Whistling Straits, Straits Course

Designed by Pete Dye, Whistling Straits emulates the great old seaside links courses of the British Isles, invoking an image of the game founded more than 400 years ago. The Straits Course is open with rugged and windswept terrain. A more mature course than one would expect, golfers encounter huge sandy areas, deep pot bunkers,grass-topped dunes, big and undulating greens and majestic views of Lake Michigan from each of its 18 holes. The dramatic par-3 17th, the course's unofficial signature hole, features a green precariously perched over water and sand. Whistling Straits also features: 

Two miles of uninterrupted shoreline on Lake Michigan 

- Eight holes hugging the Lake Michigan shoreline 

- Bluffs and massive sand dune areas 

- Natural fescue fairways 

- A flock of Scottish Blackface sheep call the course home 

- Elevation change on the course (hole 15) is approximately 80 feet 

- The Straits Course is a walking course; walking distance for 18 holes is approximately five miles 

- Three stone bridges at holes 9, 10 and 18

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TPC Sawgrass, The Players Stadium

Early in 2006, after the final putt fell at the Players Championship, work crews fanned out across the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, giving Pete Dye's renowned layout its first major renovation since it opened in 1981. Greens were revamped, bunkers were deepened, dead trees were replaced, and a drainage system that had long been a weak spot in the course's defenses was overhauled. The result is a course that plays firm, fast and fair -- exactly what Dye always intended.

Dye's design, never meant to overwhelm with length, has been left largely intact and still requires subtlety and precision. Some holes (like Nos. 1 and 8) have been lengthened modestly, and pot bunkers were added along the seventh fairway (at 270 to 310 yards from the tee, they aren't an issue for most of us). Even the most iconic hole at Sawgrass -- the island-green 17th -- was tweaked: the front slope was flattened a little and the left side widened to accommodate a perilous new pin position. But one thing hasn't changed, and it never will: there's still a lot of water around the green.

There is water on every hole of Pete Dye's Valley Course. The layout received a major renovation in 2006 and is now playing tougher than ever. Over 300 trees were added to the course and several bunkers were reconstructed to both improve drainage and offer more challenge.

The long par-3 second hole has water running down the entire right side. The green is also guarded by grass mounds in front and deep bunkers short and left.

The 350-yard, par-4 3rd hole may lake length, but it has plenty of complexity. The fairway slopes hard to the left, so most players will hit their second shot with the ball above their feet. From that hook lie, missing the green left will deposit your ball in a collection area that is 12 feet below the level of the green and tightly mowed. From their you may need to chip, pitch or putt depending on the pin placement.

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Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Bandon Dunes has been ranked as one of the top courses in the U.S. and the World by Golf Magazine's panel of experts.

Bandon Dunes was this first course at the resort. It opened to raves in 1999. And rightly so: David McLay Kidd's design may labor under the ever lengthening shadow cast by Pacific Dunes, but it's still one of the best tracks you'll ever play. The course picks up steam at the 428-yard 5th hole, where your drive and approach shots must thread rough-strewn mounds. The bunkering is masterful, deep sodwalled affairs that goad aggressive players into foolhardy plays while steering higher handicaps to safer terrain. No. 13 -- a 553-yard par 5 -- has no bunkers at all, but the rolling ground presents no shortage of quandaries.

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