our sport.”
"We 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."
Woods shows off some of the same artistry he honed as a kid and conjured during clutch championship moments with this cozy design, creatively piecing nine compelling and challenging holes ranging from 47 to 106 yards while descending and climbing six stories of elevation. Some holes are nestled among historic oaks, while others shoot straight at the sparking Stillwater Cove, a view few courses in the world can rival.
“It’s gorgeous,” said Woods during a design visit in May 2020. “To be able to see the Pacific Ocean, that’s what we tried to capture on all the holes here.”
Every hole except the second – which is an exact replica of the 106-yard seventh at Pebble Beach Golf Links, has been designed so that you can tee off with a putter if you so choose.
“Everyone who plays this course is going to enjoy the playability,” says Woods. “It’s going to be fun, it’s going to have options, and I like that personally. I want to be able to bump the ball around the golf course. Eight out of the nine holes, you can putt, or you can throw it straight up in the air. You have the option.”
Vareity is at the heart of Woods’ design, building greens that feature horseshoes and hummocks, backstops and biarritz gullies, swales and swirling bowls, as well as false fronts and feeding slopes. Each hole and green complex are entirely distinct, and can be set up for beginners, or to challenge the best in the world. Woods also cleverly pairs the yardage of each hole with a significant year in Pebble Beach history, with nods to historic wins by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and others (including himself).
The course itself is a nod to former Pebble Beach Golf Links head pro Peter Hay, a huge junior golf advocate. Originally opened in 1957, Peter Hay Golf Course was one of the first par-3 courses built in the U.S. (Augusta National debuted its famed par-3 course a year later.)
With that spirit in mind, The Hay is complimentary for all golfers 12 and under, and just $5 for Youth on Course members (through age 18). And given the fun nature of the experience, tee times can be reserved by the eightsome if you so choose, fostering the ultimate buddy trip environment.