Famous Golf Course Strategy Guides

Augusta National Golf Club

Augusta, Georgia

Par 727,510 yds

The most famous golf course in the world — home of The Masters Tournament since 1934.

Pinehurst No. 2

Pinehurst, North Carolina

Par 707,588 yds

The most important American course in terms of design philosophy — Donald Ross’s masterpiece.

Bethpage Black Course

Farmingdale, New York

Par 717,468 yds

America’s most famous public course — a “man-made monster” carved from Long Island’s forests.

Oakmont Country Club

Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Par 717,255 yds

The hardest golf course in the United States — possibly the world. Host of nine US Opens.

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

Southampton, New York

Par 707,445 yds

One of America’s oldest and most distinguished golf clubs — founded in 1891.

Merion Golf Club — East Course

Ardmore, Pennsylvania

Par 706,996 yds

Among the most historically significant courses in American golf — where Bobby Jones completed the Grand Slam.

Congressional Country Club — Blue

Bethesda, Maryland

Par 717,680 yds

Washington DC’s most prestigious championship venue — host of three US Opens.

Baltusrol Golf Club — Lower Course

Springfield, New Jersey

Par 707,392 yds

A.W. Tillinghast’s masterpiece — host of eight US Opens, more than any other course.

Winged Foot Golf Club — West Course

Mamaroneck, New York

Par 727,477 yds

A.W. Tillinghast’s other masterpiece — host of five US Opens and two US Amateurs.

The Country Club — Composite Course

Brookline, Massachusetts

Par 707,264 yds

The oldest private golf club in the United States — site of the most dramatic US Open comeback ever.

Garden City Golf Club

Garden City, New York

Par 736,927 yds

One of America’s oldest and most architecturally pure courses — a classic heathland design.

Oak Hill Country Club — East Course

Rochester, New York

Par 707,392 yds

Host of four US Opens and two PGA Championships — one of the Northeast’s premier venues.

Crystal Downs Country Club

Frankfort, Michigan

Par 706,531 yds

Consistently ranked among America’s top 10 — a MacKenzie & Alison collaboration in northern Michigan.

Fishers Island Club

Fishers Island, New York

Par 726,576 yds

Accessible only by private ferry — Seth Raynor’s masterpiece in Long Island Sound.

National Golf Links of America

Southampton, New York

Par 736,779 yds

Charles Blair Macdonald’s magnum opus — the first course in America to rival the great British links.

East Lake Golf Club

Atlanta, Georgia

Par 707,385 yds

Bobby Jones’s home course — host of the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship.

Quail Hollow Club

Charlotte, North Carolina

Par 717,521 yds

One of the Southeast’s premier private clubs — host of the 2017 PGA Championship.

Kiawah Island — Ocean Course

Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Par 727,873 yds

The longest course ever to host a major championship — the windiest venue in American golf.

Harbour Town Golf Links

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Par 717,099 yds

A Pete Dye masterpiece designed with Jack Nicklaus — home of the RBC Heritage.

Pinehurst Resort No. 2

Pinehurst, North Carolina

Par 707,588 yds

Donald Ross’s defining achievement — the course that hosted back-to-back US Opens in 2014.

Southern Hills Country Club

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Par 707,556 yds

The most celebrated course in the American heartland — site of four US Opens and two PGA Championships.

Valhalla Golf Club

Louisville, Kentucky

Par 717,542 yds

Jack Nicklaus’s Kentucky masterpiece — host of three PGA Championships and two Ryder Cups.

Colonial Country Club

Fort Worth, Texas

Par 707,204 yds

One of the Southwest’s most storied golf venues — home of the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Seminole Golf Club

Juno Beach, Florida

Par 726,900 yds

Often called the best course in Florida and one of the finest in America — a Donald Ross classic.

TPC Sawgrass — Stadium Course

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Par 727,215 yds

Home of The Players Championship — the island-green 17th is the most recognizable hole in golf.

PGA National — Champion Course

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Par 727,243 yds

Home of the Honda Classic — features the Bear Trap, the most dangerous stretch in Florida golf.

Congressional — Blue Course Guide

Bethesda, Maryland

Par 707,632 yds

Washington DC’s premier championship venue — host of four US Opens and multiple major events.

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Pebble Beach, California

Par 727,040 yds

Consistently ranked as America’s greatest public golf course — perched on the Monterey Peninsula.

Torrey Pines — South Course

La Jolla, California

Par 727,765 yds

California’s premier municipal golf course — host of the 2008 and 2021 US Opens.

Cypress Point Club

Pebble Beach, California

Par 726,536 yds

Widely considered the most beautiful golf course in the world — MacKenzie’s masterpiece on the Monterey coast.

Spyglass Hill Golf Course

Pebble Beach, California

Par 726,960 yds

The most challenging of the three Pebble Beach Pro-Am courses — a unique blend of links and parkland.

Riviera Country Club

Pacific Palisades, California

Par 717,322 yds

Called the Riviera of the West — home to the Genesis Invitational in the heart of Los Angeles.

LA Country Club — North Course

Los Angeles, California

Par 707,411 yds

Sits on 300 acres of the most valuable real estate in America — host of the 2023 US Open.

Pasatiempo Golf Club

Santa Cruz, California

Par 716,491 yds

Alister MacKenzie’s California masterpiece — designed in 1929, just three years before Augusta National.

Riviera Country Club — Main Course

Pacific Palisades, California

Par 717,322 yds

One of America’s most beloved private clubs and host of the Genesis Invitational since 1929.

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Bandon, Oregon

Par 726,732 yds

The crown jewel of American golf resort destinations — five courses perched on the Oregon coast.

Bandon Dunes — Original Course

Bandon, Oregon

Par 726,732 yds

David McLay Kidd’s American links design that launched one of golf’s great resort destinations.

Pacific Dunes — Bandon

Bandon, Oregon

Par 716,997 yds

Consistently ranked among the top 10 courses in the US — a true links experience on the Oregon coast.

Bandon Trails Golf Course

Bandon, Oregon

Par 716,765 yds

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s inland design — the only course at the resort not on the oceanfront cliffs.

Sheep Ranch Golf Course

Bandon, Oregon

Par 726,800 yds

Bandon Dunes’ newest course — a Coore & Crenshaw clifftop links with the most dramatic ocean views.

Old Macdonald — Bandon Dunes

Bandon, Oregon

Par 717,059 yds

Tom Doak’s tribute to the great Scottish course designers — named after Charles Blair Macdonald.

Pebble Beach — Full Strategy Guide

Pebble Beach, California

Par 726,828 yds

America’s most scenic and beloved public golf experience — GOATY’s hole-by-hole strategy breakdown.

Chambers Bay Golf Course

University Place, Washington

Par 707,681 yds

Sits on a former sand and gravel quarry above Puget Sound — host of the 2015 US Open.

Riviera — Strategy Guide

Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California

Par 717,322 yds

The home of the Genesis Invitational and one of America’s great private clubs — full strategy breakdown.

Whistling Straits — Straits Course

Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Par 727,790 yds

A dramatic links-style course built along the shores of Lake Michigan — host of the 2021 Ryder Cup.

Medinah Country Club — No. 3

Medinah, Illinois

Par 727,660 yds

One of the Midwest’s most storied venues — host of three US Opens and two PGA Championships.

Erin Hills Golf Course

Erin, Wisconsin

Par 727,741 yds

America’s most significant modern links-style course — host of the 2017 US Open.

Muirfield Village Golf Club

Dublin, Ohio

Par 727,392 yds

Jack Nicklaus’s masterwork — designed as the course he always wanted to play, host of the Memorial Tournament.

Hazeltine National Golf Club

Chaska, Minnesota

Par 727,674 yds

Minnesota’s premier championship venue — host of multiple US Opens, PGA Championships, and Ryder Cups.

Sand Hills Golf Club

Mullen, Nebraska

Par 717,089 yds

The most remote golf course in the United States — among the most acclaimed Coore & Crenshaw designs.

Shadow Creek Golf Course

North Las Vegas, Nevada

Par 727,560 yds

One of America’s most exclusive golf experiences — a surreal oasis built from scratch in the Nevada desert.

Shoreacres Golf Club

Lake Bluff, Illinois

Par 716,720 yds

Seth Raynor’s most geographically dramatic design — carved into Lake Michigan bluffs north of Chicago.

Medinah Country Club Course 3

Medinah, Illinois

Par 727,600 yds

Home of the “Miracle at Medinah” 2012 Ryder Cup — one of sport’s greatest comeback venues.

Medinah — Strategy Guide

Medinah, Illinois

Par 727,600 yds

Major championship contender strategy — how to navigate four decades of major championship drama.

TPC Scottsdale — Stadium Course

Scottsdale, Arizona

Par 717,261 yds

Home of the Waste Management Phoenix Open — the most attended sporting event in the world.

Erin Hills — Full Strategy Guide

Hartford, Wisconsin

Par 728,082 yds

One of the youngest US Open venues ever — a fescue-lined links masterpiece in southeastern Wisconsin.

Muirfield Village — Full Guide

Dublin, Ohio

Par 727,392 yds

Jack Nicklaus’s labor of love — a course designed around his greatest major championship victories.

Hazeltine National — Full Guide

Chaska, Minnesota

Par 727,674 yds

Has hosted more major championships per year of existence than perhaps any other course in America.

TPC Sawgrass — Players Stadium

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Par 727,215 yds

Home to The Players Championship — considered by many the unofficial fifth major championship.

TPC Sawgrass — Valley Course

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Par 726,864 yds

Pete Dye’s complementary layout to the Stadium Course — more accessible but still a strategic challenge.

Seminole Golf Club — Florida

Juno Beach, Florida

Par 726,779 yds

Donald Ross’s Florida masterpiece — the private club where Ben Hogan prepared for The Masters.

Valhalla Golf Club — Full Guide

Louisville, Kentucky

Par 717,542 yds

Jack Nicklaus’s home state masterpiece — host of three PGA Championships and the 2024 PGA.

Quail Hollow Club — Full Guide

Charlotte, North Carolina

Par 717,521 yds

Host of the Wells Fargo Championship and 2017 PGA Championship — Charlotte’s elite private club.

Harbour Town — Full Strategy Guide

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Par 717,099 yds

One of Pete Dye’s most celebrated designs — home to the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage each spring.

St Andrews Links — Old Course

St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

Par 727,305 yds

The Home of Golf — the most historic and revered golf course in the world, played since the 1400s.

Carnoustie Golf Links

Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland

Par 727,402 yds

Scotland’s most fearsome links course — nicknamed “Car-nasty” by players who have suffered its wrath.

Carnoustie — Championship Course

Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland

Par 727,412 yds

The hardest links course in the world — where Jean Van de Velde’s collapse defined golfing tragedy.

Turnberry — Ailsa Course

Turnberry, South Ayrshire, Scotland

Par 707,461 yds

The most dramatic major championship setting in the British Isles — site of the 1977 “Duel in the Sun.”

Muirfield Golf Club

Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland

Par 717,245 yds

Home of The Honourable Company — considered the most fair test of links golf in the world.

Royal Troon — Old Course

Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland

Par 717,175 yds

The quintessential Scottish links — featuring the world’s most famous par-3, the Postage Stamp (8th).

Prestwick Golf Club

Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland

Par 736,544 yds

The birthplace of The Open Championship — the first 12 Opens were played here from 1860 to 1872.

Kingsbarns Golf Links

Kingsbarns, Fife, Scotland

Par 726,904 yds

Kyle Phillips’s modern links masterpiece near St Andrews — built in 2000 and instantly rated world-class.

Castle Stuart Golf Links

Inverness, Highland, Scotland

Par 726,566 yds

Gil Hanse’s Scottish Highlands links design — overlooking the Moray Firth with views to the Black Isle.

Brora Golf Club

Brora, Sutherland, Scotland

Par 696,107 yds

One of Scotland’s most remote links — a James Braid design shared with the local cattle herd.

Askernish Golf Club

South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Par 726,439 yds

Old Tom Morris’s most remote design — an original links on the Outer Hebrides rediscovered in 2005.

Royal Birkdale Golf Club

Southport, England

Par 707,156 yds

The Open Championship venue most respected by professionals for its fairness — a true test of ball-striking.

Royal St. George’s Golf Club

Sandwich, Kent, England

Par 707,189 yds

The only Open Championship course in England outside the North — known for fearsome rough and blind shots.

Sunningdale — Old Course

Sunningdale, Berkshire, England

Par 706,609 yds

The finest inland course in the British Isles — where Bobby Jones shot 66 in Open qualifying.

Sunningdale — New Course

Sunningdale, Berkshire, England

Par 706,659 yds

Harry Colt’s companion design to the famous Old Course — another heathland classic on adjacent terrain.

Woodhall Spa Golf Club

Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, England

Par 737,080 yds

England’s National Golf Centre — consistently rated England’s finest inland course with cavernous bunkers.

Walton Heath — Old Course

Tadworth, Surrey, England

Par 737,434 yds

Herbert Fowler’s masterpiece — one of England’s most celebrated heathland courses and host of the 1981 Ryder Cup.

Royal County Down Golf Club

Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland

Par 717,186 yds

Consistently voted the world’s greatest course — set against the Mourne Mountains and Dundrum Bay.

Royal Portrush — Dunluce Links

Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Par 717,317 yds

Hosted the 1951 Open and returned triumphantly in 2019 — the first Open in Northern Ireland in 68 years.

Royal County Down — Full Guide

Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland

Par 717,186 yds

Voted the world’s greatest course in global rankings — unmatched coastal scenery on the Irish Sea.

Royal Portrush — Full Guide

Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Par 727,317 yds

The 2019 Open Championship venue — returning Northern Ireland to the world stage in dramatic fashion.

Ballybunion — Old Course

Ballybunion, County Kerry, Ireland

Par 716,995 yds

One of the world’s great links experiences on the Atlantic coast of County Kerry.

Lahinch Golf Club — Old Course

Lahinch, County Clare, Ireland

Par 726,950 yds

Ireland’s most beloved links on the Wild Atlantic Way — where the goats predict the weather.

Waterville Golf Links

Waterville, County Kerry, Ireland

Par 727,284 yds

One of the most remote championship venues in the world — at the tip of the Iveragh Peninsula.

Portmarnock Golf Club

Portmarnock, County Dublin, Ireland

Par 727,350 yds

Ireland’s most celebrated links club — site of 24 Irish Open Championships on a Dublin Bay peninsula.

County Sligo — Rosses Point

Rosses Point, County Sligo, Ireland

Par 716,650 yds

Sits on a peninsula in Sligo Bay overlooked by the distinctive flat-topped Ben Bulben mountain.

Old Head Golf Links

Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland

Par 727,207 yds

The most dramatically situated golf course on earth — 18 holes on a 220-acre headland above the Atlantic.

The European Club

Brittas Bay, County Wicklow, Ireland

Par 717,000 yds

Pat Ruddy’s County Wicklow masterpiece — a links with 20 holes including two optional extra holes.

Tralee Golf Club

Barrow, County Kerry, Ireland

Par 716,950 yds

Arnold Palmer’s first and only Irish links design — on dramatic cliffs in County Kerry.

Carne Golf Links

Belmullet, County Mayo, Ireland

Par 726,958 yds

Eddie Hackett’s masterpiece on the remote Mullet Peninsula — one of Ireland’s true hidden gems.

Moortown Golf Club

Leeds, Yorkshire, England

Par 716,831 yds

Alister MacKenzie’s earliest surviving design — site of the first Ryder Cup held in Britain in 1929.

Royal Melbourne — West Course

Black Rock, Victoria, Australia

Par 716,942 yds

Alister MacKenzie’s Australian masterpiece — widely considered the finest course in the Southern Hemisphere.

Kingston Heath Golf Club

Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia

Par 726,770 yds

One of Australia’s most revered courses in Melbourne’s famous sandbelt — a Dan Soutar and MacKenzie design.

Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links

Bridport, Tasmania, Australia

Par 716,777 yds

Australia’s contribution to the world’s great links courses — a Tom Doak design on Tasmania’s north coast.

Cape Kidnappers Golf Course

Te Awanga, Hawke Bay, New Zealand

Par 717,119 yds

Tom Doak’s most dramatic design — 18 holes on gannet colony headlands above the Pacific Ocean.

Cabot Links Golf Course

Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada

Par 706,775 yds

North America’s only true oceanside links — built where Cape Breton’s highlands meet the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Cabot Cliffs Golf Course

Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada

Par 726,958 yds

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s Canadian masterpiece — a clifftop links immediately ranked among the world’s best.

Morfontaine Golf Club

Morfontaine, Oise, France

Par 716,515 yds

Tom Simpson’s finest design — one of continental Europe’s greatest courses north of Paris.