Massive waves behind Cypress Point’s famed 16th hole show off nature’s fury

If you’ve been following the golf news out of storm-slammed California, you might have seen the footage last week from Monterey, where waves engulfed the seaside par-3 14th hole at the Monterey Peninsula Dunes course. 

What you probably didn’t see was another striking video — which was shared with GOLF.com — from just down the road.

On the same day that the ocean lashed the 14th, it also battered the edges of an even more renowned par-3, arguably the most famous in the world: the imposing 16th at Cypress Point.

Jutting into the ocean, just off 17-Mile Drive, the 16th doesn’t need much introduction. But we’ll give one anyway.

From a tee set beside a grove of cypress trees, it plays 235 yards over the water to a bluff-top green, with little but woe lurking all around.

This past November, when the skies were clear, the 16th made a viral showing on social media when SMU golfer Christian Clark aced it on camera. (Remarkably, later that same month another hole in-one at 16 was captured on video.)

Last week, as wind and rain whipped the coast into a lather, Cypress Point remained open, and a couple of groups were seen playing the course, on a day when the 16h looked more menacing than usual. With its green perched up and shielded by rocks, the 16th was never overwhelmed by waves. Only salt spray splashed its greens. But the ocean surge around it made an arresting sight.

Check out the video here: