Country Club at Muirfield Village - Ohio - USA

Many are familiar with Jack Nicklaus’s design and involvement with the Muirfield Village Golf Club, which hosts the annual Memorial Tournament. A few years after completing that vaunted venue, Nicklaus also laid out the Muirfield Village Country Club as the centerpiece of a more community-oriented private membership experience.

The result was a more playable course, although certainly not a pushover. Playing at about 6,750 yards, one doesn’t need to be a Tiger from the tees, but will still need to contend with both frequent water and sand hazards, including a miniature “church pews” at No. 13, a 514-yard par five (still, those bunkers might be a better landing area than the lake the runs along the entire left side of the hole).

Also like its more famous neighbor, Muirfield Village Country Club does not slack in terms of maintenance. Since 2010, the course has undergone a three-chapter “modernization plan,” which has involved the addition, removal, and renovation of bunkers, as well as an upgrade to the irrigation and other maintenance situations. After all, the course may host many more players than its famous neighbor, but that’s all the more reason to stay looking sharp.