GOLF: Up close and personal at Pebble Beach

My logo shirt just arrived in the mail . . . the one I ordered from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. I just couldn't find one I liked at the tournament, or at least one that didn't cost an arm and a leg, so I got this one off their internet site for a pretty good price. In fact, come to think of it, I didn't return with any golf souvenirs from that sunny day in early-February.

This was my first time at the world-renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links. I had just saved the $350+ green fees they charge to play the course, and instead walked it along side the likes of Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Kevin Costner and Jerry Rice. I was not one of the lucky ones to have a corporate-sponsored day pass, but the experience was well worth the price of the $40 admission.

Having lived only a few hours drive from Pebble Beach all my life, and being an avid golfer, most people would be amazed that this was my first visit. I've watched it on TV every year since I was a kid, back when it was the "Crosby."

Words just can't describe the majestic beauty of the scenery, not only at Pebble Beach courses, but the surrounding areas as well including the famed 17-mile drive.

Getting to the AT&T was no problem, as we had left early enough on this weekday morning to arrive in the Monterey Peninsula area well before sunrise. The horror stories of traffic and congestion had scared us enough to heed the warnings.

Even as early as we arrived, the signs were out directing us to the parking at Fort Ord (a 30-minute bus ride away) because of the limited spaces at Pebble Beach. Lucky for us we did have a parking pass that allowed us to park within walking distance of Pebble Beach, so we continued on and headed for 17-mile drive.

On our way to find "Lot #9," we passed several official-looking parking areas that seemed far away from everything. We were pleasantly surprised that when we finally got to our destination, it was in the middle of everything and centrally located to the Pebble Beach course and the shuttle busses that would take us to the other courses. The big dirt lot next to the polo field was about half full this early in the morning, but was completely filled later in the day.

It was now 7:30am, which left us plenty of time to grab a shuttle bus to Spyglass and catch Tiger Woods tee off on #10 at 8:00am. The bus got us there in just a few minutes, so we made our way down to the driving range to check out the players. Hmmm . . . no big crowds . . . no big name players. The shuttle bus driver said everyone was at Poppy (Hills), but the online schedule said Tiger was at Spyglass, or at least that's what I thought I had read. We finally figured it out at 7:45am, that we were in the wrong place, and hoped there would be time to catch that same shuttle back to Poppy in time to see Tiger tee off.

We ran and ran and ran, and rode this bus and then that one, finally arriving at Poppy in time to run to #10 and see the first group walking up the fairway. We had missed Tiger's tee off, so were no longer in a hurry, and stopped for a few moments to enjoy the scenery that we were running past earlier.

The group following Tiger Woods was quite entertaining, as the celebrity "am's" (the "am" of pro-am) were Jimmy Connors and Kevin Costner. Watching these guys hit a 100-yard drive into the woods was somehow gratifying - hey, I can do that. Most are entertaining as well, making fun of their shots and the situations they've gotten themselves into. One of the most interesting places to stand at Poppy was between the 11th and 12th fairways, where #11 makes a dog-leg right. Amazing how many pro and am balls found their way into the grove of trees there.

Tiger Woods hit through the fairway on #11 into this area and opted to hit his next shot into the #12 fairway then over the trees back onto the #11 green for par. The next pro who came through again hit into the woods here, and opted to hit back into the #11 fairway, but went through it and into the woods on the other side, then found himself looking at bogey, best-case. Kevin Costner and his pro playing partner also came through this area, and it was just one joke after another as they looked at their lie in disgust.

We followed Tiger and group for a few more holes, and saw some spectacular shotmaking, but there were more bad shots than good. He was definitely not on his game and not playing like a defending champion. By this time the galleries following Tiger were becoming quite large, so we gave up on seeing any more of him and decided to head over to Pebble Beach. More running and another bus later, we were at the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links. The beautiful and historic course that is the pride and joy of the Monterey Peninsula and Northern California. The course known to locals as too expensive to play more than once, especially with Poppy right next door for $50 a round (NCGA members).

Having never been to Pebble Beach, and probably never paying for the opportunity to play it, we decided to walk the entire course and watch whatever players we could see along the way. We arrived just as the last group of the day had teed off and were walking up the first fairway. There was activity everywhere, from the boutique shops to corporate tents. What fun we had watching Jerry Rice and Steve Young battle it out at the Par 3 7th, then rip a tee shot on the 8th and walk up the fairway together like old buddies do. The pros were of course making awesome shots, as Pebble was playing perfect this day. No rain and only an afternoon seabreeze to contend with this year.

You couldn't have asked for a better day to watch a little golf at Pebble Beach. Being so close to Kevin Costner that you could reach out and touch him, but of course refraining from doing so. Watching first-hand the pros booming drives and on-line trajectory as they commanded birdie after birdie. The putts that didn't break and the trees that seemingly reached up and batted down balls on the fly. At the end of the day, we some some awesome golf, did a little star-gazing and enjoyed a legendary golf course.