Pebble Beach Links

Designed in 1919, Pebble Beach has hosted many illustrious events throughout the years, the most prominent of which being the 2010 US Open, won by Graeme MacDowell. With such a historic pedigree, golfers aiming to play the best courses cannot complete their list without a visit to Pebble Beach.

Positioned right on the Californian coastline, the resultant wind and wave conditions can have a significant impact on any golfers round, and when the holes in question have caused the very best in the game to sink to their knees in despair, there is no doubt over just how challenging this course is.  The sloping greens and cliff-side fairways command a high amount of respect from these pros, and anyone fancying their chances should take a leaf from their book.

A panoramic view of the Pacific adds to the sense of mystique emanating through this course, one of the most famous in golf.

Whistling Straits

Perched on the banks of Lake Michigan, Whistling Straits provides a lush, serene setting for those wishing to play golf in its truest form, away from the casual crowds and amongst some truly talented players.
The lush, green grassland surrounding the courses gives the area a countryside feel not unlike the one experienced in Ireland. The Irish course, not surprisingly, provides the best example of this with gentle streams running through it, but don’t let the relaxing landscape fool you. Many of the holes are laced with traps designed to frustrate the best and brightest that golf has to offer.

The other course is most famous for the strong winds coming in from the lake, which give the course its name. The hilly terrain of the Straits course will demand focus of the highest level, should golfers wish to achieve any kind of success on this challenging course, with some of its holes achieving world-wide notoriety for their difficulty.

Bethpage State Park

Placed in the Long Island region of New York, Bethpage combines idyllic scenery with a convenient location to give golfers a fantastic venue to play a challenging round of golf without leaving the Big Apple too far behind.
Designed by the world-renowned golf architect A.W. Tillinghast, many consider the Black course at Bethpage to be one of his finest pieces of work, and it was home to the US Open in 2002 and 2009, adding further to the already large pedigree of the course. With tall rough adorning either side of extremely narrow fairways make approaching the greens a difficult task for any golfer, and the small nature of the greens mean that prospects don’t improve in the putting parts of the round making the course a consistently arduous challenge. 

With four other courses located on site, those wanting a challenge more in keeping with their abilities will be sure to find a fair test within Bethpage, and hopefully can put themselves in a position to conquer the Black course.

Shadow Creek Golf Club

Custom-built within North Las Vegas, Shadow Creek is an ideal spot for those wanting to take a break from the strip and shoot a round of golf and put themselves at the mercy of their own ability rather then the turn of a card or a roll of the dice.

Designer Tom Fazio’s ability to create a plush, green course right in the middle of the Nevada desert has created a unique experience, starting from the moment the limousine picks you up from the hotel, to the provision of your own personalised caddie, nothing here is left to chance.

The greens are heavenly, allowing skilled players to make the most of the opportunities they provide whilst forgiving the less fortunate simultaneously, and the fiendishly clever layout of each hole means that every shot in a golfer’s skill-set will be stretched to the edge of their ability. 

Pinehurst Golf Club

This club provides everything a golfer could wish for in order to have the ultimate golf trip; a peaceful setting within the beautiful countryside of North Carolina, a spa to ease away any aches and pains after a long day out on the fairway, and most important of all, eight different courses to test their skills on.

Course 2 provides the toughest test, and no wonder: it was the course used in the 2005 US Open, and it will host the tournament again next year, giving those wishing to compare themselves to the world’s elite the opportunity to get a score they can measure the pros against.

With so many different courses allowing ample opportunity to test the various aspects of the game, it is no surprise that Pinehurst has its own academy, where guest can iron out any flaws in their game. Boasting a low student to teacher ratio and state of the art facilities, those struggling with their golf game will soon feel capable of playing at the highest level. 

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