Following golf over the last fifty years the image of Tom Watson chipping in on #17 at Pebble Beach to take the lead in the 1982 U.S. Open is firmly wedged in my golf consciousness as his most triumphant moment in a folkloric golf career. So when I heard that Back Nine Press had recently published this book “The Shot-Watson, Nicklaus, Pebble Beach, and The Chip That Changed Everything” by Chris Millard I clamored to their website to order a copy.

Millard is an accomplished golf journalist and writer and he did a wonderful job sewing together a very readable tale of Watson’s first and only U.S. Open victory at Pebble in 1982. But the book offers so much more as Millard made a diligent research effort to track the history of Pebble Beach Golf Links and its role as a host to USGA events over the last 100 years.

The book catalogs the course’s evolution from it’s creation in 1919 at the capable hands of Jack Neville and Douglas Grant. Then under the stewardship and promotion of Samuel F.B. Morse, with significant renovations by W. Herbert Fowler and H. Chandler Egan, it became the site of the prestigious U.S. Amateur in 1929. This was a big leap of faith because previously the USGA had not held a championship west of the Mississippi River. But the 1929 U.S. Am had a stellar field including Bobby Jones and the tournament’s success established Pebble Beach as a destination resort for the wealthy and famous.

Over the next half forty years Morse continued to promote Pebble Beach for significant golf events, including the annual National Celebrity Pro-Am (a.k.a. the Crosby Clambake) starting in the 1940’s, the U.S. Amateur in 1961, and the U.S. Open in 1972, the last two won by none other then Jack Nicklaus. The celebrity exposure of Crosby each year at Pebble Beach provided a significant crucible for the development of broadcast coverage of golf on TV.

The U.S. Open in 1972 and 1982 were two more quantum leaps for Pebble’s notoriety as well as premier broadcast events for ABC the undisputed giant in sports network television. With Nicklaus and Watson at the height of their competitive powers the 1982 U.S. Open promised to be another chapter in the developing rivalry that transcended the Majors the previous 10 years. Four days on the shores of Monterey Peninsula did not disappoint and it came down to the outrageous chip shot on the penultimate hole to pave the way to Tom Watson’s long sought win of our national championship.

This book is chock full of interesting factoids and anecdotes about the development of Pebble Beach and the careers of Jack and Tom. There is even a chapter devoted to Tom’s 30-year relationship with Bruce Edwards his long time caddie.

I highly recommend this if you have played Pebble, admired Pebble annually on TV, or simply have an architectural interest in how Pebble Beach became one of the most famous golf venues in America.

The Shot

Chris Millard (2024)