Play it in Winter time.

Bermuda grass, when dormant, runs like fescue. When you play #2 in these conditions, as opposed to the grass grabbing the ball, the course reminds me of the best of the Heathlands/Sandbelt. Not only do you get the challenging greens, but you have more shot options to get onto the greens as well as recovery options around them. I have played here twice (most recently in January of '25) and both times were in these conditions. As a result, I think that #2 is top 5 USA public and belongs in both the top 100 USA and World.

I am not going to go hole by hole but will say that this is a strategic masterclass of a golf course. There is not a weak hole-it is a collection of strong/quality golf holes. The course is a large clockwise loop. You will change directions frequently on your way around so wind is constantly changing. You do have the standard par 36 for each nine with two par 5s and two par 3s on each. There is not a lot of elevation change here and the course is quite flat in many parts; however, Ross took advantage of the movement that there was to make the course always interesting and shot making a necessity from the tee and fairway. There are tilts in some fairways that make hitting them with a draw/fade advantageous. You also have options for bump/run and putting from off the green. The removal of the wall to wall grass and restoration of the waste areas makes recovery from off the fairway more than just grabbing a wedge and hacking out of thick rough. You now have variability and with that comes options for recovery.

Of course, I have to mention the turtleback greens. The main reason why the course is strategic is these greens. They will accept shots from one angle and reject from all others. Therefore, you need to be in the proper spot from the fairway for your approach or you will need to be a low to plus handicap to get the ball to stop on them. If coming in from the correct side of the fairway, the greens will accept both aerial and running shots. If there ever was a course where you play it from the green back to the tee it is this one. The greens themselves also have ridges and a few are multiple tier-getting on to them is just the beginning.

I was torn between a 5.5 and 6 for this course. It is a rare championship test course where the mid to high handicap won't lose a sleeve of balls (in fact, you probably won't lose 1). The ability to test the best while remaining playable to mid/high handicappers is a testament to the great design. If you are a mid/high and play it smart, you can actually score well here-leave the ball in front of the greens instead of daring them and you can get up/down a bunch. Top shelf players will try to get their ball to stop on the greens and that is where you can find yourself in a world of trouble. I will admit that trying to play smart/defensive is not a lot of fun. A great test but not a course I would enjoy playing every day. That is why I went with 5.5-I reserve 6 for course of a lifetime where you couldn't grow tired of it. However, this is still a top shelf golf course.