Just a month before hosting the PGA Tour’s signature AT&T Pro-Am, the legendary Pebble Beach Golf Links is battling record tides and storms that have left its legendary holes underwater. Water is swallowing the iconic fairways, rendering one of golf’s jewels unrecognizable.

Rick Golfs shared a clip of the course on X.

“Brutal scenes from the recent storms in California,” he wrote.

The post features a video of the course, waterlogged almost everywhere.

Early January 2026 has brought record-breaking tides to some sections of coastal California. It coincides with the days of intense Pacific storms and onshore winds. The seawater and runoff are overflowing into low coastal areas. This has led to flooded roads, marinas, and seafront properties. These conditions directly expose Pebble Beach’s shoreline.

Standing water and surge cover the fairways and surrounding areas near the ocean.

Almost every hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links is exposed to the ocean. The sand bunkers can be seen destroyed by water. Holes 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, and 18 are very close, with the par-3 7th being the nearest. However, these are the very holes that make Pebble Beach a celebrated course worldwide.

Along with the flooded bunkers and spongy greens, the region’s infamous King Tides have overburdened the drainage systems and washed up the tee boxes dotted with pebbles. The video showed how it’s not an ideal condition for a bucket-list golf trip.

Yet, Pebble Beach is one of the most revered golf courses because of its location, perched on the tip of California’s Monterey Peninsula.

“It’s like heaven’s doors just opened up,” LPGA major champion Natalie Gulbis said about reaching the middle of the 4th hole, where the sea exposure starts.

Even Fred Funk shared that it became his favorite golf course as soon as he played there for the first time. The same goes for PGA Championship winner Rich Beem. But what makes the course so beautiful has also become the reason for its current unrecognizable state after the high tides.

With these tides arriving on top of multiple inches of rain in 48 hours and strong onshore winds, water backed up into low-lying land. And that turned coastal fairways, cart paths, and practice areas into temporary ponds.

However, this is not the first time Pebble Beach has faced brutal weather.

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Pebble Beach’s history with brutal weather

Thanks to its direct exposure to the beach, Pebble Beach Golf Links regularly faces brutal weather. The tournament’s notorious winter conditions even earned the nickname “Crosby weather” because winter at Pebble Beach routinely brought rain, wind, and occasional sleet right through tournament week.

Data from the Golden Gate Weather Services shows that there have been many years without rain interrupting the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. However, some years saw rain on all four days of the event. Most recently, golfers faced rain on all four days in 2019. In 2021 and 2023, rain interrupted play on three days. The data show how volatile February can be on the Monterey Peninsula.

Pebble Beach has racked up many Monday finishes because of storms and rain. Even in 2024, the game was shortened to just 54 holes. A potentially historic Pacific storm system dumped several inches of rain and pushed winds toward 60 mph. The organizers had no choice but to cut short the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am 2024.

Wyndham Clark, who was leading after the third round with 17 under par, was declared the winner.

Fans were even worried about the same fate in 2025, but all four rounds were completed, and Rory McIlroy (21 under par) took home the winner’s prize money.

For Pebble Beach, its greatest asset – the stunning Pacific coastline – remains its greatest vulnerability, a reality that defines the tournament year after year.