Golf isn’t just about the players. The courses themselves are characters that can change the feel and vibe of a tournament completely. The PGA Tour is no different.
Bracing coastal winds at Pebble Beach, the strategic pressure at Riviera and a raucous atmosphere at Sawgrass are vital parts of the PGA Tour itself and mastering them is a must for any would-be winner.
The latest candidates to walk away with the multi-million-dollar paycheck on offer to the PGA Tour winner will have to stay on top of their game throughout, while mastering their emotions and overcoming the challenges posed by a varied cast of courses.
In this article, we look at some of the best courses on the current PGA Tour, so you know which ones to look out for in the TV schedule. Read on to find out what they are.
Pebble Beach
Even people who don’t like golf have heard of Pebble Beach. It’s no wonder why either, because the course is simply stunning. Not only does it offer beautiful scenery and stunningly cinematic backdrops, but the course is also an architectural wonder and a repository of golfing legend.
Situated on California’s Monterey Peninsula, Pebble Beach’s uniquely alluring course is small and quaint, with modest greens and a relatively short length when compared to other courses. The ever-changing winds from the coast add an extra element of chaos to proceedings however.
It’s also a course that favours methodical, thinking golfers, who like to take their time and be precise in their stroke play. A Happy Gilmore-style running drive is likely to result in an amphibious ending at Pebble Beach!
(Pebble Beach can’t be beaten for scenery!)
TPC Sawgrass
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have TPC Sawgrass. Known as the “Stadium Course”, Sawgrass is famous for its stadium-style spectator mounds that thrust golfers right into the heart of the action.
The close quarters with spectators have been known to get too much for golfers in the past, with Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy falling foul of it when a University of Texas student taunted him with “Just like 2011 at Augusta” when McIlroy found the water with his tee shot.
Showing the restraint that his native Ulster is famous for, McIlroy marched straight over to the spectator and took his phone from him before walking away! To be fair to McIlroy, he had just come off the 17th hole, which is surrounded by water and has been known to fray the nerves of many a golfer through the years.
Harbour Town
Pete Dye designed this course back in the sixties with consultation from Alice Dye and golfing royalty Jack Nicklaus. Rather than being a stunning venue with cinematic backdrops, this course is a man-made nightmare of precision and an incredible test of skill for golfers.
The narrow tree-lined fairways flanked by mossy live oaks either narrow the efforts of players or leave them feeling boxed in and overwhelmed. That’s before we even mention the dreaded 18th hole.
This 472-yard par-4 is tricky for a number of reasons. To the left is a boggy marshland that the wind will be more than happy to drag players toward, and either side of the narrow green is lumpy and uneven ground that makes accurate swings difficult.
In addition to this, the green is very low to the ground, which makes it hard to judge accurately from a distance. All in all, the 18th at Harbour Town is a nightmare to play. Oh, and Harbour Town is in South Carolina, so the temperature can be up to the 100s with humidity that feels like 100%.
(The 18th at Harbour Town is notoriously difficult.)
Riviera Country Club
Designed by George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell in the 1920s, this is one of the most iconic golf courses not just in the USA, but in the world. Set across an undulating canyon terrain featuring sticky Kikuyu grass, the course features many rough challenges and a number of steep elevation changes.
The most jaw-dropping of which is the iconic 1st that sees golfers tee off on a box perched 75 feet above the fairway. If you like sporting heritage, then this is the best course on the PGA Tour. Every hole is steeped in history, and as is traditional of a course designed in the early 20th century, not everything is as it seems.
Even the most straightforward of holes carry within them hidden challenges.
(Every hole at the Riviera Country Club)
What’s your favourite course at the PGA Tour? Let us know in the comments section below.