what are the hardest golf courses in america

America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses

1. THE OCEAN COURSE
2. THE INTERNATIONAL (THE PINES)
3. KOOLAU GOLF CLUB
4. PGA WEST (STADIUM COURSE)
5. OAKMONT COUNTRY CLUB
6. BETHPAGE STATE PARK GOLF COURSES (BLACK)
7. TOT HILL FARM GOLF CLUB
8. WHISTLING STRAITS (STRAITS)
9. PINE VALLEY GOLF CLUB
10. TOBACCO ROAD GOLF CLUB

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Full Answer

What are the top 10 golf courses in the US?

Jul 02, 2007 · America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses 1. THE OCEAN COURSE KIAWAH ISLAND / S.C. / 7,356 YARDS / PAR 72 Pete Dye, 81, has been torturing golfers for half his... 2. THE INTERNATIONAL (THE PINES) BOLTON / MASS. / 8,325 YARDS / PAR 73 It has pounded its chest as the longest golf... 3. KOOLAU GOLF ...

What are the best golf courses in America?

Dec 07, 2011 · America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses. America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses 10 Photos. Top 20: America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses 20 Photos. America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses: The Top 20 20 Photos.

What state has the best golf courses?

But Oakmont, long ballyhooed as one of the hardest courses in the country, isn't quite at the top of the list when it comes to the most difficult U.S. courses by measure of the USGA Course Rating...

What is the most difficult golf course?

Apr 13, 2011 · Kiamesha Lake, New York hosts one of the toughest courses in America. The Concord Resort & Golf Club is that golf course.

Where is the hardest golf course in the US?

What is considered the most difficult golf course in the world?

What is the most prestigious golf course in the US?

Which PGA West course is the hardest?

What is the hardest course on the PGA Tour?

Is Augusta a hard course?

What is the number 1 golf course in the world?

What is the number one golf course in America?

What are top 10 courses?

Which is the harder course at Torrey Pines?

What are the hardest holes on the PGA Tour?

What is the hardest course at Pebble Beach?

25. Woodcrest Country Club

Cherry Hill, N.J.#N#Yardage: 6,528 | Slope/rating: 138/71.9#N#Architect: William S. Flynn, Rees Jones, Ron Forse#N#What they're saying: "Long rough, narrow fairways and well bunkered greens. The course favors right handed golfer hitting a draw." - bambiklr

24. Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort

Kiawah Island, S.C.#N#Yardage: 7,356 | Slope/Rating: 144/77.3#N#Architect: Pete Dye#N#What they're saying: "You'd better bring your a game when you play this challenging course." - DukeSams

23. Harbour Town Golf Links at Sea Pines Resort

Hilton Head Island, S.C.#N#Yardage: 7,110 | Slope/rating: 148/75.6#N#Architect: Jack Nicklaus, Pete/Alice Dye#N#What they're saying: "Excellent design tight varied and hard! This is as challenging as it gets don’t let the lack of overall distance fool you. Lots of bunkers and trees. Top notch Dye design." - ThomasGram

22. Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort

French Lick, Ind.#N#Yardage: 8,102 | Slope/rating: 148/80.0#N#Architect: Pete Dye#N#What they're saying: "My score was a good 10-15 shots higher than my hcp. Fun weekend in the land of Larry Legend." - Bigbluenation

21. Pasatiempo Golf Club

Santa Cruz, Calif.#N#Yardage: 6,521 | Slope/rating: 143/72.4#N#Architect: Alister MacKenzie#N#What they're saying: "This is a great and very challenging golf course. It makes you think about every shot and placement of shots is key." - ngaudreau

20. Pinehurst No. 2

Pinehurst, N.C.#N#Yardage: 7,588 | Slope/rating: 138/76.5#N#Architect: Donald Ross#N#What they're saying: " This isn't a course for novices. You don't have to be single digit, but you do need to be able to stop the ball on these upside-down saucer-like Donald Ross greens." - MikeBaileyGA, Golf Advisor Staff

19. The Bridges Golf Club

San Ramon, Calif.#N#Yardage: 6,861 | Slope/rating: 144/74.3#N#Architect: Johnny Miller, Robert Muir Graves#N#What they're saying: "The Bridges is a very challenging course with forced carries and many ravines off the fairways. Some par 4s in the wind were very difficult for me to reach in two." - 55madman

What is slope rating?

The Slope Rating is the relative difference between both , essentially an indicator of how fast scores are rising on a given course for the non-scratch golfer). Yes, there will be some courses deemed slightly more challenging for scratch golfers and others perhaps considered a sterner test for bogey players.

How many yards is the par 5?

The par-5 finisher is 656 yards, yet there's an even longer par-5 on the property: the 674-yard third hole. There's also a par-6 hole that is 715 yards. When played from the back tees, The International is ranked as the hardest golf layout in the U.S. according to all three ratings.

Bethpage Black and the 25 Toughest Golf Courses in America

Have you ever thought that your weekend golf course was difficult? If you said yes, then there's something wrong with you, you're lying, or you're just that bad.

No. 25: Pinehurst No. 2

No. 25 on this list is No. 2 of Pinehurst, located in Pinehurst, North Carolina. It boasts a rating of 76.0 and a slope of 136.

No. 24: Medinah Country Club No. 3

It provided a huge test, and in the end, it was Tiger Woods who last prevailed at Medinah. The next time we will hear from Tiger at Medinah isn't too far off, either. In 2012 it will host the Ryder Cup, golf's great rivalry.

No. 23: Purgatory Golf Club

Maybe it would be better to just get out of purgatory and get where you're going.

No. 22: Butler National Golf Club

Located in Illinois, Butler National Golf Club was once known for hosting one of golf's former "majors," the Western Open.

No. 21: The Concord Resort & Golf Club

Kiamesha Lake, New York hosts one of the toughest courses in America. The Concord Resort & Golf Club is that golf course.

No. 20: Blackwolf Run River Course

Run in conjunction with Whistling Straights under the American Club Resort company, Blackwolf features the Sheboygan River winding throughout the course.

Is Cape Kidnappers a golf course?

Cape Kidnappers isn't just a tough golf course, it's a dangerous golf course with 183-meter cliffs plunging straight into the sea close to the edge of several fairways. Designed by Tom Doak with many holes completely exposed to winds whipping in off the Pacific Ocean just keeping your ball on line is tough.

Who designed the Touessrok golf course?

courtesy Le Touessrok golf course. Designed by two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer of Germany, Le Touessrok golf course is set on its own island and is the only one I know that cannot be reached by road, only by speed boat or helicopter. It's stunningly beautiful but also extremely tough.

Where is the ocean course?

The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, South Carolina, United States . The Ocean Course is one of the world's most famous courses. Top on our list has to be the Pete Dye-designed Ocean Course. Dye designs golf courses so difficult and torturous that he's earned the nickname "The Marquis de Sod.".

Where is Whistling Straits?

Another Pete Dye-designed exercise in masochism, Whistling Straits is suitably located on the site of an abandoned artillery range on the shores of Lake Michigan. When current world No. 3 Lee Westwood first saw the course he said, "I'd been told there are 10 difficult holes and eight impossible ones.

How many bunkers are there in a golf course?

Yes, 967 bunkers on one course. That's an average of almost 54 per hole. Some of them are so small there's barely room for golfer and ball. Some of them are barely recognizable as bunkers, as Dustin Johnson found to his cost playing the final hole at the 2010 US PGA Championship with a one shot lead.

What is the Palm Course called?

Matt Turner/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images. The Palm Course at Saujana is so tough it's been nicknamed "The Cobra" and its fangs have tested many of the world's top golfers as it's hosted six of the last 13 Malaysian Opens, a co-sanctioned European/Asian Tour event.

Where is Bethpage Black?

Bethpage Black, New York, United States . For the "highly skilled," or foolhardy, only. This course, one of five at Bethpage State Park in Long Island, New York, is so tough it has a sign by the first tee that reads "The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers.".

Where is the Country Club of Louisiana?

Country Club of Louisiana, Baton Rouge. Down in the bayou, they’re usually laid-back. But they’ll batten down the hatches if you bang at the gate of this Baton Rouge redoubt, looking to get out on their Jack Nicklaus layout. A better way in might be ringing former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal.

Is North Star a public course?

North Star is a public track, so getting on it is not the issue. Getting to it—now that’s the trick. The northern-most course in the United States, it’s located in a frosty region where the golf season passes in an eye-blink. Start packing now. It’s a long way from anywhere in the lower 48.

Is Shoal Creek a monochrome club?

Shoal Creek, Birmingham. Once a monochrome reminder of golf’s image problem, Shoal Creek is not the club that it was in 1990, when a firestorm broke out over its all-white membership. Its culture has evolved, and its ranks are more diverse, relatively speaking. But we still don’t have a relative who can get us on.

When was Chicago Golf Club founded?

Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton. One of the five founding members of the United States Golf Association in 1894, and the site of the country’s first 18-hole golf course, Chicago Golf sure acts its age.

What is idle hour?

Idle Hour. The very name suggests a life of leisure, undistracted by the worries of the working stiff. Not that the members here don’t have their struggles. Their highly exclusive layout was designed by Donald Ross, whose hump-backed greens often make it difficult to get up and down.

Where is Fishers Island Club?

Fishers Island Club, Fishers Island. An island in the literal and metaphoric sense, this Seth Raynor-designed classic sits in the Atlantic, just off the eastern tip of Long Island, accessible only by boat or private plane and well beyond the reach of average blokes.

Where is Tom Fazio located?

This Tom Fazio layout is located in the scenic western reaches of the state, where the Great Smokey and Blue Ridge mountains etch the horizon. It is named for a former Confederate general who fought in the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg and the First Battle of Bull Run, and whose likeness beams from a painting in the pro shop. Or so we’re told. We’re still waiting for a chance to inspect the place.

Do golf course designers have an easy job?

Golf course designers don’t have an easy job. They have a piece of land to work with, elements like wind and water to contend with, and they have to design a great golf course.

What is the maintenance of a golf course?

Then there are capital expenditures to make improvements to the golf course. Maintenance equipment like water pumps and lawn mowers have maintenance needs of their own as well.

Can you practice golf swings?

No practice swings, and make a few movements as you can. Gameplay can be difficult with ground temperatures hot enough to melt a golf ball. Not only that, but it’s difficult for anything to survive, even the sand. It can easily blow away in windstorms. That’s why you’ll see grass bunkers there.

When did Chambers Bay open?

Chambers Bay opened up in 2007 in Tacoma, WA. In 2015, it was the host of the U.S. Open. It may be known for its wild design and hard to read greens.

Where is Greg Norman's golf course?

Ellerston, Australia (World Ranking: T-77) When it opened, in 2001, this Greg Norman-Bob Harrison design had a membership of one: the Australian media mogul Kerry Packer, who had the course built on his private estate in a remote swatch of New South Wales.

Where is Chicago Golf Club?

Chicago Golf Club, Wheaton, Ill. (World Ranking: 19) One of the five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association in 1894, Chicago was also the site of the nation’s first 18-hole course and the first to host the U.S. Open outside of the Northeast. With a little more than 100 members and a steeplechase worth of hurdles to clear in order ...

How many years did Bob Hope play at Cypress Point?

Bob Hope once memorably summed up Cypress Point: “One year they had a big membership drive at Cypress. They drove out 40 members.”. Hope was himself a member for more than 40 years, but he didn’t recall playing there more than a half-dozen times outside of the “Crosby Clambake.”. He still paid, however.

How many days did Ben Hogan practice?

Ben Hogan used to practice here for 30 straight days every spring to prepare for the Masters. He once said, “If I were a young man going on the pro tour, I’d try to make arrangements to get on Seminole. If you can play Seminole, you can play any course in the world.”. Easier said than done.

When was the first rule of golf written?

Muirfield Golf Club, Gullane, Scotland (World Ranking: 12) The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers lays claim to what some call, “The rudest club in golf,” but they did write the first rules of golf, back in 1744. Apparently, one of the unwritten rules is that they can keep company with whom they wish.

Where is Fishers Island Club?

Fishers Island Club, Fishers Island, N.Y. (World Ranking: 18) Accessible only by ferry, this summer resort island off Connecticut is populated by the oldest of the old money crowd and is almost as difficult to get to as it is to join.