Watch: Player Hits Driver To Three Feet In Gale At Pebble Beach's Seventh Hole

The player overcame appalling weather conditions to leave a putt for birdie at the iconic par three

The ball on the green at the seventh hole at Pebble Beach
(Image credit: Michael Knoll/Instagram)

The seventh hole at Pebble Beach may be the shortest on the PGA Tour at just 106 yards, but the success of a player tackling it often depends heavily on wind conditions and club selection.

That’s because immediately to the right is the Pacific Ocean, and frequent gusts of wind add plenty of unpredictability to even the most assured player's tee shots. While many a top-class player has come a cropper at the iconic hole over the years, for one player, even brutal conditions were not enough to prevent him from getting within three feet of the hole. Not only that, but the amazing effort was captured on video.

The player opted for a driver to take his tee shot in the face of the dreadful weather conditions including gusts of wind between 40 and 50 mph. He confidently took his shot then watched the ball land to the left of the pin before rolling towards the hole, leaving him a decent chance of a birdie. Not surprisingly, the player looked delighted with his effort, while his fellow players were quick to congratulate him, no doubt fully aware of just how incredible a shot he had pulled off.

The hole, which features a 40-foot drop from tee to green, has given some of the world’s best players plenty to think about in the past. Sam Snead once putted down the hill from the tee rather than risk sending his ball to the mercy of the wind, while on his way to victory in the 1992 US Open, Tom Kite used a sand wedge for his tee shot on the Saturday before switching to a six-iron the next day.

While plenty of others have also found the hole challenging, we now know there's at least one player who has demonstrated a mastery of it in the face of truly appalling conditions.

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Mike Hall
Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 


He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 


Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 


Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.