Golf is a grown person’s game, no matter what course you play on. That’s why the average guys plays while intoxicated with their buddies on a Sunday afternoon. Might as well have a few brown pops and laugh at the slice of your drives, while you miss the hole by 30 feet on your putts. If that’s not your approach, you’ll be fuming mad quicker than Shooter McGavin after he gets his keester handed to him by Happy Gilmore in that classic Adam Sandler movie.
But seriously, even the world’s best golfers can admire the mental and physical challenges that the game of golf presents. Those challenges become even further amplified in the high stakes version of golf that is the PGA Tour, especially when you consider some of the tougher courses on the slate. The 10 hardest golf courses on the PGA Tour all provide their share of tight fairways, complicated greens, and incredible length. All of those factors, when combined, have wreaked havoc on even the best golfers in the world.
10. Muirfield Village
Founded by the Golden Bear himself, Jack Nicklaus, Muirfield Village hosted the 2013 Presidents Cup in the first week of October. The course has also hosted the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup international tournaments and is definitely one of the toughest on the PGA Tour. Two years ago, at the annual Memorial Tournament, the field averaged 1.677 shots over par, so although Tiger Woods did very well, finishing 9 under par, the fact is few beyond the best in the world could come close to scoring so well. If it wasn’t bad enough that the course is challenging when the sun is shining bright, last year’s Memorial Tournament was suspended on multiple occasions throughout the weekend due to rain.
(AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
TPC Southwind plays host to the FedEx St. Jude Classic and has been on the PGA Tour since 1989. It’s located in Memphis, Tennessee, and features just over 7,200 yards of golf course. The 14th hole is 239 yards and is considered one of the most unforgiving par 3 holes on the PGA Tour. The most famous hole on the course is another par 3, the 11th, which features replica grass similar to that of the TPC at Sawgrass. All in all, the fact is that only 34 of 76 who made the cut two years ago at 2 over par actually finished the tournament under par. The Sawgrass course is probably more famous than the one at Southwind, but both TPC courses offer their share of challenges to even the best of golfers.
(AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Mark Weber)
Located in the Cibolo Canyons region of San Antonio, the TPC San Antonio course is relatively new on the PGA tour in comparison to its counterparts on this list, only being around since 2010. The entire resort actually features two separate courses, but the one used by the pros was actually designed by Greg Norman and current PGA Tour player Sergio Garcia. The course is one of the longest in this list, coming in at a grand total of just under 7,500 yards. At that length, even the best long ball hitters in the game feel the heat. The course only allowed 36 players to break par in 2013. That’s better than the 23 players that broke par in 2012. Although this may also show that players are becoming more familiar with the course, it’s still a tough one to play and will be for years to come.
The Old White TPC at Greenbrier Resort is a course that should have been on the PGA circuit a long time ago. One reason it didn’t make the grade for the longest time is because the course was originally established way back in 1914, which is around the time golf clubs were invented (just kidding). Nonetheless, the course got a face lift a few years ago and found itself among the most challenging set of links on the tour by 2010. The course offers numerous changes in elevation levels and is well over 7,000 yards, much longer now than it was originally intended to be back when it was first built.
Pete Dye is the designer of this course and clearly he was aiming to make grown men cry when he made it. The course is the site of the RBC Heritage event, which takes place every spring prior to the Masters. It features greens that are tough to get to in regulation, narrow fairways that offer little room for error, and dog legs that put the best ball strikers to the test throughout the 18 holes. This is not a course for players that rely on their driving ability. Instead, golfers at Harbor Town need to putt well and be patient in order to avoid being eaten alive by this course.
(AP Photo/Stephen Morton)
Firestone Country Club has hosted the PGA Championship on three different occasions and has been a PGA Tour mainstay since 1962, making it one of the longest serving PGA courses on this list. It’s also a World Golf Championship event host. All of these honors have been bestowed upon the course with good reason. It features slim fairways and tough greens, with enough length to challenge heavy hitters. Perhaps the most impressive part of the course are the names of the former champions who have conquered it throughout its rich history, including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and the legendary Arnold Palmer. Those three names are perhaps the most recognizable in golf, and the Firestone Country Club is one of the most daunting on the PGA Tour.
(AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Quail Hollow Golf Club has played host to the Wells Fargo Championship since 2003. Phil Mickelson once called the greens on the course the worst on the PGA Tour. You know your course is tough when one of the best golfers in the world is blaming the course for his own poor performance. In general though, the course is well regarded by many, to the point that it will play host to the 2017 PGA Championship. Holes 17 and 18 are considered two of the more challenging holes on the course, and it’s that kind of a challenge at the end that allows Quail Hollow to continually attract some of the best players on the tour from year to year.
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
The Riviera Country Club is not only one of the most beautiful courses in Southern California, it is one of the favorites of many players on the PGA Tour. Today, the course hosts the Northern Trust Open, but in general, Riviera Country Club has been hosting professional golf events since the 1920′s. Although the course is quite old, it has hosted a handful of the marquee events in golf, including the U.S Open, the U.S. Senior Open, and the PGA Championship. The course is possibly the most challenging on the tour in terms of courses featured on the West Coast. In 2012, the field averaged 1.622 shots over par.
In a word, perhaps the best way to describe the Congressional Golf Club in Washington is to call it unique. The club has hosted the U.S. Open three times, including most recently in 2011. But even outside a major event, the course still challenges players with the annual AT&T National. Billy Haas won the tournament last year, shooting an impressive 13 under par, but the average player on tour shot a round of 73 in 2012, which is 2 shots over the total par of 71. The course features challenging layouts that make it one of the most entertaining courses to watch an event at. It won’t be going anywhere for a while, given that the Congressional Country Club will host the U.S. Open on a regular basis for the foreseeable future.
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)
This is probably the only course on this top 10 list that needs no introduction. Augusta National is home to The Masters. The course’s character embodies the name of the tournament better than any other course on the PGA Tour. Those in pursuit of the ever-precious green jacket have to be at their best. The course was created and conceived by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie, who made the course with beautiful greens and a challenging set of three holes, dubbed ‘Amen Corner’, from the 11th to the 13th that typically rearrange the order of the competing players and often times decide who will be wearing the green jacket at the end of the weeeknd. There is a reason they call it the Masters, and it is because only the best in the game can truly reign victorious at Augusta.
(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)