Pebble Beach Tree Removal on 16th Alters Play Before U.S. Open

Pebble Beach Golf Links has removed the cypress tree that long guarded the right side of its par-4 16th hole, and players at this week's Pure Insurance Championship say it has already changed how the hole is played. The tree, which had grown diseased, was taken out a few weeks ago after efforts by the course's grounds crew and arborist to save it failed.

Why did Pebble Beach remove the tree on 16?

According to the USGA and the resort, the removal was a maintenance decision, not a strategic one. The USGA will host the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach next June, and officials told GOLF the change was not designed with that championship in mind. The tree's disease left no option but removal.

The cypress on 16 dates back to a 1929 renovation by architects H. Chandler Egan and Robert Hunter, who pushed the green roughly 100 yards back from its original position ahead of that year's U.S. Amateur. The shift turned the surrounding grove into a narrow pair of trees framing the fairway, a hallmark of the hole for nearly a century.

How are players adjusting their strategy?

With the right side now open, some players in this week's PGA Tour Champions field are considering a more aggressive tee shot down that side, setting up a short wedge into an unguarded green rather than the testy layup the hole has traditionally demanded. Ryan Armour said he and others in the field have talked about pulling driver and playing more aggressively toward the opening. Zach Johnson, by contrast, said he still played the hole as a layup, arguing the tree's absence hasn't meaningfully changed its character since the ground under repair area remains a hazard.

Ernie Els was more pointed about what the shift signals for a course already squeezed by modern driving distance: "With the ball flying this far, this golf course is going to get hurt."

"With the ball flying this far, this golf course is going to get hurt." — Ernie Els

Els said even he was hitting 3-wood into the 16th, and argued the answer lies with equipment regulation rather than course changes. The USGA and R&A have been developing a rolled-back golf ball intended for use at the elite level in future seasons.

What other changes has Pebble Beach made?

The 16th is not the first hole at Pebble Beach to be altered in response to distance gains. The course added a new back tee on the 6th hole behind a maintenance road in recent years, and a second cypress tree was reintroduced to the 18th fairway earlier this summer, restoring a defensive feature originally added ahead of the 2009 U.S. Open. Course space at Pebble Beach is limited by its compact, intersecting routing, leaving few options to simply stretch holes further.

Officials would not rule out replanting a tree on the right side of 16 before next June's U.S. Open, according to GOLF. The goal, they said, is not to invite a repeat of Bryson DeChambeau's bomb-and-gauge win at the wide-open Winged Foot in 2020, when missing the fairway by 25 yards carried little more penalty than missing by two.