Faxon says Shore Course a welcome addition to AT&T

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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Count Brad Faxon among the many who thinks the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club is a great addition to the rotation for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Faxon says Michael Strantz's work is the best renovation he's seen -- anywhere.

"I think he absolutely nailed it, a seaside course with everything you would want to have," said Faxon, who played the course before and after the renovation during the annual charity pro-am held by Davis Love III.

While the course has some quirkiness -- like its five par-3s, Faxon noted that the ocean is visible on 14 of the 18 holes at the Shore Course. He also likes the way the course blends naturally into the dramatic setting.

"Michael Strantz has kind of gone back to the golden age, architecture style there that Gil Hanse and (Ben) Crenshaw and (Tom) Doak have done, the ragged-edge bunkers, didn't do a lot of shaping out there," Faxon said. "I just think it's a great natural look, and it should be out there. That's what a seaside course should look like.

"I can't think of a PGA TOUR event that plays a course that looks like that. You would have to go to a few special places out on Long Island to find something that looks like that. "

Faxon said the change is going to be a very positive one for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

"I think a lot of players are going to love playing it," he said. "I think it rivals every bit Pebble and Spyglass for quality. After that, I think it's going to be a par 70 for the tournament. So it will be in relation to par, maybe the hardest of the three courses, as opposed to the easiest."