Pebble Beach is easily one of the most famous golf courses in the world, an American treasure known for its remarkable beauty and breathtaking oceanfront holes unlike anywhere else in golf. The nine ocean holes are world-renowned, receiving all the attention for Pebble Beach's splendor. And rightfully so.
They truly are unforgettable. The ninth and 10th both hug the beach and make for extremely difficult par-4s. The par-5 18th along the Pacific is one of the most spectacular finishing holes in golf, and holes six through eight are widely recognized as one of the very best three-hole stretches found anywhere.
But what about the remaining nine holes that weren't blessed with a routing along the cliffs of the Monterey Peninsula?
Many contend that these holes are a significant weakness preventing Pebble Beach from being ranked alongside Cypress Point or Pine Valley, sometimes going so far as to call the entire layout overrated. Others may not be aware of these holes at all, having no opinion on their merits, as the spotlight is constantly drawn to the coastline. Let's give this part of the golf course some attention and examine why the inland holes deserve more praise than they get.
Pebble Beach's inland holes provide charm and elegance, offering a sophisticated assortment of birdie opportunities while demanding accuracy and punishing players who miss on the wrong side.
The links begin with a small par-4 of only 381 yards, a narrow hole that doglegs sharply to the right. Despite the fact that the ocean is nowhere in sight, this is a great introduction to Pebble Beach; most players will take less than driver to stay in the wider part of the fairway and still have only a wedge into the green.
The putting surface itself is extremely small - a trademark of Pebble Beach - and it is set into a hill sloping severely from left to right. This hole is a scoring opportunity, but missing the green to the left leaves a bunker shot that will land on a downslope and likely run all the way through the green.
The 516-yard par-5 second acts as more of a par-4 for professional golfers, but that doesn't mean it is without value. In fact, it is played as a par-4 when the U.S. Open comes to Pebble Beach. The narrow fairway can be difficult to hit as it pitches from left to right, but the real fun comes on the second shot. The green is reachable in two for every player in the field, but it is absolutely razor thin and only the straightest iron shot will find this putting surface. Multiple trees intrusively frame the hole about 50 yards short of the green, adding to the cozy but claustrophobic feel of these opening holes.
The 404-yard third is a wonderful example of a great hole that goes unsung. The tee shot is very awkward but compelling: trees on the left block out the view of the green, and the narrow fairway runs almost perpendicular to the tee box, so golfers must be very precise selecting both their line and their distance. Should one of those components be off, the ball could bounce through the fairway into rough or sand and leave an impossible angle to another very small green.
The next seven holes are all directly against the cliffs and the Pacific Ocean, so we skip all the way to the par-4 11th. Admittedly, the 11th and 12th lack a bit of nuance, but the former provides a cool climb all the way uphill away from the ocean to a small and shallow green that slopes severely from back to front.
Measuring only 390 yards in total, players will need to take care to avoid spinning the ball back off this putting surface with a wedge in hand on the approach.
The 202-yard 12th is not overly exciting but is a challenging par 3 with a very shallow green surrounded by bunkers. The trap in front is particularly prominent as its high lip obscures the view of the putting surface.
The quality ramps back up at the 13th, a tricky 445-yard par-4 that drops downhill from the tee before rising steeply back up to the green. The entire hole slopes from right to left toward the ocean, with the green being particularly severe. Missing to the right of the putting surface leaves a deadly downhill chip that could easily roll off the green. If the hole location is cut in the upper right-hand tier, it is virtually impossible to get the ball to stop on this shelf when chipping from the right side.
The 580-yard 14th is the best inland hole on the course and one of the best par-5s in the world. It's a sharp 90-degree dogleg right with the opportunity to carry the inside bunker and cut the dogleg, though this requires length and narrows the landing area.
There are three smaller bunkers on the left side to catch balls that run through the fairway. The hole is uphill from tee to green and, as a result, plays as a three-shot hole for most players (though Rory McIlroy made a mockery of this in 2025 when he took his tee shot over the residential properties on the right and had a seven-iron into the green). The second shot presents one of the toughest layups on the PGA Tour as the fairway is quite narrow and slopes from right to left.
The uphill third plays to yet another miniscule green which, despite the fact that it's only an 80- to 120-yard shot, is very difficult to hold. The only side of the elevated putting surface that doesn't funnel the ball away from the green is the front center: there is a 10-foot-deep bunker which obstructs the view of the surface and a sort of bulge in the front of the green coming off this bunker.
The slopes on the entire green are defined by this bulge, which propels balls in all directions away from the front. If the ball catches the right side with too much spin, it can even feed all the way back off the small false front on the right side. On top of everything, there is a runoff area beyond the green, so balls that fly too far or take too big of a bounce can catch the false edge at the back and run down the tightly-mown area. It is a truly brilliant green complex.
The 15th is definitely the worst hole on the course and is an example of the reason some people criticize the inland holes; there are no real defining characteristics or interesting features -- it is simply a straight and short par-4 with some bunkers guarding the fairway and the back-to-front-sloping green. So let's jump ahead to the 16th, the final inland hole at Pebble Beach, and an outstanding one.
At only 403 yards, length is not one of its challenges, but there are multiple quirks that require attention. A gigantic circular bunker in the middle of the fairway is not in play but serves as visual stimulation. Beyond that bunker, the fairway is extremely wide until a couple smaller bunkers cut in on the right and the landing area narrows substantially.
The farther into the narrow area the ball is pushed, the better the resulting view of the green; the hole doglegs slightly to the right, and there is a tree on the right side of the fairway that is not in play but obstructs the sightline for players who lay back.
Another enormous bunker sits in front of the green but not close enough to pose an actual threat. The true difficulty of this putting surface is the severe slope from right to left. For players that lay back or closer to the right side off the tee, the orientation of the green is such that it mostly slopes away from the player. It can be a tricky green to hold in fast conditions, and with its small size and surrounding rough, a bogey can be made here before golfers realize what happened.
Pebble Beach will always be known for it's spectacular position along the rocks and crashing waves of the Pacific. There are precious few inland holes anywhere in the world that can match up with Pebble's remarkable coast, and it is unfair to hold its interior holes to that standard. While they will never live up to Pebble's ultimate glory, they provide an scintillating complement to one of the legendary layouts of the world.