So, you reckon you're a pretty good golfer, eh? You think that, just because you hit the links every weekend and you're whittled your handicap down to nothing, you can shoot under par on any golf course in the world?
Well, think again. In this blog post, we're going to look at five of the toughest golf courses on the planet - places where even the pros fear to tread.
Pack your golfing essentials and your passport, because gimmeballs is taking you travelling!
Golf Courses
- Saujana Golf Club
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club
- Whistling Straits
- Carnoustie Golf Links
- The Ocean Course
5. Saujana Golf Club
Saujana Golf Club at The Palm Course in Malaysia ranks number five on our list.
It is most commonly recognised as "The Cobra", given its profound challenge, as well as the fact that cobras were introduced to keep the crop-destroyin rodents away. It hosted six of the last 13 Malaysian Opens, all of which are co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.
Surrounded by deep greenery water, and sand hazards dispersed throughout the course, just reaching the greens is a considerable obstacle; nevertheless, the real difficulty commences on the greens.
The putting surfaces of Saujana Golf Club are exceptionally fast and feature seriously sloping arcs, making them arguably the most difficult putting grounds on the globe. Only golfers who specialises in putting have the opportunity for sucess at this club.
Did You Know:
- The Saujana Golf Club was constructed on a former oil palm estate with rolling hills.
- The early nine holes of the courses are regarded as extremely hard, while the back nine are fairly straightforward.
- Notable holes on the course include the par-3 second, par-5 third, and the unforgiving 8th.
4. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club
At number four, we have the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club in China.
It is currently the world's longest course (8,548 yards) as well as one of the most challenging.
The course resides more than 3,040 metres above sea level in the Himalayas, where the thin atmosphere leads the golf ball to travel farther. The thin atmosphere causes the ball to swerve to the left or right, so it's difficult to keep the ball under control.
Did You Know:
- Caddies at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club are from the Naxi culture and wear traditional attire.
- The course was opened in 2001 and is an 18-hole par 72 golf course.
- The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest regulation golf course in the world
3. Whistling Straits
Our third-place contender is the Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
Pete Dye created this monstroisity, of course, on the abandoned artillery range on Lake Michigan's shoreline.
According to the article by the writers of Golf Digest magazine, there are an impressive 967 bunkers. This corresponds to rough average of 54 bunkers on each fairway. Many of them are so small that a golfer and a ball barely fit inside. Many are barely acknowledge as bunkers, as Dustin Johnson realised to his misfortune on the final hole of the 2010 US PGA Championship, when he was one shot ahead.
Did You Know:
- Dustin Johnson and his caddie mistook the 18th hole for a worn-out area, leading to a two-stroke penalty that cost him the championship.
- The Whistling Straits is home to Scottish Blackface Sheep that like speckling the course.
- The course is a walking-only area; therefore, no golf carts are permitted.
2. Carnousitie Golf Links
Taking our siler medal in the list of most challenging golf courses is the Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland.
On the merciless North Sea Shore, this Scottish golf course swiftly earned the nickname Carnasty following the 1999 Open Championshp, reducing golf champion Sergio Garcia to tears.
It birthed the term Carnousite effect due to it being riddled with dangerous pot bunkers; the name refers to the psychic shock that occurs when an individual with unrealsitic expectations encounters reality.
A famous Carnoustie effect was is the 1999 Open when Jean Van de Velde had a breakdown, involving a visit to the notorious Barry Burn, taking seven strokes to finish he hole, and losing the playoff to Paul Lawrie.
Did You Know:
- English golfer Tommy Fleetwood currently holds the golf course record of 63.
- Established in 1842, Carnoustie is among the world's oldest golf courses.
- According to Golfweek, it's the most challenging open rota course.
1. The Ocean Course
The Ocean Course in South Carolina is our top pick for the most difficult golf course.
Constructed by golf architect Pete Dye (dubbed The Marquis de Sod due to his excruciating cousrse designs), it is not surprising that the Ocean Course is number one on our list. The golf course's immense sand dunes, prickly marshes, laborious pot bunkers, and exceptionally quick greens are regularly proven to render even the world's most exquistie golfers into crumbling hackers (bad golfers).
In the 1991 Ryder Cup, which was presented on the Ocean Course, elite golfers such as Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Fred Couples, and Payne Stewart won holes with double-bogeys.
Did You Know:
- The Legend of Bagger Vance starring Will Smith, Charize Theron and Matt Smith was filmed here.
- In 2012, it hosted the most challenging PGA Championship Round.
- German golfer Alex Cejka has the course record of 63 achieved during the 1997 World Cup.
Can you prevail over the world's top five most challengign golf course or will you continue to golf on your own greens?
