Will Pebble Beach Co. follow in the footsteps of the R&A with The Old Course at St. Andrews, site of the 2027 British Open, and add length to Pebble Beach Golf Links for future U.S. Opens?

There are signs to suggest that will be the case. This year, Pebble Beach Co. acquired a 5,886-square-foot, six-bedroom home at 1535 Palmero Way that sits directly behind the second green of the iconic golf course for $ 13.75 million. The property was formally owned by Leslie and Heather Stretch. Chris Pryor of Carmel Realty, a former pro at Pebble Beach, represented the buyer and Malone Hodges also of Carmel Realty represented the seller. The question is now what? 

Did the resort spend nearly $ 14 million to tear down a house so it can stretch the 516-yard par 5, second hole into a par 5 again for the pros? In 2019, when Gary Woodland won the most recent U.S. Open at Pebble, the hole was converted into a par 4 and the course played as a par 71, just as it had since the U.S. Open in 2000. The hole played as a par 5 in 2023 for the Women's Open. For the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, it has continued to play as a par 5 for the men, albeit one that has become incredibly short by modern standards. Pebble Beach should be able to use the land from its acquisition to move the second green back about 100 yards, and play No. 2 upwards of 600 yards should the USGA decide to play the maximum yardage.

Wyndham Clark, winner of the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and owner of the competitive course record, 60, said he would be in favor of the move. “It’s the hardest par 4 because the green is so small. If you miss the green, it’s an auto bogey. As a par 5, you’re less aggressive and it changes the mindset,” he said. “I think that would be great…it’s too tough as a par 4.”

Par is just a number but lending support to Clark’s claim, No. 2 was the toughest hole to hit in regulation at the 2019 Open, with just 35.5 percent hitting the green in two and playing to an average of 4.321, which was the second-toughest hole as a par 4 but would have been the easiest hole to par if played as a par 5.

It's becoming routine for the cathedrals of golf to add length to try to combat distance gains at the top of the food chain by the best professional golfers. In 2025, 118 players on the PGA Tour average at least 300 yards off the tee. Recently, the R&A announced that the Old Course would tack on 132 yards ahead of hosting the 2027 British Open, the most significant lengthening of the championship tees since the early 2000s. John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer, confirmed to Golfweek no change would be made to the length of the hole in 2027 or par for the hole – or course for that matter, “it will be a par 71,” he said — but he didn’t rule out a change for future Opens.

“It's an interesting question,” Bodenhamer said. “I'm not aware of any plans along those lines. We're aware that they purchased the property. We're focused on ‘27, and I think there's no way that any major renovations would take place. They just wouldn't be able to happen agronomically, let alone anything else, as busy as Pebble is before ‘27. When we make changes that would be of the significance you're talking about, we'd like to see a full year of growth. We'd want to see at least one if not two seasons for it to settle in, otherwise you've got a putting green that's much different than the others, and while you could do it, it just wouldn't be ideal.”

In addition to 2027, Pebble Beach also is on the books for U.S. Opens in 2032, 2037 and 2044 and the U.S. Women's Open in 2035, 2040 and 2048. 

With permits granted from the California Coastal Commission, Pebble Beach Co. is set to break ground on March 19, 2026, at Spanish Bay and have hired Gil Hanse to renovate the course original designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., Tom Watson and Sandy Tatum. Hanse has become the new “Open Doctor,” prepping the likes of Winged Foot (2020), Los Angeles CC’s North Course (2023) and Oakmont CC (2025) ahead of their closeups as host of the national championship. Could Hanse and his crew also take care of remodeling Pebble’s second hole in advance of the 2027 U.S. Open? “You will have to ask PBC about that,” he wrote in a text and included a happy face emoji.

A request for an interview with Pebble’s John Sawin, the senior vice president of golf, was declined; instead, Mower, the resort’s public relations agency of record, responded on its client’s behalf and wrote in an email, “The company is still evaluating the best and highest use of the acquired property.” Speaking at the PGA Tour’s World Wide Technology Championship, where he competed in the pro-am, Sawin noted the property, which was purchased on April 1, currently is zoned for residential use and any change would require a permitting process with the Coastal Commission. “Any land contiguous to Pebble has strategic value,” he added.

While Bodenhamer was quick to shoot down any change in the par of the course for the next U.S. Open, he left the door open for the future.

“We would want them to do what's best for Pebble Beach Resorts. As an anchor site we'd always expect them to share with us what they're thinking but we've not had those discussions,” Bodenhamer said. “I guess it would all come down to what the shot values would be for the hole. We certainly wouldn't be opposed to any of that. We just would want to look at it.”

The golf ball roll back, which is scheduled to go into effect in 2028, could also be a factor in the decision. While Pebble Beach Co., may not be ready to reveal its plans for the property it purchased earlier this year, bet on the official distance of the 2032 U.S. Open being more than the 7,075 yards it played in 2019, and don’t be surprised if No. 2 is stretched thanks to a very expensive tear down.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Why did Pebble Beach Co. spend nearly $ 14 million for a tear-down?