Playing the Wind and Course Setup at Pebble Beach: What Tour Pros Know That You Can Apply
This week, the golf world’s attention turns to one of the most iconic venues in the sport.
“Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.” is hosting the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where the best players in the world will compete this week.
But here’s what I want you to understand: watching Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and the other 80 top professionals navigate this course isn’t just entertainment—it’s a masterclass in strategic golf that translates directly to your game.
Whether you’re a weekend warrior or an aspiring amateur competitor, the principles these tour players use at Pebble Beach work on your local course too. Let me break down what makes elite course management so effective, and give you drills you can start using immediately.
Understanding the Advantage of Course Knowledge
One reason
“the best field of the year so far” has been attracted to Pebble
is that every top player knows this course intimately. They’ve studied the slopes, memorized the wind patterns, and practiced specific shots dozens of times. You might think this gives them an unfair advantage—but actually, it reveals something powerful about improvement that applies to any golfer.
Here’s the truth I’ve learned in 15 years of teaching: familiarity with a course isn’t just about knowing where the hazards are. It’s about understanding *how* to prepare mentally and strategically. When you play the same course multiple times—whether it’s your home club or a local public track—you begin to develop what I call “strategic muscle memory.” Your brain starts recognizing patterns before your conscious mind does.
This is why even modest improvement in course management can drop strokes faster than swing changes alone. You’re not just hitting better shots; you’re hitting the *right* shots in the *right* situations.
The Three Elements of Strategic Positioning
At Pebble Beach, where accuracy is paramount and the margin for error is razor-thin, tour pros use a three-step positioning system for every hole. Let me walk you through it, because this framework works everywhere from championship courses to your Tuesday morning round.
Step One: Identify the Danger Zone. Before you even think about your target, you need to know where you absolutely cannot go. At Pebble, it’s the ocean. At your course, it might be water left, out-of-bounds right, or a treacherous bunker complex. Tour players spend practice time not hitting toward the center of the green, but away from trouble. This mental shift is crucial. You’re not aiming for something; you’re avoiding something.
Step Two: Find Your Layup Line. This is where course management becomes an art form. If you can’t reach your ideal target safely, where’s the smartest place to miss? Professional players always have a secondary target—usually 20-40 yards further back or safely to one side. They’d rather be in position for a certain par than take an unnecessary risk.
Step Three: Commit to Your Decision. Once you’ve identified where you need to hit it, you must commit fully. Indecision is the enemy of good shots. I tell my students that a mediocre swing executed with complete conviction will outperform a technically better swing performed with doubt.
Here’s a Drill to Build Your Strategic Eye
Try this on your next practice round: Before you hit any shot, write down three things on your scorecard: (1) the danger zone you’re avoiding, (2) your primary target, and (3) your secondary target if things go wrong. Do this for 9 holes. You’ll be amazed how much this slows down your thinking and forces strategic clarity.
Don’t judge yourself on the shot’s outcome. Judge yourself on whether you executed according to your plan. This trains your brain to think like a tour professional—not in terms of perfect shots, but in terms of smart positioning.
Wind Reading: The Invisible Factor
Coastal courses like Pebble Beach are notorious for tricky wind. What many golfers don’t realize is that wind reading isn’t mystical—it’s a systematic skill you can develop.
Tour pros use what I call the “three-level wind check.” First, they look at the big picture: trees, clouds, and course layout to understand the general wind direction. Second, they look at mid-level indicators: the flag movement, grass ripples, and how previous shots finished. Third, they make their personal wind assessment by tossing a practice swing or feeling the breeze on their face and neck.
Here’s a wind-reading drill for your range: On a breezy day, hit 10 shots with the same club and don’t look where the balls go initially. First, make your wind assessment using the three-level system. Write down what you predict the wind will do to your shot. Only then turn to watch your results. Over time, your wind-reading accuracy will dramatically improve, and you’ll start automatically adjusting club selection and aim without conscious thought.
The Mental Game of Playing Difficult Courses
Pebble Beach intimidates golfers because it *looks* hard. The ocean is right there. The rough is thick. The greens are elevated. But here’s what I’ve observed watching tour players: they don’t play differently on hard courses. They play with better discipline.
The difference is that they expect challenges and have a system for handling them. When something goes wrong—a bad break, an unexpected wind gust, a poor lie—they don’t spiral. They simply move to their contingency plan.
You can develop this same resilience. On your home course or any challenging layout, establish one simple rule: every shot is either working toward your plan or executing your backup plan. There is no third option. This removes the anxiety that comes from uncertainty, and anxiety is the real killer of consistent scoring.
The beauty of watching elite golfers like Scheffler and McIlroy this week is that you’re seeing mastery in action. But that mastery didn’t happen by accident—it came from thousands of hours of strategic thinking combined with disciplined practice. You have access to the same tools they do. Start with your course knowledge, sharpen your decision-making with the drills I’ve outlined, and trust the process. Your scores will improve because your thinking is improving.
