Indiana

Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex is frequently known for its Kampen Course, which hosted the 2003 Women’s and 2008 Men’s NCAA Championships. Technically its other course has hosted the Men’s national championship as well. The former “South” course at Purdue hosted the 1952 and 1961 events, but by the time Pete Dye came to campus during the ‘90s, the Bill Diddel route on the south end of the property was in need of a refresher course.

The property was reworked to solve drainage issues, and Dye created two entirely new holes to go along with the 16 he overhauled. The result is a course that is distinctly Dye and offers a less cramped routing. Although there are some eye-catching hazards on the Ackerman-Allen side of the street — including the barrage of burial plot-shaped bunkers on the long par four No. 15 — or the lengthy strip of sand running up the left side of No. 17 (one of the longest Dye has ever created) — this course is designed to be more playable than its acclaimed neighbor to the north.

The course is named after two wealthy donors who helped make the revamped, Double-Dye golf complex possible. No doubt there are many grateful Purdue students and alums in their debt.

Birck Boilermaker (Ackerman-Allen)

North America

The Ackerman-Allen course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex was known as the South course at Purdue University when Bill Diddel laid it out in 1934. Remodeled in the 1960s by Larry Packard and rebuilt by Pete Dye in 1997, the course staged the 1961 NCAA Men's Championships, won by Jack Nicklaus.

The Kampen course at the 36-hole Purdue University Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex was known as the North course when it debuted in 1996.

A Pete Dye design, the Kampen (named in honor of Purdue supporter, Emerson Kampen) is one of the nation’s top collegiate courses, which measures more than 7,400 yards from the tips. It has hosted a number of important tournaments down the years, including the 2004 Indiana Open, won by Purdue University’s Lee Williamson, who now plays on the Web.com Tour.

The facility’s second course, the South, was originally fashioned by Bill Diddel in 1934 and was later renamed Ackerman Hills before undergoing a complete remodel by Pete Dye in 2016 – the new course was re-branded 

Birck Boilermaker (Kampen)

The Kampen course at the 36-hole Purdue University Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex is a Pete Dye design named in honor of Purdue supporter, Emerson Kampen, and it's one of the nation’s top collegiate courses.

Arkansas

Funded by John Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods, the largest meat producing company in the world, Blessings Golf Club is a private golf facility where the University of Arkansas's student golf teams (the Razorbacks) play their home ties.

A Robert Trent Jones Jr. design that debuted in 2004, the Blessings course is well known as a tough track, endorsed by its slope rating of 153 from the back tees. Routed in an old-fashioned “out-and-back” manner, the regular layout features three par fives on the outward half (par 37) and three par threes on the inward half (par 35).

But because the owner wanted flexibility built into the design, the architect rather uniquely set out the course with three adjustable holes (8, 9 and 16) which can be set up to play to different pars, depending on circumstances.

The landscape is very undulating, which results in many sidehill lies and there’s a number of forced carries over ravines and wetlands to be negotiated during a round. Clear Creek comes into play too, most notably at the par four 6th and the short par three 10th.

RTJ2 had this to say about the course: “Blessings stretches to nearly 7,500 yards from the back tees and plays through two distinct landforms: the Clear Creek floodplain and a plateau that rises to 65 feet above the floodplain where it's bisected by a series of ravines.

Both the outward and inward nines climb up and down between the two topographies, creating drama and variety on a course where golfers will surely feel both tested and blessed by the glory of their surroundings.”

In 2017 Kyle Phillips completed a remodel and re-route of his mentor's layout ahead of the club's hosting of the 2019 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Championships.

Blessings

Texas

BraeBurn Country Club (not to be confused with Brae Burn, the Donald Ross design of a similar name in Westchester County) is a Houston club that opened its first golf course during 1931. The route was designed by John Bredimus, a golf course architect active across Texas during that era.

His routing lasted for more than 60 years, until Carlton Gipson — another Texas name, albeit one especially focused in the golf-rich Houston area — gave the club an overhaul as it prepared for the 21st Century. Water is now in play at almost every hole along this 6,800 yard route. Somewhat ironically, none of the water hazards involved the club’s title body, Brays Bayou, a creek that provides the southern boundary of the club.

Although it may not be the biggest course in Texas (where, according to their tourism bureau, “everything is bigger”), Gipson saves the biggest hole for last. The final hole is a 540-yard par five where players will need to avoid a lake on the right side of the fairway from the tee, and also debate whether to attempt carrying the pond ahead of the green during their second shot.

As of 2021, Tripp Davis has broken down on a new renovation project at the club.

BraeBurn

BraeBurn Country Club was formed in 1931 and John Bredimus originally designed the club’s course. Sixty years later, Carlton Gipson redesigned the layout to fashion the eighteen holes that are in play today.

Colorado

Host to the U.S. Amateur (in 1959 and 1964) and the U.S. Women’s Open (in 1995 and 2011), the East course is one of two 18-hole tracks attached to The Broadmoor, one of America’s most famous resorts.

Golf was first played here in 1918 when Donald Ross crafted an 18-hole layout. This course was then split in two when Robert Trent Jones Snr added two 9-hole circuits, forming the East course in 1952 and the West in 1964.

The Mountain course appeared in 1976 and this Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay layout was redesigned by Jack Nicklaus II in 2006 – quite fitting that the Golden Bear’s son should carry out the work at the venue where his father won his first national title at the aforementioned U.S. Amateur in 1959.

Holes 7 to 15 are the newer holes on an East course that’s renowned for its broad, tree-lined fairways and large greens. Stand out holes include the expanded 601-yard 3rd and the similarly elongated 611-yard 17th.

Broadmoor (East)

Golf arrived at the Broadmoor Resort in 1918 when Donald Ross created an 18-holer which was split in two when Robert Trent Jones Snr added two 9-hole loops, forming the East course in 1952 and the West in 1964.

Georgia

Founded as Brookhaven Country Club in 1883, the club changed its name to Capital City Club Brookhaven twenty years later when Englishman Herbert Hayden Barker was also engaged to set out the 18-hole Brookhaven course as the first golf facility for the members.

Another ninety years would pass before the club’s second 18-hole course appeared. This time, Tom Fazio was chosen to fashion the Crabapple course on a property twenty-two miles further north, immediately next to the Pete Dye course at Atlanta National Golf Club in Milton.

Longer and tougher than the Brookhaven layout, the Crabtree course soon gained national prominence when it hosted the 2003 WGC-American Express Championship a year after it first opened for play. Tiger Woods won the event by two strokes from three other players.

Incidentally, this wasn’t the first time an important professional tournament had been held by the club as the Brookhaven course was formerly used for the Atlanta Open, most famously in 1945 when Byron Nelson claimed one of his eleven straight PGA Tour victories that year.

Capital City (Crabapple)

Located 22 miles to the north of Capital City Club’s old Brookhaven golf course on the outskirts of Atlanta, the 18 holes of the Crabapple layout comprise a demanding new millennium Tom Fazio design.

Maryland

Venue for the U.S. Senior Open in 2002 when Don Pooley beat Tom Watson after a five-hole playoff, the Tom Fazio-designed course at Caves Valley Golf Club sits amidst the rolling hills of Baltimore County with many of the fairways routed through rather attractive areas of woodland.

The 11th edition of the Arnold Palmer Cup (which in 2007 was an annual 8-man competition between American and European college/university golfers) was contested here when the home team won the event by a score of 18 points to 6 points.

The two par threes on the front nine are notable, both are protected by water: the 224-yard 4th plays to the largest putting surface on the course with a bail out to the right of the green whilst a couple of menacing bunkers flank the left side of the green at the 215-yard 8th.

The round concludes with a couple of very strong par fours: the 480-yard 17th doglegs slightly right to an offset green that sits behind a cluster of bunkers, followed by the 460-yard 18th, where the well-bunkered home green is positioned above a small gulley to the front left of the hole.

The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses Volume 3 – The Americas (summer destinations)

“The brainchild of former USGA president Reg Murphy, Caves Valley set a new standard for private-club service and class, inadvertently becoming the forerunner of a generation of courses where the ambience and the maintenance overshadow the golf. It all falls to pieces because the golf course is too hilly, and because none of the holes are standout.”

Caves Valley Golf Club staged the 2021 BMW Championship which Patrick Cantlay won after beating Bryson DeChambeau at the sixth playoff hole.


Caves Valley

Venue for the US Senior Open in 2002, the Tom Fazio-designed course at Caves Valley Golf Club sits amidst the rolling hills of Baltimore County with many of the fairways routed through attractive areas of woodland.

Illinois

Laid out on a 209-acre tract of gently undulating land, where four lakes come into play during the round, the course at Conway Farms Golf Club is a recently lengthened Tom Fazio design from 1991.

Notable holes include the long par four 3rd and short par four 5th on the front nine, whilst the water-protected 10th and 18th – laid out on either side of a meandering creek – are amongst the best on offer after the turn.

The 342-yard 15th is another fine hole, doglegging left around a lake to a kidney-shaped target but the most memorable hole on the card is undoubtedly the signature par five 8th, played to a green that’s defended by some fearsome bunkers.

The course hosted the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour in 2013, during which Jim Furyk shot only the sixth score of 59 in the history of professional tournament play in America. Zach Johnson won the event with an aggregate score of sixteen under par. The event returned to Conway Farms in 2015 and 2017.

Conway Farms

Laid out on a 209-acre tract of gently undulating land, the course at Conway Farms Golf Club is a recently lengthened Tom Fazio design from 1991 and host venue for the 2013 BMW Championship.

New York

Golf at the Country Club of Buffalo dates back to 1894 when, according to history: “Club members placed an empty tomato can in the ground, and thus was born the first golf hole in Western New York.” The club moved to the city line at Main and Bailey in 1900 and Walter J. Travis updated the course in 1910 in readiness for the club’s hosting of the 1912 U.S. Open, won by John McDermott.

However, the golf course of the Country Club of Buffalo in play today is a unique 1926 Donald Ross creation that makes full use of the Onondaga Formation, a limestone escarpment that stretches from New York to Detroit. To make things even more interesting, Ross routed the course through and around an old limestone quarry.

Six holes are incorporated in the quarry and three holes are routed on the level below the escarpment and this gives Buffalo two discreet signature holes. The first of which is the one-shot pulpit 6th, a hole that will remain lodged in the memory forever. The offset green is perched on a high mound and you are faced with little margin for error with your tee shot. The second “signature” hole is the 415-yard 18th and it makes a fabulous finale with the home green wedged below a natural rock garden that leads all the way up to the clubhouse.

The Country Club of Buffalo played host to the 1931 US Women’s Amateur and the 1950 Curtis Cup, which the USA team won comfortably, beating Great Britain & Ireland 7½ 1½.

Country Club of Buffalo

The golf course of the Country Club of Buffalo is a unique 1926 Donald Ross creation that makes full use of the Onondaga Formation...

Oregon

One of the main sporting attractions at Sunriver Resort is the Crosswater golf course which lies 15 miles south of Bend in central Oregon (just outside the resort actually) on former homestead land. Wonderful Cascade vistas to the peaks of nearby Broken Top, Three Sisters and Mount Bachelor can be enjoyed at Crosswater.

Sunriver Resort commissioned Bob Cupp and John Fought to design Crosswater in the mid 1990s and, in the words of Bob Cupp, “it is a difficult course, designed such because Sunriver already had two courses (Woodlands and Meadows) and they wanted one that would put them on the map.”

It’s a long course – 7,700 yards from the back markers with the four par fives measuring an average of just over 620 yards – and, as its name suggests, it forces golfers to navigate around water and wetlands a number of times as the Little Deschutes River runs through the property, with the Big Deschutes River to the west side.

The 17th is a beast, 243 yards from the championship tees, with little room for forgiveness as the wetland grasses push into and envelop the left side of the green. The putting surface may be enormous but golfers must stay clear of sand in front and behind.

An indication of how tough the penultimate hole can be? In 315 rounds played during the 2007 Champions Tour event here, there were only 17 birdies made by the top Senior players.

Crosswater

One of the main sporting attractions at Sunriver Resort is the Crosswater golf course which lies 15 miles south of Bend in central Oregon...

North Carolina

Duke University and the University of North Carolina host perhaps the most aggressive rivalry in American sports...albeit on the basketball court more often than the golf course. That said, both schools certainly want to outdo the other with their respective golf facilities.

Duke contends with the Duke Golf Club, a design from Robert Trent Jones’s ascent to the top of golf course architecture during the ‘50s. Just five years after its opening, the NCAA Golf Championships were held at the facility. One of the competitors was Rees Jones; although his access to the architect did not allow him or Yale to steal the cup, the connection did ensure that the younger Jones received the commission when Duke ordered a sizable renovation of the course during 1994. This renovation restored the quality of the greens and bunkers at the property, which sits on hills that roll more eagerly than the typical topography of North Carolina’s “Research Triangle.”

Interestingly, Perry Maxwell originally submitted a design for the Duke course, which fell through because of the onset of World War II. Although Wake Forest University rarely contends against Duke and UNC for basketball, it can at least boast Maxwell’s Old Town Club as its home course.

Duke University

Perry Maxwell submitted the original plans for a course at Duke University Golf Club but the Second World War intervened and the layout in play today is an early Robert Trent Jones design that opened in 1957.

Vermont

The charming Ekwanok was designed by Walter Travis at the start of the last century and such was his golfing prowess at the time, he won the U.S. Amateur Championship on three occasions, in 1900, 1901 and 1903 then followed those up by winning the Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s in 1904.

Actually, Ekwanok has its own connection to the US Amateur competition as it hosted the event in 1914, with Francis Ouimet crowned champion the year after he’d won the US Open at the Country Club, Brookline (one of eleven golfers so far to have won both events).

Scotsman John Duncan Dunn assisted Travis with the layout at Ekwanok and their construction of contoured greens, liberal provision of bunkers and imaginative routing have endured over the last 100 years, thanks in no small part to work in the 1960s by Geoff Cornish and more recently, by Bruce Hepner from Tom Doak’s Renaissance Design.

In particular, Hepner’s program of tree removal, restoration of fairway bunkers, propagation of native grasses and resizing of some greens to their original dimensions has helped to bring the Travis course back to life and give it greater relevance in the modern era.

The 595-yard, par five, 7th hole is one of the best in all of New England, a genuine three-shotter, even for today’s big hitters. The fairway rises to a hill half way along its length, so a wood off the tee is followed by a blind fairway wood or long iron shot to the other side, before an approach can be made to the putting surface. Modern day designers may baulk at such a design but it epitomises all that is good about the Ekwanok layout.

The following article was written by author Bob Labbance and is an edited extract from Volume Four of 

Golf Architecture: A Worldwide Perspective 

. Reproduced with kind permission. To obtain a copy of the book, email Paul Daley at fswing@bigpond.net.au

The first Walter Travis-designed golf course has been through the same changes as many fine clubs in the United States. Few century-old golf courses have remained true to their architectural roots throughout their lives. Most are the result of an evolution fashioned by the changing values and circumstances of the times, and Elwanok Country Club in Manchester, Vermont, is a perfect example of this progression.

Just prior to the turn of the century before last, James Taylor, the son of a Brooklyn industrialist, asked Travis and John Duncan Dunn – who had worked with his father Tom Dunn, designer of more than a hundred courses in England and Scotland – to travel to Vermont with him and look at a property he had identified as a possible golf course site.

Travis and Dunn were enthusiastic about the 200-acre farm Taylor walked them through. In early September 1899, the architects arrived to plan the routing. A crew of 42 workers, mostly local farmers and nursery workers, ploughed and harrowed the land, removing stones, placing drainage tile where needed, and seeding surfaces in hope of establishing turf before the long Vermont winter.

In 1901, Travis spent a month touring the United Kingdom, playing 36-holes a day at such outposts as Troon, Prestwick, Elie, Carnoustie, North Berwick, Muirfield, Hoylake, Woking, Sandwich, Deal and Formby. When he returned, he applied his new-found knowledge at Ekwanok, adding greenside bunkers, deepening other pits and installing mounding to complicate recovery shots.

Travis died in 1927 and the 1930s began nearly half a century of difficult times for many clubs in the United States, especially those in out-of-the-way locales like Ekwanok. Many members lost their fortunes during the 1930s and if it wasn’t for benefactors James Taylor’s dream course would have disappeared.

Even when the Second World War ended, Ekwanok was still struggling to reduce maintenance costs. In 1948, Donald Ross eliminated many prized mounds; in 1956 Robert Trent Jones Snr removed other original features. The club hired superintendent Paul O’Leary in 1958 from Warwick Country Club in Rhode Island, where he had been building nine holes with architect Geoff Cornish.

Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, O’Leary and Cornish did what they could to enhance playability while tailoring the course to the playing talents of an ageing membership. Together they rebuilt nearly half the greens, bunkers were filled to cut down on hand-raking, mounds were eliminated to speed up mowing time.

The 1990s ushered in a new era to US golf course architecture. Ekwanok engaged Bruce Hepner and Tom Doak of Renaissance Design to plot a cure to the woes that had eased the course’s resistance to scoring. Ekwanok’s outdated irrigation system was replaced, bunkers that had framed and narrowed driving zones were restored, mounding was enhanced, greens were defined (and) many trees were eliminated to re-establish the long sweeping views.

Praise for the restoration was unanimous, and in the new millennium, the venerable club has come full circle. The integrity, beauty, and challenge of one of the United States’ finest courses are once again apparent.

Ekwanok

The charming course at Ekwanok Country Club was designed by Walter Travis at the start of the last century and such was his golfing prowess at the time, he won the U.S. Amateur Championship on three occasions...

Eugene Country Club dates back to 1899 and is the second oldest club in the state of Oregon. The course is set among towering Douglas Firs where its natural setting and strategic challenge has elevated the club’s reputation as one of the best courses on the Pacific Coast.

Back in 1923, Chandler Egan, one of the best US golfer’s of the time, laid out a new course at Eugene Country Club. In the late 1960s, Robert Trent Jones was engaged to toughen up the layout by remodelling the greens, bunkers and enlarging the greens. The result is a more challenging and enjoyable course for the modern day golfer.

Trent Jones last visited Eugene in the late 80s and commented on the “cathedral-like” setting of a number of holes, especially the opener which is framed by Cedar and fir trees. Water comes into play at a number of holes in the middle section of the round, but the predominant feature of Eugene is the arboretum-like setting which is simply magnificent especially in the autumn.

Eugene

Eugene Country Club is set among towering Douglas Firs where its natural setting and strategic challenge has elevated the club’s reputation as one of the best courses on the Pacific Coast.

Virginia

The Golden Horseshoe golf complex is one of the finest golfing destinations in all of the United States, featuring two formidable 18-hole layouts – the Gold and the Green – and a charming executive course named Spotswood.

A 9-hole course opened here in the mid 1940s and this served golfers until a Robert Trent Jones Senior-designed 18-hole layout came into play in 1963. The master architect also reconfigured the original 9-hole course around this time, forming the Spotswood.

His son Rees Jones added the Green course in 1991 then he returned later that decade to renovate his father’s original Gold design by thinning out trees, leveling a number of greens and adding or removing bunkers. This work was completed in time for the USGA State Team Championships when the gents played on the Gold course and the ladies teed it up on the Green.

Recognised as an unrelenting, punishing test of golf, the Gold is a tight course where narrow fairways lead to small, well-defended greens with water playing a crucial part at critical points in the round. Golfers are made aware of the challenges early in the round at the par five 2nd hole when they crest a hill after playing their first two uphill shots to find the green sits on the other side of a lake.

The quartet of par threes on the Gold form a magnificent collection of demanding short holes and their placement – at holes 3, 7, 12 and 16 – involves the need to carry water from tee to green. They’re beautiful, seductive holes but fraught with danger too. The last of these marvelous par threes plays from a hillside tee position to an island green – and the Golden Horseshoe club believe this hole was the template for others to follow such as the celebrated 17th at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.


Golden Horseshoe's Gold course was closed during 2016/17 when an extensive renovation was carried out by Rees Jones and Greg Muirhead. Known as the “Open Doctor,” Rees Jones, son of Robert Trent Jones Snr, oversaw the upgrade of his father’s original golf course design. Bunkers were reconstructed, greens resurfaced and the entire course was re-grassed, using Bermuda on tees, fairways and rough and bent grass on the greens.

Golden Horseshoe (Gold)

Golden Horseshoe's Gold course was closed during 2016/17 when an extensive renovation was carried out by Rees Jones and Greg Muirhead. Bunkers were reconstructed, greens resurfaced and the entire course re-grassed.

Alabama

The 7,149-yard Lake course on the RTJ Golf Trail at Grand National features a dozen holes that skirt the banks of Lake Saugahatchee. The 230-yard par three 15th plays to an island green and is perhaps the best one-shot hole on the RTJ Golf Trail.

In 1997, the Lake Course played host to what is now the Web.com Tour Championship, the season-ending tournament for the PGA Tour’s Web.com Tour and this event has also been held at RTJ Golf Trail courses in Mobile (1998), Dothan (1999-2000) and Prattville (2001-2005).

The Lake course also hosted the first edition of the Barbasol Championship in 2015, played as an alternative event for the Open Championship. The winner doesn’t earn an invitation to the Masters but they do receive a two-year PGA Tour exemption and entry to the USPGA Championship event.


Grand National (Lake)

A dozen of the Lake course fairways at Grand National are laid out around the shores of Lake Saugahatchee and one of those holes is regarded by some as the finest par thee in Alabama’s RTJ Golf Trail.

Arizona

On October 18 2007 the PGA Tour visited the Raptor course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale Arizona. Canadian Mike Weir emerged victoriously for the first time since early in the 2004 season claiming the Fry's Electronics Open.

Scottsdale is to desert golf what the Ayrshire coast is to links golf. Grayhawk is among the finest 36-hole facilities located within a radius of only few miles, including The Boulders, Troon North, We-Ko-Pa, Talking Stick and the TPC of Scottsdale.

The Tom Fazio designed Raptor course, which opened in 1995, is one of the most beautiful courses in the region with spectacular panoramic views of the McDowell Mountains and the surrounding desert dotted with large saguaro cactus. The layout features generous, rolling fairways with beautiful large bent grass greens. There are very few forced desert carries with most holes having fairway the entire route between tee and green.

The Raptor has numerous swales and bunkers many of which are large and deep and must be avoided in order to score well. The signature 156-yard 8th called “Aces & Eights” requires a tee shot that is all carry to a large double-tiered green fronted by three large, deep bunkers with a beautiful mountain view as the backdrop. The finishing hole, called “Big Sky” is a fun par five requiring a lot of nerve on the approach due to the water along the right side for the final 200 yards to the green and bunkers on the left.

The course is usually in perfect condition from fall to spring but as with many Arizona courses conditions suffer in the 100+ degree summer heat. The Raptor and its sister course, the Talon, have been listed in Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 You can Play” and Golf Digest’s “Top 100 Public Courses”.



Grayhawk (Raptor)

The Tom Fazio designed Raptor course is one of the most beautiful courses in the region with spectacular panoramic views of the McDowell Mountains and the surrounding desert dotted with large saguaro cactus.

Minnesota

Hazeltine National played host to the 2016 Ryder Cup matches between the USA and Europe. Team Captains were Davis Love III (US) and Darren Clarke (Europe). The US team came out of the starting blocks at light speed in the Friday foursomes with a 4 - 0 whitewash, but Europe rallied in the afternoon four-ball matches to trail by 5 points to 3. Saturday’s foursomes went Europe’s way but the US won three of the four four-ball matches in the afternoon to lead 9½-6½. For a brief moment, Europe looked set for a Medinah-style comeback when they led in seven of Sunday's 12 singles matches, but another inspired performance by talisman Patrick Reed, who defeated Rory McIlroy in a thrilling battle, paved the way for the first of seven US singles’ wins. All twelve US team members delivered a point while four Europeans drew blanks, but ultimately it was superior putting that enabled the US to regain the trophy. USA 17 - Europe 11. The Ryder Cup was played at 

Former USGA president Totton P. Heffelfinger founded Hazeltine National Golf Club in the early 1960s and Robert Trent Jones was commissioned to design a high quality course for the Midwest capable of holding a national championship. Hazeltine opened for play in 1962 and only eight years later the club hosted the 1970 US Open. In cold windy conditions Englishman and reigning British Open champion Tony Jacklin triumphed easily.

Hazeltine National was modified by Rees Jones (son of RTJ) ahead of the 1991 US Open which turned into a historic battle between Scott Simpson and Payne Stewart. The championship went to a play-off the next day and Payne Stewart came from behind to win his first US Open title.

The PGA Championship was hosted at Hazeltine in 2002 and it was one of the most memorable events in the history of the PGA. On the par five 15th hole during the final round Tiger Woods launched a charge, posting the first of four closing birdies. Rich Beem held off the rampaging Tiger to claim his first Major, winning by a single shot, but Tiger’s charge constituted perhaps the most exciting finish in PGA Championship history.

The 2009 PGA Championship returned to Hazeltine National and it was a tournament that the whole world expected Tiger Woods to win with ease. Woods had not won a major in 2009 and the world No.1 had a four-shot cushion at the halfway stage. Eight times Woods has led a major at halfway and eight times he has gone on to win. Woods lead had been cut to two shots from South Korea’s Yang Yong-Eun after day three. Against all odds, the South Korean easily outplayed Tiger Woods in the final round winning by three clear shots becoming the first Asian-born male winner of a major championship.

Hazeltine’s signature hole is the 16th, a 396-yard par four that requires skill and nerve. Lake Hazeltine guards the left hand side of the hole and a creek lurks menacingly to the right whilst the distant green beckons perched on a jutting peninsula that is surrounded by water.

Hazeltine National Golf Club was once more in the spotlight when the club played host to the thrilling 2016 Ryder Cup. In 2029 Hazeltine will become the first American venue to host the Ryder Cup for a second time.

Hazeltine National

Hazeltine National Golf Club was modified by Rees Jones (son of RTJ) ahead of the 1991 US Open which turned into a historic battle between Scott Simpson and Payne Stewart.

Tennessee

The following article was written by Richard Smith who hails from Knoxville Tennessee: "Holston Hills is a rare example of an almost perfectly preserved Donald Ross layout. Built in the late 1920s under Ross’s direct supervision, Holston opened with a championship length of 6,950 yards and has only recently been lengthened slightly to accommodate modern equipment.


The club has undertaken two large restoration projects in the last 10 years, both supervised by Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf. The greens were restored first, and recently the bunkers have been redone as well. The club is currently in the process of removing large numbers of pine trees which were planted in the 1950s and 60s to restore the original open look of the property.

Holston is a remarkable old style layout. It is a well balanced par 72 layout with two long par fives balanced with two shorter and reachable par fives, two shorter par threes balanced by two longer ones, and, probably, one of the finest variety of par four holes I’ve ever played.

The greens are subtle, but there are a number of steep slopes reminiscent of Pinehurst No.2. However the overall affect of the greens is not as severe as No.2. Holston has made several Top 100 lists over the past few years and is destined to rise up the rankings as the restoration of the course continues. This is a great club with a large number of plus and single digit handicap golfers. It would be well worth your time to play this course if you are ever near Knoxville and sample a classic example of Donald Ross and the golden era of golf architecture."

Holston Hills

Nestling near the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, is the unassuming Holston Hills Country Club. Is this the best-preserved Donald Ross design in the USA?

Perched amongst the trees at the foothills of Virginia's Allegheny Mountains lies the Homestead. It bills itself as America’s premier mountain resort and a haven for the sports enthusiast, so it seems wholly appropriate that the legendary William S. Flynn, who was a keen athlete in his youth, designed the Cascades, the Homestead's flagship course.

The mountain setting is truly delightful and the Cascades course looks totally natural with its ponds, streams and slopes. But the reality of the matter is that the Cascades required a great deal of manufacturing and Flynn used tons of dynamite to blast his fairways through the limestone. This was pioneering course architecture in the Roaring Twenties and eventually in 1923, after more than 12 months in the making, the Cascades opened for play.

If you use the naturally sloping terrain you can take advantage of the extra roll, so you may find that your score on the Cascades will improve the second or third time round. The Cascades certainly has magnetic appeal to golfers of all standards who return to this fabulous resort year after year to try and master the stern but totally unique Cascades. Sam Snead was born in Ashwood, near Hot Springs and he learnt his golf at the Homestead. We suspect few people will ever play the Cascades course better than Slammin' Sammy.

Robert Trent Jones renovated the Cascades course in 1961 but to maintain the integrity of Flynn's original 1923 blueprint, the course was closed over winter in 2005 for an extensive face-lift that concentrated on restoring the bunkers. In 2017, the course was enhanced further following a tree removal programme, which exposed creeks running along several fairways, thus improving strategy and shot selection.

Homestead (Cascades)

The Homestead mountain setting is truly delightful and the Cascades golf course looks totally natural with its ponds, streams and slopes, but the fairways were blasted through the limestone using tons of dynamite.

Florida

There are four courses at the world-renowned Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, which are set in 900 pristine acres of Florida’s Palm Harbor. American architect E. Lawrence Packard designed all four layouts between 1969 and 1973. The 

 is his most famous and arguably best achievement but his Island course – host to numerous U.S. Open qualifiers and NCAA Championships – is not far behind in the rankings.

“It’s not easy growing up in the shadow of a famous younger sibling.” Wrote Rob Armstrong in his book 

. “There are always comparisons, often some jealousies, sometimes even a rivalry. If there is a rivalry between the Island and the famous Copperhead, let me weigh in. The Island is a spectacular golf course. It’s extremely tight. It’s also tough, beautiful, memorable, and a superior test of the game. And if it stood alone, away from its younger relation, it would enjoy a much greater level of recognition and adulation. As it is, I’m hard pressed to vote on which is the better track. Each has a tremendous amount to offer in that they present a different spectrum of challenges and rewards.”

“The Island offers a wonderful mix of terrain and topography. The opening half dozen holes are fairly flat, with more water than Noah faced. The middle six are hilly and undulating – unusual for Florida golf courses. And the final six are a mix of rolling hills, trees and lakes. Architect Packard varies the size of his greens. His bunkers – 74 in all – are a demonstration of his design skill. He has a tendency to put a lot of space between his greenside bunkers and the putting surface, so without a precise sand game it’s possible to get out of a trap and still be in the rough. If Copperhead rewards raw power, the Island rewards accuracy and finesse.”

Innisbrook (Island)

The Copperhead course is arguably E. Lawrence Packard's best achievement but his Island course – host to numerous U.S. Open qualifiers and NCAA Championships – is not far behind in the rankings.

Ohio

For those readers who associate Inverness with a certain shy little Nessie, we can tell you that the Inverness Club has absolutely nothing to do with the Loch Ness monster. With four U.S. Open championships to its name, the Inverness Club, located in Toledo, Ohio requires little introduction, especially as each Open was packed full of drama.

According to the author and historian, the late Michael Hobbs: "The Inverness Club was founded in 1903 and named for the castle in Scotland where in 1040 Macbeth had King Duncan murdered. Nine holes were planned for a start, but the first architect to work at Inverness had a problem with his arithmetic. As he stood back to admire his handiwork it was suddenly realized that there were in fact only eight holes. Very embarrassing! However, Bernard Nicholls hurriedly tacked on a par 3, which in the event proved to be a very good hole."

The course was extended to 18 holes in 1915 but Donald Ross put Inverness on the map when the club hired him in 1916 to turn Inverness into a full-blown championship course.

It’s worth mentioning that by 1920 Inverness welcomed professionals into their clubhouse, the first club in the USA to do so. The exciting 1920 U.S. Open, saw big hitting Ted Ray birdie the 7th hole in each round on his way to victory. Consequently, prior to the return of the U.S. Open to Inverness in 1931, A.W. Tillinghast revised the layout and Dick Wilson did the same before the club hosted the 1957 U.S. Open. Open surgery was alive and well long before the "Open Doctor" arrived on the scene.

Doctoring continued with George and Tom Fazio making further course changes in 1978 and Arthur Hills in 1999. Today’s Inverness stretches out to almost 7,800 yards from the back tees and it’s a demanding course for most golfers from way back there.

Second shot accuracy is the key to unlock Inverness and if you can as safely negotiate the last five holes, sometimes called “murderers’ row”, then you might just card a decent score.

The club carried out a course upgrade in advance of hosting the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2019 and the Solheim Cup in 2021, with architect Andrew Green using historical photography to reintroduce Donald Ross design intent.

“The project began as a bunker renovation but evolved after I showed how we could reintroduce the original Donald Ross vision of holes 6, 7, 8 and 13,” explained the architect. “We did this by building new holes along the southern end of of the property that was previously a field.”

Andrew Green continued: “I made the new 3rd a long par three that represented the original Ross 8th. The new par four 4th used inspired concepts from the original 7th. And the new par three 5th was modelled after the original par three 13th.

We continued the theme with a new 8th green that mirrored the strategy of the original par four 6th. To make it all tie together, we also pushed the 2nd green back a hundred yards to a natural high point. That green was replicated using lasered survey information, restoring the feel of the Ross bunkers from the 1920 and 1931 U.S. Opens.”

Inverness Club

For those readers who associate Inverness with a certain shy little Nessie, we can tell you that the Inverness Club has absolutely nothing to do with the Loch Ness monster.

Oklahoma

Karsten Creek Golf Club was named after the founder of Ping, the late Karsten Solheim, and the course was fashioned by Tom Fazio. The 110-acre Lake Louise, named after Karsten’s wife, is a predominant back nine feature of the course, especially on the 555-yard downhill closing hole that requires a forced carry across the lake which then borders the entire length of the hole.

The Solheims were major backers of the Oklahoma State University golf teams in recent years and that support continues into the future with a high tech OSU private practice facility located close to the clubhouse.

The holes at Karsten Creek were hewn from thick forest and although most playing corridors are relatively wide, it goes without saying that more wayward shots will be harshly punished within the dense wooded areas that line the fairways.

Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play

 book by Brian McCallen, playing conditions are described thus: “The ball sits up nicely on the zoysia-grass fairways. Greens, surfaced in bentgrass, are subtly contoured and very fast. Many have been left open in front to encourage bump-and-run shots, a sound option when the prevailing southwest breeze stirs.

“Among the feature holes is the par three 11th , which plays straight up the throat of a sunken creek to a large, terraced green; and the rigorous 17th, a par four stretching to 464 yards with water guarding the entire left side. It’s one of the tougher holes on a layout that carries a course rating of 74.8 and a slope of 142 from the championship tees at 7,095 yards (par is 72).”

Karsten Creek

Karsten Creek Golf Club was named after the founder of Ping, the late Karsten Solheim, and the course was fashioned by Tom Fazio.

, Oak Tree Country Club opened for business just a couple of years after its near neighbour debuted in 1976. The West course was unveiled in 1978 and it’s a little shorter and bit less demanding than the East course which followed four years later.

Both courses are Pete and Alice Dye designs – the layout at Oak Tree National is a Pete Dye solo creation – but they’re a good deal more forgiving than the tournament-standard track next door which was built to host national championships like the US Amateur in 1984 and the PGA Championship in 1988.

Oak Tree Country Club was the first residential development for Landmark Land when it was formed in the mid-1970s and Pete Dye would go to build more than a dozen other golf courses for the company during an association that lasted into the new millennium.

Joel Zuckerman’s “Pete Dye Golf Courses: Fifty Years of Visionary Design” had this to say to say about the West course:

“With the exception of a couple of tree-lined par fours early on the inward nine, the driving corridors are generous. But just like its immediate neighbour, it has a multitude of bunkering throughout, and Dye has made liberal use of periphery greenside mounding, so offline approaches will lead to awkward stances and angles toward the pin.

Water is less of a presence here than on the East course, but there are several shots sure to intimidate those with aquaphobia, the tee shot on the par three 14th being the most notable. Several of the greens have some serious contour, the par four 12th and 17th being the prime examples.”

Oak Tree (West)

The West course debuted in 1978, four years before Pete and Alice Dye returned to complete the 36-hole golf complex at Oak Tree Country Club.

Alister MacKenzie drew up the plans for the golf complex at Ohio State University in the early 1930s and Wendell Miller – a Columbus native who had worked on other projects (such as Augusta National) with the architect – was to be the lead builder on the assignment.

Unfortunately, MacKenzie died and Miller was struck down with a heart attack, delaying the start of the project. A replacement architect was sought and, despite the recommendation from Bobby Jones that Robert Trent Jones should be selected, Perry Maxwell was given the contract.

According to Christopher Closer’s book 

The Midwest Associate: The Life and Work of Perry Duke Maxwell 

the architect and a professor named George McClure handled the job: “Maxwell would oversee the construction of a majority of the holes on the complex, before dropping from the project and it was completed by McClure.”

The author continues: “The Ohio State Golf Course may not be the best collegiate course in the nation but it has an amazing legacy and history that was touched by two of the greatest architects in history. One can only imagine what the course would have looked like if MacKenzie and Maxwell had seen the project through to its completion together.”

There are actually two 18-hole layouts on the property: the par 71 Scarlet course, measuring 7,455 yards, which was unveiled in 1938, and the shorter par 70 Gray course, which followed a couple of years later. Host venue for the US Junior Amateur Championship in 1977, the Scarlet course was renovated early in the new millennium by Ohio native Jack Nicklaus.

Ohio State University (Scarlet)

Alister MacKenzie drew up the plans for the golf complex at Ohio State University in the early 1930s but the doctor died soon afterwards so Perry Maxwell was given the contract.

Once upon a time, Olympia Fields Country Club was the largest private country club in America and it was originally founded in 1915. By 1925, the club had four golf courses with plans in the pipeline for a fifth, but the Great Depression scuppered that. WWII then forced the club into serious financial difficulties and they had to sell half their land. Three golf courses were distilled into one (now called the 

) but the gem in the Olympia Fields crown – then known as No.4 course – remained intact and it’s now a priceless jewel in America’s rich golfing heritage.

Willie Park Junior designed the No.4 course and it’s now known universally as the North. The layout was lengthened and the bunkers improved by Mark Mungeam in the 1990s but the layout we play today and indeed the layout which hosted the 2003 US Open Championship, is still ostensibly a Willie Park Junior design. It’s little wonder that Olympia Fields is one of Jim Furyk’s favourite courses. He won the 2003 US Open equalling the then-record for the lowest 72-hole score in US Open history to claim his first major title.