I’ll admit I don’t typically watch an entire Sunday telecast of the PGA Tour. Typically, I try to play myself on Sunday afternoons, weather permitting, unless it’s the day of a final round of a major championship.
But I watched the entire CBS telecast Sunday from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as Rory McIlroy pulled away from a star-studded field on the back nine for a victory.
Why? Two reasons.
Pebble Beach got rid of the celebrities that used to get so much camera time in the past, though I admit Bill Murray was great in Caddyshack and some of his hijinks at Pebble were funny the first few dozen times.
The second — Pebble Beach. The course is spectacular, and it never looked better than it did Sunday with the sun shining and some of the game’s top stars dueling on the back nine. After three recent weeks of closed courses in the Triad, it was great to see a green, welcoming golf course.
Which brings me to a question: Is Pebble Beach, the best public-access course (if you have $700 or so for golf fees and another $1,000 or so per night for a resort hotel) on the PGA Tour schedule?
How many people watch the AT&T tournament to see the golf course? How many of the golfers who pay the freight at Pebble Beach are paid are attracted there by tournament telecasts.
Taking a look at the 2025 PGA Tour schedule, I’d rank Pebble Beach No. 1 on my public-access bucket list. FYI, Shinnecock Hills would top my private bucket list (I was lucky enough to play twice as a reporter at Augusta National) over Pine Valley and Cypress Point.
Here’s my other top 5 public-access courses on the Tour:
TPC Sawgrass: Not a big fan of TPC courses or target golf. But as a golfer, I feel the need to play — at least once — the host of the Players Championship and its iconic 17th island green hole
Torrey Pines: The best muni west of Bethpage Black, weekend fees top out at $88 if you live in San Diego. It looks spectacular on TV.
Bay Hill: It was Arnold Palmer’s club, the site he established as an annual tour stop with the world’s best players.
Harbour Town: OK, I’ve played Harbour Town several times, and yes, it’s a target course. But it’s a unique layout that provides a major test despite its relative lack of length. The two finishing holes are memorable with a par-3 hit toward Calibogue usually into a brisk breeze followed by the iconic 18th along the sound toward the lighthouse.
Dunes Club: Played here many times. A classic Robert Trent Jones layout, the Dunes Club remains the golf standard of Myrtle Beach courses.
Sea Island Golf Club Seaside: A great location, so good that several PGA Tour pros make Georgia’s Golden Isles their home. An oceanside links designed by Harry S. Colt and Charles Alison with later tweaking by Tom Fazio, Seaside is a perennial member of the country’s top courses.
