The course began as part of the complex of the Hotel del Monte, a resort hotel in Monterey, California, built by Charles Crocker, one of California's Big Four railroad barons, through Southern Pacific Railroad's property division, Pacific Improvement Company.

[4] The famous 17-Mile Drive was originally designed as a local excursion route for visitors to the Del Monte to take in the historic sights of Monterey and Pacific Grove and the scenery of what would become Pebble Beach.

[5] The course was designed by champion golfers Jack Neville and Douglas Grant[6] and opened on February 22, 1919.

Neville also designed the back nine at Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Course on the other side of the Monterey Peninsula.

Other architects who have worked on the course include Alistair MacKenzie and Robert Hunter (1927) and Jack Nicklaus (creation of the new fifth hole, 1998).

[11] The course was bought by a consortium of Japanese investors during the upswing of foreign investments in American properties in the early 1990s.

[13] The first Pebble Beach Championship for Women was played February 9–12, 1923, with Marion Hollins as champion over Doreen Kavanaugh.

[14] Pebble Beach hosted the first California Women's Amateur Championship in 1967 as well as subsequent tournaments until it was moved to Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel Valley in 1987.

[19] The U.S. Open was first held at Pebble Beach in 1972, won by Jack Nicklaus, who captured his 11th major title (of an eventual 18) as a professional.

Two months earlier, Nicklaus had won the Masters to become the first in a dozen years (Arnold Palmer in 1960) to win golf's first two major titles of the season.

At the British Open in July, Nicklaus shot a final round 66 to finish second, one stroke behind Lee Trevino, ending his Grand Slam run in 1972.

On the front nine on Sunday, Nicklaus made five straight birdies on holes 3 through 7 and finished ahead of the last group tied for the lead.

In the last group, future Hall Of Famer Tom Watson hit his tee shot on the par-3 17th just a few feet off the green, into heavy rough which had been grown very tall and thick, typical of USGA Open playing conditions.

Though rebuilt, the exact spot where Watson struck his historic chip shot no longer exists.

[21] The 1992 championship was one of the most difficult ever played at Pebble Beach, with clear skies and brisk winds on the weekend.

This championship was also notable as the last par-72 course in the U.S. Open, with no converted par 5's, until 2017, when Erin Hills, which was built in 1998, played as a par-72.

Speakers included Stewart's widow Tracey and Payne's friend and fellow professional Paul Azinger, while attendees included Stewart's caddy Mike Hicks and other professionals who then competed in the tournament such as Mickelson, David Duval, Davis Love III, Tom Lehman, Lee Janzen and Sergio García.

Amateur winner David Gossett and asked for a moment of silence in Stewart's memory before his opening tee shot.

^ Sudden-death playoff, won on third extra hole There has been continuing controversy between recreational interests and environmental protection, related to a proposed new golf course development by the Pebble Beach Company.

[25] The new golf course proposal has existed in some form since the early 1990s; while the environmental protection issues center on the potential damage to rare and endangered species in this locale.