Welcome to the ABC’s of the Monterey Peninsula, a 26-part series all about the Monterey Peninsula from A -Z.  Posts will be published every Friday and Tuesday evening until we get to “Z”!

ABC’s of the Monterey Peninsula     “A”  is for the AT&T Pro Am Golf Tournament ~ February 6-12 2017

This photo epitomizes the AT&T Pro Am experience.  Picturesque holes, golfers photographed with the back drop  of the Pacific Ocean and the beautiful white sands of Carmel Beach.  When my husband and I lived in San Francisco we came down to the AT&T numerous times.  The weather was often cold and foggy or rainy,  but we didn’t care.  I don’t know if it’s global warming or not, but the last five years the weather has been much better in the beginning of February and we often now enjoy sunny skies and fairly warm temperatures.

Now that we’ve lived on the Monterey Peninsula for 17 years we still love to watch the golf tournament, but now sometimes it’s from the couch.

The AT&T Pro Am Golf tournament that started as the “Crosby Clambake” 79 years ago to raise money for charity never fails to bring thousands of visitors to the Monterey Peninsula hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite celebrities on the course where the greens meet the sea.

Over the years playing to the camera have been celebs like Ray Romano, Kevin Costner, Chris O’Donnell, Andy Garcia, Bill Murray, Huey Lewis,Kenny G, Don Johnson, and Clint Eastwood.  Added to the mix are sports figures from many sports including  football and baseball stars.

Millions of dollars are raised every year at the tournament which are distributed by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation to numerous charitable organizations.  In 2015  a total of 9.1 million dollars was awarded to local non-profits in the tri-county area in that year alone.

The tournament is played on three courses; Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Monterey Peninsula Country Club Shores Course, and Pebble Beach Golf Links. On Saturday, most of the celebrities play on the  world renown Pebble Beach Golf Links where they are photographed and interviewed as golf enthusiasts watch from the course or from home.

When the weather is sunny and gorgeous, you couldn’t ask for a better advertisement to promote the beautiful Pebble Beach area as seen from the Goodyear Blimp.

So SAVE THESE DATES in your calendar February 6-12, 2017 and plan to come see the AT&T Pro Am in person this time.  We’ll pray for our good weather to continue so you will take home delightful memories of blue skies, sunlit courses, and crashing waves, after bearing witness to some great golf.

If you want more . . . read my two 2013 posts in the Archives relating some of my experiences from the 2013 AT&T – particularly the one about Ray Romano – between a rock and a hard place. Enjoy!