PGA West (Palmer Private)

Situated in Southern California’s sun-kissed Coachella Valley, in the shadow of the Santa Rosa Mountains, the PGA West golf facility in La Quinta lies within an enormous 2,000-acre property, where half a dozen 18-hole layouts have been in play since the end of the 1990s.

Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Weiskopf and Greg Norman have all left their architectural mark on these six courses, with the Private Clubhouse serving members who choose to tee it up at either the Palmer, Nicklaus or Weiskopf Private courses.

The Palmer Private arrived first in 1986 and it was quickly added to the roster of courses hosting the Bob Hope Classic event on the PGA Tour, appearing most years between 1988 and 2014 – David Duval shot a final round 59 when he won here in 1999 – so the tournament pedigree of this course has never been in doubt.

There are loads of good scoring holes for the professionals on this course but one that always trips up the field is the 233-yard 5th, played over water to a large but heavily contoured green. Set in the middle of a front nine that regularly yields plenty of birdies, this long par three has statistically proved to be one of the toughest on the Tour.