Apple Tree - Washington - USA

No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass is certainly the most famous island green in the world, however the most notorious version may be at Apple Tree Golf Course. Although this apple-shaped island may be the opposite of “minimalist design,” the resort has good reason to tout its favorite fruit: The land got its beginning as orchard land and the original purpose for the property continues. At several points during your round at the resort’s golf course, you’ll pass between rows of apple trees.

In keeping with its feel for flair, Apple Tree hired John Steidel to lay out this route. Although few holes have a chance at outshining the penultimate par three, Steidel does not hesitate to create some other eye-catching, nerve-wracking challenges.

No. 18 features one of the property’s irrigation ponds, jutting in at odd angles from the left, guiding players to go farther right. They must then decide whether to cross the creek that cuts across the fairway ahead of the green. In case you forgot where you were playing, there is one more large, apple-shaped bunker that splits time between the greens for nos. 9 and 18.