Tag: golf courses

The Five Most Famous Pro Golf Courses

On December 4, 2019

According to Golf Monthly, the world is home to almost 40,000 golf courses, and many of these have played host to some of golf’s biggest tournaments.

St Andrew’s Old Course

Based in Fife, Scotland, St Andrews Old Course is the oldest golf course in the world and also open to the public. The course also plays a part in golfing history, influencing how the game is played today by reducing the number of holes from 22 to 18.

St Andrews Old Course has held countless international golf tournaments, including the Open Championship 29 times. Most notably, Tiger Woods has won at St Andrew’s twice. In 2005, the course was also ranked as the greatest golf course outside the United States by Golf Digest.

Pebble Beach

Located on USA’s west coast, California’s Pebble Beach is America’s favorite public golf course – renowned for its beauty and open views of Carmel Bay. Playing host to six major men’s world championships, the course has become a cornerstone location in the professional golfing community and will be the first to host a men’s, women’s and senior men’s tournament in the year 2023.

The course itself features a range of varying par holes, with some giving golfers the illusion of hitting straight out towards the ocean. Hole 7 in particular, is known to be one of the most widely photographed holes in the world.

Augusta National

Renowned for its exclusivity, the Augusta National golf club opened in 1932 and is located in Georgia, United States. As well as hosting the annual Masters Tournament, Augusta has also been repeatedly ranked as being one of America’s best courses.

Outside of tournaments, membership of the club is strictly by invitation only and boasts many high-flying members ranging from businesspeople to famous sports players. The club is also known for its strict on-site rules, which include no cheering or electronic devices on the course.

Real Club Valderrama

Real Club Valderrama in Spain’s Cádiz is rated one of Europe’s best golf courses since 1989 – located in the resort of Sotogrande. Designed by great golf architect Robert Trent Jones in 1974, Valderrama was created to test both amateur and professional golfers.

In 1999, Real Club Valderrama was rated the best course in mainland Europe by Golf World magazine. The par 5 fourth hole – La Cascada is one of the most well-known on this course, with a two-tiered green and pond which presents a real challenge for players.

TPC Sawgrass

The award-winning TPC Sawgrass golf course in Florida was designed with balanced play in mind. It’s widely known for hosting several PGA Tour tournaments and is the world headquarters of professional golf. The course is also home to the Players Championship, held annually in March. Designed by Pete Dye, the TPC Sawgrass was created in 1980 and aimed to improve the golfing experience for both players and spectators with its stadium-like concept.

The course has a selection of short, mid and long holes and a signature island green on the famous 17^th hole.

This guest blog post was written by The Golf Travel People – specialists in providing high-quality golf holidays since 2004.

Real Club Valderrama

Executive Golf Courses: What They Are and Why You Should Play There

By Sully

On July 31, 2019

In Golf Discussions

Head out to the local course around your house or watch a round of golf and you’ll quickly notice something about the courses; they’re all par 72.

But what about other courses with shorter holes and lower pars. These junior sized courses are called “executive courses” and that’s what we’re going to talk about this time on 6 Minutes With Sully.

What is an Executive Course?

As we mentioned above, executive courses have a lower par than a full, regulation course. While this is usually due to an increase in par 3 holes during the round it is still possible to have par 4’s and 5’s on executive courses.

This scorecard is from Dixie Red Hills, an executive course in St. George, Utah.

Par for an executive course is usually between 30-34 for nine holes. Three par three’s, five par four’s, and a par five would be one semi-common layout for an executive course.

If you’re wondering where the name comes from, the term “executive course” is actually from corporate America. Executives love to play golf but busy schedules make playing a two and a half hour round out of the question.

To fix this problem, golf course architects started designing shorter, quicker courses that busy players could whip through in an hour and a half; something much more manageable for a lunch break or an evening after work.

What’s so Great About Executive Courses Anyways

While you might not be interested in running into company executives on the golf course, there are other benefits to playing an executive course.

First, as we mentioned above, it simply takes less time to play a round on an executive course.

Where you might spend five hours playing eighteen holes normally, you could cut that down to around three just by playing an executive course. This, of course, depends on the crowds, size of the course, etc.

Along with short round times, executive courses are also great for beginning golfers.

You might be hesitant to bring a new golfer on a regulation course, after all, they’re expensive, crowded, and time-consuming if you’re playing partner isn’t on top of their game.

However, with an executive course, the shorter holes and lower cost should help keep your new playing partner from getting too frustrated as they learn the game.

Finally, executive courses are a great place to practice and hone your skills.

Many of these courses can be found in cities or other densely populated areas. If this is the case, oftentimes an executive course will have a driving range or putting green attached to it.

This allows you to warm up and work on your swing at the range and then apply what you just practiced during an actual round; something that really is the best of both worlds.

Wrap-Up

I’m not going to lie if promises of cheaper, faster, more enjoyable rounds of golf wasn’t enough to sell you on trying an executive course I’m not sure what will.

They may not be as widely known as their larger relatives, but if you know where to look there are amazing short courses all around us looking for golfers to come out and play.

So next time you’re looking to squeeze in nine after work, skip the two and a half hour grind and go check out your local executive course instead. I know you won’t regret it.