The 5 best golf courses in the USA

On 7th April 2016, the world’s best golfers will descend on Augusta Golf Club in the state of Georgia for the 2016 Masters Golf Tournament. But Augusta is just one of the best golf courses in the USA. Here are five others that deserve recognition as being amongst the country’s best.

1. Pine Valley Golf Club, New Jersey

Having been named the number one golf course in the US in Golf Magazine on two separate occasions, Pine Valley Golf Club is on the bucket list of many avid golfers. Founded by George Crump, Pine Valley is unique in character and blends all three schools of golf design. Pine Valley’s most famous holes are its most notorious. ‘Hells Half Acer’ is the par-5 7^th hole with a large bunker and make sure you don’t get stuck in ‘The Devil’s Asshole’ – a deep bunker on the 10^th hole.

2. Pebble Beach Golf Links, California

Pebble Beach Golf Links, located south of San Jose on the Monterey Peninsula, is one of the most beautiful golf courses and one of the most expensive in the world. Green fees are $495. Designed by Jack Neville and Douglas Grant in 1919, nine holes are immediately perched above the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean and some are atop a 75-foot-high bluff. A challenging but stunning course.

3. Medinah Country Club, Illinois

Medinah Country Club, with its mosque-like clubhouse, has quite a pedigree when it comes to professional tournaments. It has hosted three US Opens, two PGA Championships as well as the 2012 Ryder Cup. Opening in 1924 Medinah has three golf courses in a 54-hole complex. Course 3 is the most famous and many notable golfers have played on its greens. Having been remodelled several times, course 3 is famous for its par-3 holes in numbers 2, 13 and 17.

4. Tournament Players Club, Sawgrass, Florida

Opening in 1980, TPC Sawgrass has two individual courses and is the host for The Players Championships. It is also the home of the PGA Tour Headquarters. It has a reputation of being one of the most difficult courses in the world and its most famous hole, the par-13 17^th, is one of the most recognisable in golf. Known as the Island Green, the 17^th hole only measures 132 yards from tee to green, however except for a narrow path, the green is completely surrounded by water.

5. Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania

The Oakmont Country Club has hosted more championship tournaments than any other U.S golf course.  Considered one of the most difficult courses in North America, it has 210 deep bunkers, including the famed Church Pews, slick greens and tight fairways. Opening in 1903, Oakmont was the only course designed by Henry Fownes. Every hole is original except for the 8^th, which was moved to make way for the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

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