AT&T Golf at Pebble Beach

Once a year, Albert and Betty take a trip to Pebble Beach. The main attraction is the AT&T Pro Am Golf Tournament.

Pebble Beach is at the southern tip of Monterey, an exclusive gated area that requires a $9.00 admission charge to drive on the famous "17-Mile Drive" to get there. The real estate price at Pebble Beach is higher than most people's reach; a recent house on the market that closed commanded 24 million dollars.

During the Pro Am game, spectators have to park their cars at the California State University Monterey Bay campus and then take a bus to get into Pebble Beach. Though no gate charge, there is an admission charge of $50-60 per person.

AT&T Pro Am Tournament started some 60+ years ago when Bill Crosby invited his friends for a fun game. Gradually it grew larger and larger and became a tournament called the Crosby Pro Am. After Bill Crosby passed away, the family decided not to lend his name to the game; AT&T took over the sponsorship. The winner of the professional game will get $990,000 and the celebrities play for $29,000 for their charities. Each year the tournament raises millions of dollars for the charities in Monterey County.

Betty has the choice to go see the "Pro" on the weekend or the celebrity challenge on Wednesday; she chose to go on Wednesday. The top photo is Betty in front of a round statue that shows the movement of the golf swing.

The second photo is a line up of the celebrities who are playing the charity golf. The one on the left with the golf putter is Kelly Slater, world surfing champion. The celebrities in the line up are: Ray Romano, Kevin James, Kevin Costner, George Lopez, Andy Garcia, Carson Daly, Bill Murray, Huey Lewis, Don Cheadle, Kenny G. The rest are caddies and their friends and relatives.

The third photo shows the course and a beautiful home on the right, a multi-million dollar property.

The fourth photo was taken at the 17th hole. At far top in the ocean there is a white wave created by a whale playfully coming up and down when golf was going on.

It was a fun day.