Barely a week after intense downpours soaked the central coast, the Monterey Peninsula is preparing for its biggest charity event of the year: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The golf and celebrity event raised $15 million for local non-profits last year. Tens of thousands of people attend the tournament, which is played on three courses: Pebble Beach, Spyglass and Monterey Peninsula Country Club.
A week before the event, the fairways at Pebble Beach Golf Links were still wet. Eric Morgan, a golfer from Sacramento, sunk a put on the 18th green and stepped off the course.
“The fairways were a lot drier than I thought they were going to be, [but] you'll get some balls that plug,” Morgan said. Despite the wetness and occasional muddy golf balls, he says the course is in good shape.
John Sawin, Vice President and Director of Golf at the Pebble Beach Company, acknowledges the moisture on the course, but adds a week of sunshine is helping dry out the fairways.
“We'll be ready by the time everyone shows up for the first first day of the AT&T,” Sawin said. Practice rounds begin Monday, Jan 30.
Monterey County will still be under a disaster designation on opening day. The three weeks of storms dumped almost a year's worth of water on the peninsula, and at one point threatened to flood highways, isolating the area from the rest of California.
Sawin says the courses are designed to handle large amounts of rain. There is a layer of sand between the turf and the soil, which allows water to drain faster.
He said ground crews also took action to mitigate potential damage to the course. Because salty ocean spray can damage the grass, crew members went out during breaks in the storm to wash down the turf, flushing the salt down into the sandy layer of the fairway. And they used push mowers instead of riding mowers to avoid creating ruts or the equipment getting stuck.
“Those guys are out there pushing the mower around for 12 to 15 miles a day,” Swain said.
Like the golf courses, local hotels and restaurants are gearing up for the Pro-Am. The hospitality industry was hit hard during the storms. Rob O’Keefe, the president of the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said his members lost a lot of business, but he’s hopeful about the upcoming Pro-Am. He says last year’s reopening, after two years of Covid lockdowns, was positive. The lead up to this year’s event is progressing nicely.
“Not only are we not seeing cancellations, some are sold out, some are projecting a sell out,” he said. “So that business remains strong.”
Steve John, the CEO and tournament director for the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, which puts on the Pro-Am, said the idea of pairing celebrities and golf pros originated with the founder of the event.
“Bing Crosby, brought his buddies from Hollywood to Pebble Beach for the wintertime to play golf with their buddies from the PGA Tour,” he said. “That's how it started and that's how it's continued. To this day.”
Some of the celebrities at this year’s event include: Jason Bateman, Chris O’Donnell, Will Arnett, Newscaster Bret Baier, Bill Murray, Ray Romano, former 49er quarterbacks Steve Young and Alex Smith and Giants’ catcher Buster Posey.
The Pro-Am runs through Sunday, Feb 5.
