by Jeff Hall and Jeremy Harness

Spyglass Hill at Pebble Beach will be the site of the AT&T PGA Tournament this golf course is enough just to take in the view and almost make the tournament secondary with it’s slight breezes and views of the ocean crashing behind the competitors. When you get ready to club your way thought the first five holes to greet you with sand hill dunes making the golfers use their skills and strategy and the player’s aim carefully.

Get past those five holes and look out for the next 13 holes with pines that are gorgeous to view and greens that are elevated, the bunkers can be tricky to drive the ball around and when you get there you try to skillfully avoid certain conditions. There are holes that are noted for being one big rough. They have even named some of the holes for it’s challenging greens and uneven areas one is named the “Black Dog” and the other is named “Billy Bones”.

After looking at what the participants are up against in this tournament it’s wonder they’re fully aware that Spyglass Hill Golf Course is the toughest course in the world. The course rating is at 75.5 and the slope rating is 147. Look for holes six, eight and 16 amongst the toughest holes on the course. For example the stroke average was a whopping 79 during the U.S. Amateur in 1999.

Historically Spyglass was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr and opened in 1966, it took the course six years until completion, the course is in rotation for the AT&T as the tournament has been hosted by the Pebble Beach Company. Bing Crosby lent his name for the tournament, after Crosby died in 1977 the Crosby family hosted the event and then in 1985 AT&T bought the naming rights.

In 1937 Crosby first hosted the National Pro Am Golf Championship in Southern California at the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club. PGA all time tour winner Sam Snead won the first tournament when the tournament had just 18 holes and Snead won the lion’s share of $500. In 1938 the tournament added another round through 1942. In 1947 the game grew and the tournament added 54 holes near the Monterey coast.

Beginning in 1947 the tournament was at the Pebble Beach Golf Links at Cyprus Point Club and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club until 1966. In 1958 the tournament grew to 72 holes and in 1967 Spyglass Hill replaced the Monterey Peninsula Country Club as the third course. In 1991 the Cyprus Point Club was dropped by the PGA when they would not allow an African American member in the club and the tournament was then moved to Poppy Hills.

The players were not happy with Poppy Hills due to it’s unkempt condition and the tournament was later returned to the Monterey Peninsula Country Club in 2010 and the rest is history.

Jeff Hall and Jeremy Harness are covering the AT&T Pebble Beach PGA Tournament for http://www.sportsradioservice.com