Top 100 Courses in the World, 2020-21: GOLF’s raters name the best of the best
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The slope rating value always lies between 55 and 155, with 113 being the average or 'standard' value. A slope rating of 155 means this is the most difficult course (for a specific tee) you can imagine. The higher the course and slope rating, the more strokes will be added to your handicap.
World's 10 toughest golf coursesPalm Course, Saujana Golf Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ... Bethpage Black, New York, United States. ... Cape Kidnappers, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. ... Le Touessrok Golf Course, Ile aux Cerfs, Mauritius. ... Championship Links, Royal County Down, Newcastle, Northern Ireland.More items...•
Colorado is home to Mount Massive Golf Club, which, at 9,640 feet above sea level, is the highest-elevation golf course in the U.S. Elevation is a big part of the golf experience in Colorado, as many of Colorado's golf courses sit at 7,000 feet above sea level and higher.
America's 20 Toughest Golf Courses1 | The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, S.C. ... 2 | Pine Valley (N.J.) G.C. ... 3 | Oakmont (Pa.) ... 4 | Spyglass Hill G. ... 5 | Bethpage State Park (Black), Farmingdale, N.Y. ... 6 | Whistling Straits (Straits), Haven, Wis. ... 7 | TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium), Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.More items...•
Oakmont is one of the oldest golf clubs in the country since its inception in 1903. The club is located in Allegheny River Valley and has no water and few trees. With over two hundred bunkers, it is known as one of the most difficult in the United States. Memberships are by invitation only and start at $75,000.
Oakmont is known by many as the toughest golf course in America, bringing a mix of deep rough, penal bunkering everywhere, and one of the scariest sets of greens in the world, combining extreme slope and hellacious speed to bring golfers to their knees.
1. Copper Creek Golf Club, Copper Mountain: Elevation 9,863 feet. Claiming the highest tee-box in North America, Copper Creek's Hole 14 rests at 9,863 feet.
The Gulmarg Golf Club is a public golf course in a meadow at Gulmarg in Kashmir, India. The golf course, at an elevation of 2,650 metres (8,690 ft) above sea level, is the highest green golf course in the world. It lies 52 kilometres (32 mi) from Srinagar in the west.
East SikkimThis 18 hole golf course is reputed to be the highest in the world at 13025'. It is located near Kupup in East Sikkim.
Augusta National Golf ClubClub informationPar72Length7,510 yards (6,870 m)Course rating78.1 (unofficial)Slope rating137 (unofficial)17 more rows
The 18-hole "Augusta National" course at the Augusta National Golf Club facility in Augusta, Georgia features 7,270 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 74.0 and it has a slope rating of 135 on Bermuda grass.
25 Highest RatingsFrench Lick Resort (Pete Dye) (French Lick, IN), 80.0 rating.Rich Harvest Farms (Sugar Grove, IL), 79.1 rating.Promontory Golf Club (Painted Valley - Nicklaus course) (Park City, UT), 78.7 rating.Royal Isabela (Isabela, PR), 78.6 rating.Medinah Country Club No.3 (Medinah, IL), 78.3 rating.More items...
Slope rating (a term trademarked by the United States Golf Association) is a measurement of the difficulty of a golf course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating.
The minimum slope rating is 55 and the maximum is 155 (slope does not relate specifically to strokes played as course rating does). When the slope rating system was first put into effect, the USGA set the slope for an "average" golf course at 113; however, not many 18-hole golf courses have slope ratings that low.
To put it another way: USGA Course Rating tells the best golfers how hard a golf course actually plays; USGA Slope Rating indicates how much harder the course plays for "regular" (meaning not among the best) golfers.
The most important role of a slope is leveling the playing field for players of different skill levels. For example, let's say Player A and Player B average 85 strokes each for 18 holes. But Player A's average is established on a very difficult course (say, a slope rating of 150), while Player B's average is established on a much easier course (say, a slope rating of 105). If handicaps were simply estimates of golfers' average scores, then these two players would have the same handicap index. But Player A is clearly the better golfer, and in a match between the two Player B would clearly need some strokes.
Because he plays on a course with a higher slope rating, Player A's handicap index will be lower than Player B's (when it is calculated using the slope ratings), despite the fact that they both average scores of 85. So when A and B get together to play, B will get those extra strokes he needs.
Carmel, Ind. Yardage: 7,073 | Slope/rating: 137/74.8 Architect: Robert Trent Jones Jr. What they're saying: “Nice layout with fantastic fairways and a fair amount of heather. The greens could be faster, but I imagine they are already too difficult for the majority of players.” - SpartanGolfer11
Branson, Mo. Yardage: 7,324 | Slope/Rating: 135/75.1 Architect: Chuck Smith & Bobby Clampett What they're saying: “If you aren't a long hitter it can be brutal. Large greens that are hard to putt. Lots of elevation change. ” - Bogeyman47
Clio, Calif. Yardage: 7,015 | Slope/Rating: 139/72.0 Architect: Robin Nelson What they're saying: “Higher handicaps probably have a better shot at winning the lottery than hitting some of the greens, many of which are elevated, heavily undulating and surrounded by bunkers.” - Golf Advisor Senior Writer Jason Deegan
Austin, Texas Yardage: 6,611 | Slope/Rating: 128/72.0 Architects: Tom Kite & Roy Bechtol What they're saying: "Beautiful course but extremely challenging. A lot of target golf meaning you really had to pick your spots due to all of the water trouble and tight fairways." - Jgutz
Asheboro, N.C. Yardage: 6,543 | Slope/Rating: 144/72.1 Architect: Mike Strantz What they're saying: "This course is challenging to say the least. You have to be really on top of your game to even have a chance." - Jgutz
Mesquite, Nev. Yardage: 6,939 | Slope/Rating: 154/75.4 Architect: Dennis and John Rider What they're saying: "It was like playing a video game, and I just wanted to see how ridiculous of a shot I could hit sometimes." - ToothySaw2, Texas Local Golf Advisor
Gordonsville, Va. Yardage: 7,389 | Slope/Rating: 151/76.6 Architect: Ed Carton What they're saying: "Layout lets you hit but the greens are challenging. It can also get long so play the right set of tees." - jiggygolf
From the Championship tees, the 79.7 USGA Course Rating is the third-highest in the nation. The Bogey Rating is 108.1 (fifth-highest) and the Slope Rating from the Championship tees is 153, though resort guests would be well-served to tee it forward.
The Slope Rating is the relative difference between both , essentially an indicator of how fast scores are rising on a given course for the non-scratch golfer). Yes, there will be some courses deemed slightly more challenging for scratch golfers and others perhaps considered a sterner test for bogey players.
There are more manageable tees at the Pines course, but for sadists or super long hitters, the back tees are as difficult as it gets in the sport. PIKEWOOD NATIONAL -- Morgantown, West Virginia. The sixth hole at Pikewood National called "On The Rocks.".
The beauty of the three rating systems is that it provides a more complete picture of the relative difficulty of a course for a given golfer. You can't just take Slope Rating and use that as the equation for absolute difficulty. This is where the term "Target Score" comes into play.
The par-73 layout, built in 1954 and reworked by Robert Trent Jones in 1972, has long been considered one of the longest in the world. It plays to a whopping 8,325 yards from the Gold (or "Tiger") tees and features three par-4 holes in excess of 530 yards.
The Golf Club of New England - Stratham, NH. Ko'Olau Golf Club - Kaneohe, HI. Other well-known courses will also be in the mix for many golfers: Pine Valley (NJ), TPC Sawgrass (FL), Bethpage Black (NY), Whistling Straits (WI) and Hazeltine National (MN), the site of this year's Ryder Cup competition.
The par-5 finisher is 656 yards, yet there's an even longer par-5 on the property: the 674-yard third hole. There's also a par-6 hole that is 715 yards. When played from the back tees, The International is ranked as the hardest golf layout in the U.S. according to all three ratings.