Missouri

Bellerive Country Club started out as a 9-hole course way back in 1897 and in those days the club was located in north St Louis and was called the St Louis Field Club. Thirteen years later the club changed its name to Bellerive after Louis St Ange De Bellerive, the last French commander to be stationed in North America.

The club decided to move to the west of St Louis as the membership outgrew the old 9-holer. Robert Trent Jones was commissioned to find the right location for a new 18-hole course and, in 1960, the new “Green Monster of Ladue Road” opened. In 1965, after being open for a mere five years, Bellerive became the youngest course to host the US Open and the “Black Knight”, Gary Player, won the event after an exciting playoff with Kel Nagle. Bellerive also hosted the 1992 USPGA Championship which Zimbabwean Nick Price won.

In 2006 a new renovated Bellerive opened after a Rees Jones makeover. It somehow seems appropriate that the “Open Doctor” son of original architect Robert Trent Jones was enlisted.

Bellerive is routed round a winding creek, which is a feature on nine holes. With large undulating greens and bold bunkering this is certainly a firm tournament favourite and aided by the club’s commitment to bring championship golf to St Louis, the 2008 BMW Championship was hosted at this centurion country club. Colombian Camilo Villegas shot a final-round 68 to win the BMW Championship by two strokes and claim his maiden win on the PGA Tour.

The 100th USPGA Championship returned to Bellerive Country Club in 2018 when Brooks Koepka won his second major of the 2018 season by holding off a resurgent Tiger Woods.

Koepka wins 100th PGA for second major in 2018

Behind the architectural curtain - Bellerive hosts 100th PGA Championship


Four holes to watch at Bellerive - 100th PGA Championship


Bellerive

North America

The golf course at Bellerive Country Club is routed round a winding creek, which is a feature on nine holes. With large undulating greens and bold bunkering this is certainly a firm tournament favourite...

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.

Connecticut

Brooklawn Country Club was formed in 1895, with $100 budgeted for establishing a 9-hole golf course, $300 allowed for building six tennis courts and $250 set aside for constructing a baseball diamond. The following year, Brooklawn became one of the first twenty-six clubs to join the newly formed USGA.

Tom Morris, Old Tom’s grandson, was Brooklawn’s first professional, and he was followed as a club employee in later years by Gene Sarazen, who got his first job in golf by “cleaning jobs and sweeping up” around the clubhouse. Honorary club membership would come the Squire’s way further down the line.

There have been several major tournaments played at Brooklawn down the years: the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in 1974, the U.S. Women’s Open in 1979, the U.S. Senior Open in 1987, the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in 2003 and the U.S. Senior Women’s Open in 2021.

, Daniel Wexler describes Brooklawn as “an A.W. Tillinghast redesign of an earlier member-built layout on a tree-lined, fairly compact property (which) may not occupy a spot on Tillinghast’s top shelf, but it’s a fine, classic layout well worth seeing.”

In more recent years, Ron Forse has been gradually restoring the layout and the architect commented as follows: “The strength of this place is amazing. It was the next-to-last major design work Tillinghast ever undertook. And it shows off – or showed off – his talents at the peak of his career.”


Brooklawn

Host to the 1979 US Women’s Open and 1987 US Senior Open, the course at Brooklawn Country Club is a late 1920s redesign by A. W. Tillinghast that’s been modified and adapted for the modern era by Ron Forse.

Ohio

Canterbury Golf Club was founded in 1921 and Herbert Strong originally laid out the course that was modified a couple of years later by Jack Way, the club professional.

It’s not a long course but the site is delightfully undulating with rolling hills, brooks and wooded areas. But with many holes that dogleg left and right and a breeze whipping off Lake Erie, you can expect a stern enough test.

The undulating 605-yard 16th is a monster that demands a precise second shot to an elevated plateau, then an accurate approach iron to the small, flat green. The par four18th is perhaps the toughest hole at Canterbury, measuring 438 uphill yards with out of bounds to the right and a partially blind second shot to a heavily bunkered green.

Host to two US Opens, both in the 1940s, and the 1973 PGA Championship, Canterbury’s place in golfing history is assured.

Canterbury Golf Club (US)

Host to two US Opens and one PGA Championship, Canterbury Golf Club’s place in golfing history is assured. It’s not a long course but the site is delightfully undulating with rolling hills, brooks and wooded areas.

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.

Cherry Hills is located close to the “Mile High” city of Denver and Cherry Hills Village is one of the most sought after locations in Colorado. So it’s fitting that Cherry Hills Country Club is one of the best courses in the Centennial State.

A few of the older generation of readers may remember Arnold Palmer driving the 355-yard par four 1st on his way to victory in the 1960 U.S. Open – this was to be the King's only U.S. Open title. The club has hosted the U.S. Open on three occasions, most recently in 1978. Wisconsin-born Andy North won the 1978 title here and subsequently went on to win his second U.S. Open in 1985 at Oakland Hills.

William Flynn originally designed the layout in 1922 and if you do get the chance to play this famous course your driving distances will flatter to deceive. Denver is not called the Mile High city for nothing and Cherry Hills is certainly golf with altitude.

There are too many fine holes to mention them all, but we will touch on the par five 18th, which is named after President Eisenhower, a long standing Cherry Hills member. A lake on the left focuses the mind on this tempting closing hole and it’s certainly one of the finest finishing holes in golf.

Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design Inc. completed an eight-month, $7.6 million renovation project in May 2009, which included the rebuilding of some green complexes, the installation of new tee boxes, bunkers and a new irrigation system.

The upgraded 7,442-yard Cherry Hills provided a fitting test for the world’s best amateurs when the club hosted the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship, won by American Steven Fox. Two years later, the club staged the BMW Championship (formerly known as the Western Open), which Billy Horschel won by two shots from Bubba Watson.

Cherry Hills

William Flynn designed Cherry Hills in 1922 and if you do get the chance to play this famous course your driving distances will flatter to deceive. Denver is not called the Mile High city for nothing and Cherry Hills is certainly golf with altitude.

Two Indiana businessmen originally founded the Congressional Country Club, primarily as a venue for politicians and cognoscenti to meet, unconstrained by red tape.

Founded in 1924 and officially opened by President Calvin Coolidge, the Congressional Country Club started out with a relatively straightforward 18-hole course designed by Devereux Emmet to meet the needs of the elite membership. Golf was a secondary consideration for the club in the early beginnings and during World War II the Congressional was commandeered as a training ground for highly secret activities.

Forty years after its formation, the Congressional burst into the golfing limelight, playing host to the 1964 US Open. It resulted in a remarkable victory in baking heat and high humidity for a sick Ken Venturi, who played the final rounds with a doctor after receiving special dispensation from the USGA.

A who's who of architects have had a hand in revising the course down the years. Robert Trent Jones added nine new holes to the Congressional portfolio in 1957 and also remodelled the original Devereux Emmet design. The 1964 US Open course was the longest track ever used for the US Open. Rees Jones made further course changes in 1989.

 describes the Congressional as: “Situated in undulating, wooded country, the subtly contoured greens and large, well-placed bunkers are the course’s main features.” According to Tom Doak, writing in 

: “If it weren’t Washington’s most fashionable club, you’d have never heard of Congressional’s Blue course, which is of championship length but whose reputation is largely inflated by Beltway hype.”

Clearly the Congressional is not a favorite of some critics and the par three 18th became a serious bone of contention resulting in organizers employing various course configurations, including using two holes from the adjacent Gold course for the 1976 PGA Championship, which Dave Stockton won.

The entire Blue course was used for the 1997 US Open, where Ernie Els won by a single shot from Colin Montgomerie. This was the first and most likely the last time that the US Open would finish with a par three. In 2009, the “Open Doctor”, Rees Jones, was called back in to reverse the direction of the 18th hole (now the 218-yard 10th), with the rest of the routing shifted accordingly, making the long and testing 523-yard par four 17th the new home hole. It's a brutal closing hole with a peninsula green and it's also the longest par four on the card.

The US Open returned to the Blue course in 2011 and it was a one-man show. From the off, 22-year-old Rory McIlroy led the tournament, breaking a plethora of US Open records on route to claiming his maiden major title at Congressional.

Renovation expert, Andrew Green, wasn’t the club’s first choice architect to restore the Blue course, but he was appointed to the role in February 2019. His website states he is "currently renovating Congressional Country Club's Blue Course in preparation for 10 different PGA of America Championships over the next two decades, concluding with the 2036 Ryder Cup".

Congressional (Blue)

Founded in 1924 and officially opened by President Calvin Coolidge, the Congressional Country Club started out with a relatively straightforward 18-hole course designed by Devereux Emmet...

Indiana

Crooked Stick is situated in Carmel, twenty miles north of Indianapolis. Constructed in 1964 by Pete Dye, it is home to a private members club. The club almost became known as “The Golf Club of Indianapolis” but according to folklore, Pete Dye was walking over the unfinished homeward nine and picked up a knobbly stick and proceeded to swing the stick at some loose stones, “Crooked Stick Golf Club” was the outcome.

There have been several major championships held here over the years: the 1982 US Junior Amateur, the 1984 US Senior amateur, the 73rd USPGA in 1991 (won by John Daly), the 1993 Ladies Open and the Solheim Cup in 2006. The Stick also hosted the Women’s Amateur Championship in 2007 and the U.S. Senior Open Championship in 2009.

Crooked Stick was one of Pete Dye’s first golf course commissions and it was constructed the year after he had spent some time in Scotland playing many of the traditional links with Cruden Bay, in particular, making a lasting impression on him. Consequently, pot bunkers, wooden sleepers, small greens, blind shots and undulating fairways were concepts that were transported across the Atlantic to this, and many of Dye’s other American designs.

Dye lives a wedge shot from the 18th hole at Crooked Stick and in speaking about the acclaimed par three 13th hole, he says that it “is a nice, fairly simple, straightforward hole. But I left a mound in the fairway… so when you’re standing on the tee, you can only see part of the green… and I’ve heard more people complain about that blind hole. But… it sticks in their minds.”

Pete Dye and his wife Alice, when not on golfing business elsewhere, still play seven holes on Crooked Stick together every day – have you ever read a golf course review where someone writes “if there was only one course that I could play for the rest of my life” – maybe Pete Dye has done just that.

Crooked Stick

Crooked Stick Golf Club was one of Pete Dye’s first golf course commissions and it was constructed the year after he had spent some time in Scotland playing many of the traditional links...

California

Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento was founded in 1916 and the original John Black-designed course underwent several large-scale renovations before a major redesign by Kyle Phillips in 2006. Ten years later, the club hosted its fifth USGA championship, the 2015 U.S. Senior Open.

Highlight holes at Del Paso include the par five 3rd (rated stroke index 1), short par fours at the 9th and 10th (the first of these holes plays to the smallest green on the layout), the par three 12th (with Lake Morrissey to the left of the green), and the 462-yard closing hole, where the sand-protected home green sits behind the curiously-named stream, Chicken Ranch Slough.

, author Daniel Wexler had this to say about the Kyle Phillips renovation: “though occupying a compact site, the resulting layout is considerably longer and, while not overly difficult, rather more character-filled than its recent predecessors… one of the Sacramento area’s best, and proof that with the right architect, a classic course makeover is not automatically bound for disaster.”

Del Paso

Iowa

Des Moines Golf and Country Club dates back to 1897, when 9-hole course was laid out by Warren Dickinson, one of the founding members. A few years later, the club secured a twenty-year lease on land to the north of its original premises and Tom Bendelow was called in to design the new layout.

When this lease expired, the club relocated again, moving to the 147-acre Ashworth Estate on the west side of Des Moines. Unfortunately, the imminent arrival of an interstate highway in the mid-1960s forced the club’s final move to Dallas County, where two 18-hole layouts were fashioned.

Both courses were designed by Pete Dye, with the North opening in 1968 and the 

 following a year later. The club has since hosted the US Senior Open in 1999 and the Solheim Cup in 2017, with a composite course (featuring nine holes from each course) used for the more recent event, which Pete Dye and Tim Liddy renovated in 2014.

 author Daniel Wexler says “the present facility is headlined (but only just) by the slightly longer North course, a challenging layout which could easily have its par lowered two shots for major competition. Though its aesthetic offers few hints of Dye, it does feature some strong holes, particularly early in the back nine.”


Des Moines (North)

Des Moines Golf & Country Club moved to its current site in 1969 when Pete Dye designed both courses, the longer and more difficult of which is the North layout.

Des Moines Golf and Country Club was founded in 1897, with Warren Dickinson, one of the original founding members, setting out the club’s original 9-hole course. Just six years later, the club relocated next to the Waveland Municipal Golf Course, with Tom Bendelow designing the layout.

In 1923, the club was on the move again, this time to the 147-acre Ashworth Estate, to the west of Des Moines. In the early 1960s, the club got wind of plans to build an interstate highway through the course so land was purchased in Dallas County to allow the construction of two new 18-hole layouts.

Both courses were designed by Pete Dye, with the 

 opening in 1968 and the South following a year later. The club has since hosted the US Senior Open in 1999 and the Solheim Cup in 2017, with a composite course (nine holes from each course) used for the more recent event, which Pete Dye and Tim Liddy renovated in 2014 in readiness for the 2017 Solheim Cup.

 author Daniel Wexler says “the South course pretty well matches its sister for both challenge and style, and boasts two notable holes going out, the 487-yard 2nd (which tempts one to drive across its water-guarded dogleg) and the 460-yard 4th, a long two-shotter angled between lakes.”

Des Moines (South)

The South course is one of two challenging Pete Dye-designed layouts at Des Moines Golf & Country Club, it's where the US Senior Open was held in 1999...

Nevada

The Lodge at Edgewood Tahoe and its 18-hole golf course lies on the south eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, adjacent to the state border with California. George Fazio and his nephew Tom designed the layout in 1968 and Tom has kept the place in shape ever since, applying the odd touch up here and there as required.

The first USGA event ever played in Nevada was held here in 1980, when future PGA Tour winner Jodie Mudd won the US Amateur Public Links Championship. Five years later, Miller Barber claimed the third of his three US Senior Open titles at Edgewood Tahoe with a winning margin of four shots over his nearest rival, Roberto De Vicenzo.

Since 1991, the course has been the home of the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, featuring some of the biggest names in sports, entertainment and politics. Broadcast live on television, it’s a fun-filled, star-studded event that has raised around five million dollars down the years for numerous worthy charities.

Fourteen holes have water in play as fairways weave around meadow and forested lakeland areas. The 599-yard 3rd is an epic hole on the front nine, doglegging right to a raised green with two front-protecting bunkers. Holes 17 and 18 conclude the round in fine style by the lake, with the home green somehow squeezed in between a wall-lined pond and the shoreline.

Edgewood Tahoe

Situated on the south eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, the course at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Club is a challenging layout that hosted the 1985 US Senior Open, an event won for the third time that year by Miller Barber.

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.

Michigan

Indianwood Golf and Country Club dates back to the Roaring Twenties and the Old course was fashioned by English golf professional turned architect, Wilfred Reid and William Connellan. Indianwood (Old) is without doubt team Reid and Connellan’s finest design and it has more than a hint of Reid’s homeland. The club hosted the 1930 Western Open, which was won by Gene Sarazen and Indianwood also played host to the Michigan PGA Championship in 1948 and 1949.

The Indianwood clubhouse emanates baronial splendour with its tower entrance and ancient tapestries adorning the interior walls. You expect Lancelot to emerge from Indianwood in hot pursuit of a dragon. But despite its history, Indianwood fell into near terminal decline during the 1960s and was resurrected, like a phoenix from the ashes, by businessman and Anglophile Stan Aldridge.

Both the Old and New courses at Indianwood are links-like in style but the Old course is the most authentic of the two designs with numerous, deep pot bunkers and waving fescue grasses. Recent home to the Michigan PGA Championship and host to the 1989 and 1994 US Women’s Open, Indianwood is used to big tournaments but the club’s highest profile tournament is yet to come.

Indianwood was selected to host the 2012 US Senior Open, which naturally pleased owner Stan Aldridge. "Indianwood is thrilled to host the Senior Open, it's our intent to make it one of the top Senior Opens in history." A top event it was too, with England's Roger Chapman winning by two shots from Fred Funk, Tom Lehman, Corey Pavin and Bernhard Langer.

Indianwood (Old)

Both the Old and New courses at Indianwood Golf & Country Club are links-like in style but the Old course is the most authentic of the two designs with numerous, deep pot bunkers and waving fescue grasses.

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.

Pennsylvania

Laurel Valley Golf Club is a private course which was designed by Dick Wilson in 1960 and then redesigned by Paul Erath in 1965. Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay made further modifications to the layout in 1988.

The 1965 PGA Championship (won by Dave Marr) and the 1975 Ryder Cup put Laurel Valley on the map. The USA team brushed GB & Ireland to one side winning comfortably 21-11. Top flight golf returned to Ligonier in 1989 in the shape of the US Senior Open which was won by Orville Moody twenty years after he won the US Open at 

 in Texas. More recently, the 2005 Senior PGA Championship was hosted at Laurel Valley, which was won by Mike “Radar” Reid after a three-way playoff.

If you do manage to secure a game, a caddie is mandatory if you choose to walk. An experienced caddie will help you negotiate the tree-lined Laurel Valley course which is entertaining and varied with water coming in to play on numerous holes. The greens are undulating, very tricky to read and well protected by bunkers.

Laurel Valley is considered by many to be Dick Wilson’s finest design, which is positively riddled with variation and character. Probably the most memorable of the water holes is the 205-yard 14th which requires a forced carry, but perhaps the most notable is the closing hole par five where the green is ringed by water and the approach is a do-or-die affair.

Laurel Valley

The 1975 Ryder Cup put Laurel Valley Golf Club on the map and team USA won comfortably 21-11. The winning margin would have been greater had England’s Brian Barnes not upset Jack's applecart.

Illinois

Medinah Country Club played host to the 2012 Ryder Cup matches between the USA and Europe. Team Captains were Davis Love III (US) and José María Olazábal (Europe). Dubbed the “Miracle of Medinah” by commentators, the 39th Ryder Cup equalled the biggest singles comeback in Ryder Cup history. Team USA required only 4½ singles points to win, but dressed in the colours of the late Seve Ballesteros, the European team found spirit to dramatically win the first five singles games. Europe then added two further points to lead by one with three matches remaining. Remarkably it was Martin Kaymer (left out all day on Saturday) who secured the point Europe required to smash the away team comeback record. Europe 14 ½ - USA 13 ½. The Ryder Cup was played at 

The Shriners, or the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, are an association not unlike the Freemasons and we have to thank the local Order – who came from the Chicago Medinah Temple – for realising their dream country retreat, which is now known all over the world as the Medinah Country Club.

Medinah was first founded in the Roaring Twenties and the objective was to create the finest country club in America. 54 holes were planned, and the first course, simply called 

, was ready for play in 1925. The second course, unsurprisingly called 

, followed behind a year later. We’ll give you one guess as to what the third course was named, but most people won’t know that it was originally laid out for the Medinah ladies. No.3 course was ready for play in 1928 and much has changed since then.

Tom Bendelow, a Scotsman, laid out all three Medinah courses but his No.3 design did not last long. The original layout was considered too easy after Harry Cooper shot a 63 in the 1930 Medinah Open, and so the course was refashioned and toughened up in the 1930s by Harry Collis. Further changes were made by Roger Packard and Roger Rulewich ahead of the 1988 US Senior Open, which Gary Player won. In 2002 by Rees Jones made further fortifications and he also spearheaded renovations to the No.3 course as part of the club’s 2012 Ryder Cup preparations. The work included greens renovation and a dramatic redesign of the 15th hole, which is now a driveable par four sporting a new lake. We're also led to believe that George Fazio made changes to the layout somewhere along the line.

Lake Kadijah is a pretty backdrop to a number of holes but it also doubles up as an intimidating water hazard at three par threes, the 2nd, the 13th and the 17th, all of which require a forced carry across the water – the 17th is perhaps the best hole on the course. Vicious doglegs feature on a number of par fours (most notably the 9th and the 11th) where an accurate tee shot will reap more benefit than sheer length.

Three US Opens have been held on the No.3 course and Tiger Woods acquired his fifth major here in the 1999 PGA Championship. The 88th PGA returned to Medinah in 2006. Tiger claimed his 12th career Major title after destroying the rest of the field on Sunday with a 4-under 68 which propelled him to a massive five-shot victory.

The 39th Ryder Cup proved to be perhaps the most incredible series of matches in Ryder Cup history. Team USA dominated the foursomes and fourball matches, taking a 10-6 lead into the Sunday singles games. USA required only 4½ points to win the Ryder Cup, but Europe smashed the away team comeback record, completing Mission Impossible, winning 8½ singles points from the 12 available to clinch an historic 14½-13½ victory at Medinah Country Club.

At the end of 2020, Medinah appointed Australian design firm OCM Golf to develop a master plan for its No. 3 course. Mike Cocking, one of the three OCM Golf partners, was quoted as saying old aerial photographs from the 1930s had been unearthed, which validated his thoughts for restoring bunker arrangements and mowing lines to those in use during the golfing Golden Age. Another key factor in the OCM plans will be the introduction of tightly mown green surrounds to strengthen recovery options around the putting surfaces.

Medinah No.3 is scheduled to host the 16th edition of the Presidents Cup in 2026.


Medinah (No.3)

Medinah Country Club was originally founded in the Roaring Twenties and the objective was to create the finest country club in America.

The South course at NCR Country Club was one of two golf courses originally laid out in the mid 1950s for the employees of the NCR Corporation. The country club is still owned by the employees of the giant NCR global technology company and joining the club is still free today for all NCR staff.

Dick Wilson designed both the North and South courses and the latter is universally considered the best. The 7,055-yard South route has become known as the “thinking man’s course” because accuracy rather than length is key to a good score on this heavily wooded, cleverly bunkered and often doglegged layout.

NCR’s South course has hosted three major championships – the 1969 PGA Championship, the 1986 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2005 U.S. Senior Open. Ray Floyd won the former tournament and Gary Player suggested that golf architects “could learn a lesson from this course”. Jack Nicklaus is an admirer of the sloping green on the long par three 13th and said “what a job that architect Dick Wilson did!”

NCR (South)

The 7,055-yard South course at the NCR Country Club has become known as the “thinking man’s course” because accuracy rather than length is key to a good score on this heavily wooded layout.

New York

Oak Hill played host to the 1995 Ryder Cup matches between the USA and Europe. Team Captains were Lanny Wadkins (US) and Bernard Gallacher (Europe). The 31st Ryder Cup matches were settled in the final-day singles which the US started with a three-point lead. Rookie Phil Mickelson was unbeaten throughout the event but strong all-round European performances culminated in Philip Walton two putting for bogey on the last hole to beat Jay Haas and claim the Ryder Cup. Europe 14 ½ - USA 13 ½. The Ryder Cup was played at 

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” Well, according to the top touring pros and the Seven Dwarfs, it’s the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester. For this venue is regarded, almost universally, as the fairest but most challenging course on the US major circuit.

When Oak Hill Golf Club started out in life back in 1901, golf was played on a barren rudimentary nine-hole course set close to the banks of the Genesee River. Things at the club remained low key until the beginning of the 1920s. Or so the members thought. Little did they know that the University of Rochester had their hearts set on a new riverside campus, which they wanted to develop on the site of the Oak Hill course. Fortunately, for Oak Hill, the rich University had land and cash to spare and a trade-off took place – 350 acres of farmland plus $360,000 for 85 riverside acres.

Naturally Oak Hill grasped the golden opportunity and commissioned Donald Ross to build two courses on the new site at Pittsford. Tens of thousands of oak trees were planted, and the new Oak Hill gradually started to take shape.

Before play commenced in the 1956 US Open at Oak Hill, Ben Hogan suggested that the East course was not hard enough to host this top event. After missing a short putt on the penultimate hole and losing by one shot to Cary Middlecoff, Hogan changed his tune and declared Oak Hill’s opening hole to be the toughest he’d ever played.

Since then, Oak Hill has been a regular US Open and PGA Championship venue and only the world’s very best golfers have managed to better the Oak Hill par.

The venerable Oak Hill is in fact the only club to have played host to the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, U.S. Amateur, Senior U.S. Open and Senior PGA Championship. The PGA Championship returned to Oak Hill in 2013 after a ten-year gap when, in 2003, Shaun Micheel became a surprise major winner.

The PGA Championship returns to Rochester in 2023 when the players will experience a very different East course following a major course renovation. Work started in August 2019 with the rebuilding of all greens and bunkers. The club’s aim was to return the East course back to Donald Ross's intent using the Scotsman’s original drawings.

Jeff Sluman, who competed in the 2019 Senior PGA at Oak Hill, assisted renovation expert Andrew Green, whose experience includes work at 

 (August 2020 post), the intrepid septuagenarian commented as follows after playing the newly renovated East course:

“The trees were choking Ross’ superb design and three holes designed by George and Tom Fazio 30+ years earlier still looked out of place. After viewing Andrew Green’s efforts at 

 in Toledo, Ohio, the leaders of OHCC placed some heavy bets on Green and agreed to massive and controversial tree reduction and pruning.

The results are simply outstanding, creating spectacular vistas and allowing the land to receive necessary sunlight and fresh air. Green also redid every green and bunker to restore aspects of Ross’ design… and changed three holes substantially (#4, #6, and #15) and created an all-new #5… all in order to conform to Ross’ intent.

The course reopened for play a couple of months ago and plays firm and fast… and very difficult but also fun.”

Oak Hill (East)

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” Well, according to the top touring pros and the Seven Dwarfs, it’s the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester.

Oklahoma

Oak Tree Golf Club, as it was originally named, was shamelessly constructed in 1976 with a view to making it, as the club proudly boast, “the hardest golf course in the world” so it was only a matter of time before the major championships arrived in Oklahoma City, allowing the top players to pit their golfing wits against such a stern challenge.

And so, the best amateur and professional golfers have all been tested in recent times, with the US Amateur (won by Scott Verplank) held here in 1984, the USPGA (won by Jeff Sluman) played in 1988 and the Seniors USPGA (won by Jay Haas) hosted in 2006.

Pete Dye updated his original design in 2002, adding extra tees and replacing all the greens with more gently contoured putting surfaces but Oak Tree still remains a beast from the back markers. In 2008, Oak Tree changed hands and was rebranded as Oak Tree National. Pete Dye was once again commissioned to renovate his course and the club was duly honoured by becoming host venue for the 2014 US Senior Open.

The course is laid out over rolling terrain and it has the lot in terms of punishment; length off the tee, wild rough, deep bunkers, obstructive oak trees (of course), tricky greens and – with lakes and streams at thirteen of the holes – plenty of water to cause trouble throughout the round.

If you are ever in the position of pitching up here with a member expecting a walk in the park then think again as the examination presented by this course starts on the first tee and continues until the final putt on the 18th green.

Oak Tree National

The re-branded Oak Tree National was shamelessly constructed in 1976 with a view to making it, as the club proudly boast, “the hardest golf course in the world”...

Oakland Hills Country Club played host to the 2004 Ryder Cup matches between the USA and Europe. Team Captains were Hal Sutton (US) and Bernhard Langer (Europe). The 35th Ryder Cup was the most one-sided contest for a number of years. Europe led America by 11-5 going into Sunday’s singles and when Sergio Gargia rallied to beat reigning Masters Champion Phil Mickelson 3 and 2, the writing was on the wall for the home team. Colin Montgomerie secured the winning point against David Toms but the entire European team played their part in achieving a record-breaking victory, which included rookies Thomas Levet and Ian Poulter scoring their first points. Europe 18 ½ - USA 9 ½. The Ryder Cup was played at 

Oakland Hills Country Club is located on Michigan’s rolling Bloomfield Hills. The club has two courses, the famous South course and the less famous North course.

Donald Ross laid out the South course in 1917 and Robert Trent Jones toughened the layout up ahead of the 1951 US Open, which was won emphatically by Ben Hogan. After his win, Hogan commented that he had “brought this monster to its knees” and since then the course is affectionately known as “The Monster”.

”The most pungent remark made during the controversial 1951 Open Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club,” wrote Robert Trent Jones in 

, “came from that patriarch of professional golf, Walter Hagen: ‘The course is playing the players instead of the players playing the course.’ In this comment, Hagen summed up the psychological shock suffered by the world’s ranking golfers when they encountered the remodelled course, for these modern players had been getting away with murder for years, and didn’t know it. They had been playing over course that, with a few exceptions, had been laid out in the 1920s, or earlier, and which had been tailored for the equipment and the ball and the playing conditions of that era.”

Rees Jones – son of Robert Trent Jones – undertook a series of renovations (mainly bunkering) to the South course ahead of the 2008 PGA Championships and the layout was stretched out in excess of 7,300 yards. Oakland Hills once again became a fearsome test with only three players beating par. Padraig Harrington followed in the footsteps of Gary Player and David Graham who were former Oakland Hills PGA winners (1974 and 1979 respectively). Harrington’s two closing rounds of 66 were enough to give him a two shot victory over Sergio Garcia. But Harrington was perhaps even more pleased to become the first European to win consecutive majors as he followed up his 2008 Open Championship win at 

 by triumphing in the 2008 USPGA at Oakland Hills. 

Gil Hanse has been advising Oakland Hills Country Club on course restoration since 2015. There may now be fewer trees, but with six US Opens and one Ryder Cup under its belt, the South should still be treated with respect. We think that you’ll certainly appreciate the challenge and therefore we recommend that you befriend a member immediately. We also think that Oakland Hills is one of the fairest tests of golf in the land. Do you agree?

Oakland Hills (South)

With many holes lined by trees, six US Opens and one Ryder Cup under its belt, the South course at Oakland Hills Country Club should be treated with respect.

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.

Apart from the North course, Olympia Fields Country Club owns the world’s largest clubhouse, which took two years to build and cost a whopping $1.3 million way back in 1925. With its eighty-foot clock tower and English Tudor design, it’s possibly the most famous clubhouse in the world and it’s a monument to the extravagant Roaring Twenties.

The North “has a good variety of holes on rolling parkland,” said Tom Doak in 

, “with a handful of steep putting surfaces, and a standout hole in the big par-4 14th, with its second shot over a creek to an elevated green. Refinements for the 2015 U.S. Amateur were especially interesting: some greenside fronting bunkers were removed as superfluous.”


Mark Mungeam developed a renovation master plan for the North course prior to the U.S. Senior Open, in 1997; further work was then completed before the 2003 U.S. Open. After later discovering key period photography, the club opted for a full restoration which Mungeam directed.

From Furyk to Bryson: Mungeam's defense of Olympia Fields

Olympia Fields (North)

Apart from the North course, Olympia Fields Country Club owns the world’s largest clubhouse, which took two years to build and cost a whopping $1.3 million way back in 1925.

Nebraska

Omaha Country Club was founded in 1899 but it relocated to its present site in 1926. It’s been suggested that Wayne Stiles and Johan Van Kleek designed the club’s new course when it moved but, in 