You Can Play Three of the Toughest Holes on the PGA TOUR This Season

With the PGA TOUR season jumping into the FedEx Cup Playoffs, PGA.com dug into the stats behind the 2016-17 year. One interesting discovery? When composing a course made up of the 18 toughest holes (by number) from this season — including Majors — three came from Pebble Beach Resorts, and four were played in this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the toughest holes PGA TOUR pros faced during the 2016-17 season:

NO. 5 AT SPYGLASS HILL (197 YARDS, PAR-3)

You might be tempted to breathe a sigh of relief after escaping the sea of sand dunes that surround the greens of Nos. 2-4 at Spyglass Hill. Except the hardest fifth hole on the PGA TOUR still awaits. Fronted by three pot bunkers short, as well as a golf-ball swallowing bunker that eats into the middle of the green to the right, there were more than three times as many bogeys as birdies on No. 5 at Spyglass Hill.

• Scoring average: 3.307
• Eagles: 0
• Birdies: 13
• Pars: 89
• Bogeys: 44
• Double bogeys: 5
• Other: 2

NO. 9 AT PEBBLE BEACH (466 YARDS, PAR-4)

During a wet and windy first round at this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, only two of 40 pros managed to hit the ninth hole in regulation, which played to a scoring average of 4.775. Drives were averaging just 243.5 yards off the tee, which meant that pros were left with 220-plus yards into the wind for their second shots. Of course, even in benign conditions, this approach into one of the smallest green on a course defined by small greens is wildly intimidating.

• Scoring average: 4.305
• Eagles: 0
• Birdies: 21
• Pars: 123
• Bogeys: 65
• Double bogeys: 10
• Other: 1

NO. 10 AT PEBBLE BEACH (446 YARDS, PAR-4)

Half the field faced the ocean-feeding fairways here as their first shot of the day. But at least that swing is from a level tee box. The approach is from an awkward side-hill lie, one of the toughest shots you’ll face at Pebble Beach.

• Scoring average: 4.255
• Eagles: 0
• Birdies: 20
• Pars: 135
• Bogeys: 55
• Double bogeys: 10
• Other: 1

NO. 7 AT MONTEREY PENINSULA CC
DUNES COURSE (226 YARDS, PAR-3)

For those who haven’t had the chance to play at this private club, the scenic tee shot on No. 7 is all carry. Anything that lands short trickles a basement below the slick Redan-like green, which is flanked by a giant rock outcropping left, and a slithering bunker right.

• Scoring average: 3.299
• Eagles: 0
• Birdies: 8
• Pars: 98
• Bogeys: 42
• Double bogeys: 6
• Other: 0

What’s the toughest hole for you at Pebble Beach Resorts?

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