If you are thinking about betting on any golf tournament at top-rated sportsbooks, we suggest first taking a look at the most famous golf courses around the world.
Augusta National
Par 72, 7510 yards
Bentgrass greens
Parkland undulating track
They say the Masters does not begin until the “Back 9 on a Sunday”.
Designers Bobby Jones and Alistair Mackenzie in 1932.
The most iconic golf course for fans and viewers is likely to be Augusta National in Georgia, Atlanta, which is the annual home for the Masters Tournament.
The Masters Tournament is the first major championships for each year in the second week in April.
It is a demanding test where experienced champions often return for their final hurrah, such as Jack Nicklaus’s famous back nine charge of 1986 to win his sixth green jacket in his mid-40s.
Recently, Tiger Woods’s comeback green jacket of 2019 has become an iconic image after years of injuries and it will probably be his final major championship career win.
St. Andrews
- Par 72, 6721 yards
- Wide open seaside golf links
- The history behind the course means, by modern-day standards, it is very short and easy for the modern player unless the natural elements take over.
- Pot bunkers are to be avoided, especially on the iconic par 4 17th (the road hole).
If Augusta National is the most iconic golf course, then St. Andrews in Scotland is the most historic. The seaside links at the Old Course is the Home of Golf, and remarkably, the west coast of Scotland track has played host to the sport for over 600 years.
The course has often been overpowered in recent years but the list of Open Champions at St. Andrews that includes Seve Ballesteros, Jack Nicklaus, John Daly, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods suggests it still has its place in the modern game to remind fans that the origin of game is still alive and kicking!
Pebble Beach
- Par 72, par 71 for U.S. Open at 7045 yards
- Poa Annua greens
- Seaside golf links with some of the smallest greens on tour
- Very susceptible to the elements.
- Designers Jack Neville and Douglas Grant in 2019
We have identified the most iconic and historic courses, now it gets harder when finding the most picturesque course.
Pebble Beach on the Monterey Peninsula must be right up there with its small greens, and beautifully sculptured by Mother Nature.
It could be argued that Pebble Beach usurps many other picturesque with its regular hosting of U.S. Opens along with the annual Pebble Beach Pro-am.
The Pebble Beach Pro-am has been a signifier of the PGA Tour year early season for decades now, with its pro-celebrity nature bringing esteemed A-listers to television golf viewers over the years. The list of names is endless but appearances from Clint Eastwood, Mark Wahlberg, and Kevin Costner on the course along with the comedic cameos of Bill Murray will be ingrained in golf fans memories for years to come.
The Roll of Honour of pro-am winners is a veritable who’s who of golf with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, Payne Stewart, Dustin Johnson and Johnny Miller to name a few. Add in six recent U.S. Open led by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods as three of the winners and Pebble Beach has it all.
The Stadium Course TPC Sawgrass
- Par 72, 7245 yards
- Tiff dwarf Bermuda grass greens
- Bermuda fairways and many water hazards
- Designed by Pete Dye in 1980 as a built-for-purpose track to host the PGA Tour’s flagship Players Championship with moulded amphitheatres built in for crowd participation.
Many of golf’s most treasured images over the years have come from the turbulent stretch of final holes at TPC Sawgrass – the Stadium Course. Strategically, the track demands patience, planning and nerve to negotiate.
The island green par 3, 17th and the crowd enclosed is one of the most iconic images in professional golf, as are the many balls that hit a watery grave over the years. But the course is more than that one hole, and the test has stood the test of time requiring tee-to-green accuracy, never yielding or overpowered by the modern technology advancements.
Like Augusta National, what makes the TPC Stadium Course a great test, is players can shoot between 63 and 80 on any given day bringing the most exciting leaderboards.
