For its second annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the Northern California Golf Association is honored to acknowledge one of the most iconic golf properties in the world — Pebble Beach Golf Links and the Pebble Beach Company who also oversees Spyglass Hill Golf Course, the Links at Spanish Bay and Del Monte golf courses.

One of the most magical attributes of Pebble Beach Golf Links, which has been at the top the list of the finest golf courses in the world for years, is its public accessibility, a rarity among the great golf courses from any era.

The course’s lineage includes five classic U.S. Opens, and a sixth in 2019 when the course celebrates its centennial.  Pebble Beach has also hosted four U.S. Amateurs, the 1977 PGA Championship, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am since 1947 and the Champions Tour Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach among countless other events. As a partner with the Monterey Peninsula Foundation and AT&T, the Company has helped raise $100 million for the Foundation and our local charitable organizations.

Pebble Beach was also the host site for the Men’s California State Amateur from 1919-2006 and Women’s Amateur from 1967-1986, providing an unparalleled platform for the development of the amateur game and a venue that made the tournament the finest regional amateur championship in the world.

Prior to 1919, another Pebble Beach company course, classic Del Monte GC, which dates to 1897, served as the original host of the tournament.  The California Amateur’s list of champions reads like a who’s who in Northern California golf history, including Pebble Beach designer Jack Neville, Charlie Seaver, Ken Venturi and Johnny Miller, among many others.

The NCGA and Pebble Beach Company later partnered in creating Spyglass Hill, which opened in 1966 and immediately added to the luster of the resort. The Robert Trent Jones Sr. design, famous for its difficulty and beauty, has subsequently hosted countless NCGA scratch and net championships over its 45+ year history.  The course also was the location of the first NCGA offices in the Del Monte Forest prior to the 1986 opening of Poppy Hills. The Links at Spanish Bay, co-designed by NCGA Hall of Famer Sandy Tatum, Poppy Hills designer Robert Trent Jones Jr., and Stanford’s Tom Watson debuted in 1987, rounding out the resort’s courses. The company also oversees the resorts’ world-class hotels: The Lodge, the Inn at Spanish Bay and Casa Palmero, and welcomes millions of visitors each year through the gates of 17-Mile Drive, one of the top tourist attractions in the world.

The NCGA is proud to induct Pebble Beach Company into its hall of fame and honor the leadership of the company represented by Clint Eastwood, Arnold Palmer, Dick Ferris and Peter Ueberroth. These four headed a group of investors who purchased the iconic property in 1999 after several years of foreign ownership.

Clint Eastwood, a Hollywood legend as an actor, producer and director, has long supported golf as chairman of the board of directors of the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. The native San Franciscan and former mayor of Carmel has also served as chairman of the California State Park and Recreation Commission and is a former member of the National Council for the Arts. His 55+-year career in the entertainment business has resulted in more than 65 feature films, making him one of the most prolific filmmakers of his era.

Arnold Palmer is one of the greatest players in the game’s history. The seven-time  major champion was inducted as a charter member into the World Golf Hall of Fame and is rightly credited with bringing the game into the television era as well as reinvigorating the British Open in the early 60s. Palmer was the first in the modern era to be both a tournament golfer and course architect, with approximately 300 courses to his name worldwide. The Latrobe, Pennsylvania native won the PGA Tour’s Lifetime Achievement award in 1998 and also helped found the Golf Channel.  President Bush presented him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 while President Obama awarded him the Congressional Golf Medal in 2009.

Dick Ferris (left) served golf as chairman of the PGA Tour’s Policy Board for 20 years and is an annual participant in the AT&T Pro-Am. The Sacramento native is the former president and CEO of United Airlines.  Ferris also co-owned Applebee’s of New England and hotel chains such as Guest Quarter Suites Hotels, DoubleTree and Red Lion with Peter Ueberroth.  The Cornell alumnus, like fellow owner Arnold Palmer, is a commercial rated pilot. Ferris now serves as co-chairman of the Pebble Beach Company.

Peter Ueberroth (right) is one of the true renaissance men of American business the last 30 years. His leadership during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the first privately financed games, resulted in a surplus of a quarter million dollars that continues to fund youth and sports programs throughout the country. He served as Major League Baseball Commissioner from 1984-89 followed by a period as chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee.  The Evanston, Illinois native attended San Jose State on an athletic scholarship for water polo and later competed in the 1956 United States Olympic water polo trials.  Ueberroth was Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” in 1984, is a best-selling author and now serves as co-chairman of the Pebble Beach Company.

Marion Hollins

The Association also inducted Marion Hollins posthumously. Hollins was one of greatest sportswomen of her era and the driving force behind the creation of the Cypress Point Club and Pasatiempo.

Hollins was born in 1892, to a socially prominent and wealthy family in East Islip, Long Island. She was the consummate athlete, proficient in golf, tennis, marksmanship, swimming, and car racing. The plus-one handicap was also an expert equestrienne, where she learned balance, calmness, confidence and courage. In 1917 she was appointed to the first USGA women’s committee and became its chairperson in 1921.

In 1922 Hollins created the exclusive Women’s National Golf Club in Glen Haven, N.Y.  Back on the West Coast she joined with Samuel Morse in his dream of making Pebble Beach the West’s premier golf destination. She established the men and women’s Pebble Beach Golf Championships in 1923 and recruited the very best players by her presence.  Hollins herself would win the event seven times between 1923 and 1942. Besides her golf prowess, Hollins was at her best in golf architecture as illustrated by the story of her dropping a ball and taking a swing that would change the 16th hole at Cypress Point Club from a beautiful par 4 to the world’s most famous par 3 against the advice of Alister MacKenzie who thought the hole would be too difficult. Her architectural judgment at Pasatiempo and Cypress Point laid the groundwork for MacKenzie to become Bobby Jones’ architect at Augusta National.

In 1932 Hollins was selected as captain of the first Curtis Cup team leading the U.S to victory. She died in 1944 at the age of 52.

Distinguished Service Award

At the same ceremony, past president Gary Vandeweghe is to be presented the NCGA Distinguished Service Award for his time and effort to preserve and grow the game of golf.  As one of the six original founders of Cobra Golf Company, Vandeweghe pioneered progress for deserving youth in golf – one program gave more than $100,000 of golf equipment each year to junior golf.  The Cypress Point and San Jose member was instrumental in setting up a corporate philosophy at Cobra Golf to be a sponsor that benefited the local community.

In 1991, Gary was nominated to the NCGA Board of Directors and served in many capacities over his 11 years including President in 2001.  Vandeweghe provided the impetus and fundraising, including his own personal contribution for the NCGA’s centennial video, which covered the history of golf in Northern California. Gary played an active role with the NCGA Foundation becoming its president and helping deserving youth from 1998 through 2002; today he continues giving his time and expertise as an Honorary Board Member and serving as a major donor to Youth on Course.

Each pledge also offers donors a chance to guess the number of birdies made during the tournament. The lucky person who guesses correctly wins the grand prize of two United Airlines tickets and a one-night stay at The Inn at Spanish Bay and golf for two at Spanish Bay.

The NCGA Foundation is one of the designated charities. Select the NCGA Foundation from the drop-down menu on the donation page.

Guess the number of birdies