Merit Club - Illinois - USA

Designed by Bob Lohmann, the Merit Club course was only eight years old when it hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 2000, with Australian Karrie Webb cruising to her first of two consecutive U.S. Women's Open titles, winning by five shots from Americans Kristie Kerr and Meg Mallon.

There’s gentle movement in the landscape and the fairways have generous width, offering views across the course from various points on the layout. Water hazards come into play frequently and there are multiple bunkers on every hole. Unusual for a modern set-up, walking is actively encouraged.

Highlight holes include the 563-yard 3rd (where a creek runs diagonally across the fairway to connect ponds on either side of the hole), the 366-yard 6th (which drops twenty-five feet from tee to green), the 426-yard 14th (with the hole doglegging right around water), and the 550-yard 18th, which veers left past another small lake towards the home green.