If Augusta National is America's most beautiful inland course, then Pebble Beach is surely the most scenic ocean course and probably the world's most beautiful landscape. Samuel Morse founded the Pebble Beach course in the early part of the 20th century. The former captain of the Yale football team was working for Southern Pacific Railroad in 1914 when he was assigned to sell the company's holdings on the Monterey Peninsula, located about 120 miles south of San Francisco. Morse set aside the best property for a golf course and made a curious choice of designers. He picked neophyte Jack Neville, one of his real estate salesmen, instead of one of the famous designers of the day, such as Alister Mackenzie or Donald Ross.
Harsh weather coming off the Pacific can become just as big a factor as the difficult course.
Rain and wind play havoc with golfers. Once, Sam Snead opted to tee off with a putter on the short par-3 seventh to keep the ball out of the wind. This is the place where Jones gained his inspiration for Augusta National's course design. The favorite to win the 1926 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, Jones shockingly lost in the first round of match play to Johnny Goodman, a caddie from Omaha, Neb., who had traveled to the tournament via railroad cattle car. With nothing else to do the rest of the week, Jones arranged for matches at nearby Cypress Point and Pasatiempo.