Top Ten Toughest Golf Courses in the World
Do you consider yourself to be a good golfer? Challenge yourself by playing at one of these courses.
10
Championship Links
Newcastle, Ireland
Championship Links often receives the unofficial title of best golf course located outside the United States. It is also one of the world’s toughest. The course is full of blind shots and short hills located in the greens. Its location in Ireland also regularly receives high winds.
9
Le Touessrok Golf Course
Ile aux Cerfs, Mauritius
Le Touessrok is the only golf course in the world that can claim it cannot be reached by road. Several holes are located right on the beach, which means if you overshoot your shot you will end up in the moist sand or the ocean. To help compensate for the difficulty, the course offers many different tees to accommodate average golfers.
8
Cape Kidnappers
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
Cape Kidnappers is a tough course all-around. It also isn’t a course where you would want to play after a few drinks. The course itself is surrounded on one side by 400 foot cliffs that dive straight into rocks and the ocean. It is also very beautiful.
7
Bethpage Black
New York, United States
Bethpage Black is the hardest course of five located in Bethpage State Park on Long Island. Before stepping onto this course there is a big sign that warns golfers stating, “The Black Course is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommended Only For Highly Skilled Golfers.” It is so difficult that in the 2002 US Open, Tiger Woods was the winner while only breaking par.
6
Palm Course
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The nickname of the Palm Course is “The Cobra.” It is widely considered to be the toughest golf course in the world to putt on. The greens are fast and unforgiving.
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5
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club
Yunnan, China
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club is the longest golf course in the world measuring in at 8,548 yards. This includes a 711 yard par-five hole, two that measure over 680 yards, and a 525-yard par-four hole. The only advantage is at the elevation the course is at the air is thinner the ball travels further, but one bad shot is all you need to be beyond recovery on this course.
4
Whistling Straits
Wisconsin, United States
Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, Whistling Straits is a scenic beauty of a golf course, but don’t let looks deceive you. The first half of the course isn’t too bad, but many have said that the last 8 are nearly impossible. When Golf Digest analyzed the course a year back they counted over 967 different bunkers located throughout the course.
3
Ko’oalu Golf Club
Hawaii, United States
Ko’oalu challenges golfers through its steep slope that runs throughout the course. The holes range from up-slope to down-slope all surrounded by the Hawaiian jungle. On top of that there are 6 ravines on the course and over 80 deep sand bunkers. It will challenge even the most adept golfer.
2
Carnoustie Golf Links
Dundee, Scotland
Located near the North Seas, Carnoustie sits in a prime location to be whipped around by sharp winds. The rough rapidly gives way to rolling sand and a variety of other obstacles. If you make a mistake on this course, it is almost impossible to recover.
1
The Ocean Course
South Carolina, United States
Ocean Course is considered even by professional golfers as absurdly challenging. It isn’t uncommon for pros to win holes with double-bogeys on this course. Featuring a combination of huge sand dunes, marshes, and super-slick greens it is no wonder why it is considered the most difficult course out there.
Source: Golf Digest