The world famous 7th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links. | Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images
The Western United States, particularly California, has some of the best and toughest golf courses on the planet.
Numerous golf courses in the Western United States are situated on some of the most picturesque landscapes in the world.
But these courses offer much more than stunning scenery.
They frequently create high drama, thanks to their brilliant architecture. But more often, they lead a golfer to experience frustration and bitterness because of their sheer brutality.
Here are the five most challenging golf courses in the West, ranked by SB Nation’s Playing Through:
5. Riviera Country Club
Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images
A view of the 18th hole at Riviera Country Club, which hosts the Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour.
A course visited every year by the PGA Tour via The Genesis Invitational, Riviera Country Club never disappoints. The Los Angeles-area club routinely challenges the world’s best players, especially when the Southern California marine layer descends upon the course.
The club has a few holes that are both famous and quite difficult.
The par-3 6th hole, which sits below numerous mansions, has a bunker in the middle of the green, often punishing players who miss their tee shots in the wrong spots.
Then there is the famous 10th hole, a drivable par-4 that deceives many of the biggest hitters. Bunkers surround most of the green, and the unique shape of the green turns what should be an easy birdie hole into a rather tricky one.
And finally, the par-4 18th is one of the most famous finishing holes in the world. A challenging, uphill, dogleg right ends in front of the clubhouse, with the green perched at the bottom of a natural amphitheater.
So many famous players have won here, notably Ben Hogan, which is why Riviera is dubbed ‘Hogan’s Alley.’ But interestingly, even though Tiger Woods hosts his tournament at Riviera every year, he has never won there.
Tournaments hosted:
U.S. Open: 1948, 2031
PGA Championship: 1983, 1995
U.S. Senior Open: 1998
U.S. Amateur: 2017
PGA Tour Los Angeles Open: 59 times since 1929 (now the Genesis Invitational)
4. Spyglass Hill Golf Course
Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR
The third hole at Spyglass Hill Golf Course.
One of the most overlooked courses on the PGA Tour, Spyglass Hill offers plenty of beauty but also gives any golfer a healthy dose of agitation.
The Monterey course does not have the notoriety of its neighbor, Pebble Beach, but that should not take away from the fact that it challenges the best players in the world year in and year out.
At last year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where Spyglass Hill is one of three courses played in the rota, Spyglass played almost a full shot over par.
The other two courses (Pebble Beach and Monterey Peninsula) both played under par.
Overall, this course offers unique green complexes, some as little as 10 yards wide. Many of these putting surfaces have multiple tiers, often forcing three putts.
And yet, nobody summed up this course better than Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray in 1967:
“It’s a 300-acre unplayable lie,” Murray wrote.
“If it were human, Spyglass [Hill] would have a knife in its teeth, a patch on its eye, a ring in its ear, tobacco in its beard, and a blunderbuss in its hand. I love every unplayable inch of it. Every golf course in the world is Spyglass Hill to me.”
Tournaments hosted:
PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: One of three courses played annually since 1967
3. Pebble Beach Golf Links
Photo by Brian Spurlock/Getty Images
The 4th green at Pebble Beach.
Pebble Beach sits up there alongside Augusta National and Pine Valley as the triumvirate of great American courses.
But most people do not realize how difficult Pebble plays, especially during a U.S. Open, when the rough becomes gnarly and thick.
Sure, PGA Tour players blitz Pebble Beach each February, often shooting 72-hole scores in the 20-under range. But how the tour sets up the course differs from that of the United States Golf Association.
In 2019, Gary Woodland won the U.S. Open at 13-under, but rain had softened the course, and the winds were uncharacteristically absent.
Nine years earlier, Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell claimed his only major, winning the U.S. Open at even par.
Then, in 2000, in perhaps the greatest major championship performance of all time, Tiger Woods turned Pebble Beach into his personal playground. He won the tournament at 12-under, winning by a record-shattering 15 strokes, as the rest of the field struggled in the difficult conditions. Nobody finisher lower than 3-over.
With Pebble Beach sitting alongside the sea, the wind plays a factor most of the time. Misty conditions also arise often, creating an uncomfortable feeling in one of golf’s most picturesque places.
Tournaments hosted:
U.S. Open: 1972, 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010, 2019, 2027, 2032, 2037, 2044
PGA Championship: 1977
U.S. Women’s Open: 2023, 2035, 2040, 2048
U.S. Amateur: 1929, 1947, 1961, 1999, 2018
U.S. Women’s Amateur: 1940, 1948
PGA Tour AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Annually since 1937
PGA Tour Champions PURE Insurance Championship: Annually since 2004
2. Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course)
Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
The third green on the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
The South Course at Torrey Pines is the longest course played every year on the PGA Tour.
Topping out at a little more than 7,800 yards, the San Diego-area course hosts the Farmers Insurance Open every January.
The course has also hosted two U.S. Opens, with the 2008 edition being one of the most famous tournaments ever.
Tiger Woods won the title in a playoff over Rocco Mediate and did so with a stress fracture and a torn ACL. Woods and Mediate finished tied at 1-under after 72 holes and then needed 19 holes the next day to determine the victor.
Thirteen years later, Jon Rahm birdied the 71st and 72nd holes en route to his first major championship victory. Rahm finished at 6-under, one stroke ahead of Louis Oosthuizen.
From the back tees, the South Course has only one par-4 listed under 400 yards. Meanwhile, three of them are longer than 490.
The tricky par-3 3rd hole is perhaps the most famous at Torrey Pines, as it offers incredible views of the Pacific Ocean.
But the best thing about Torrey Pines is that anyone can play it at a reasonable price, thus drawing similarities to Bethpage Black on Long Island.
Tournaments hosted:
U.S. Open: 2008, 2021
PGA Tour San Diego Open: Annually since 1952 (now the Farmers Insurance Open)
1. The Olympic Club (Lake Course)
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
A view of the 18th green during the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California.
The only San Francisco-area course on this list, nothing out West gets more demanding than the Lake Course at the Olympic Club.
Every fairway on the Lake Course seems to slope away from the player and into thick rough, making every shot rather tricky. You will not find any even lies at the Olympic Club, which makes sense given how hilly of a city San Francisco is.
But the amazing thing about this golf course is that it contains zero water hazards, and it has only one fairway bunker on the long par-4 6th.
The undulating grounds and the gnarly rough are the real defenses of this track, which have caused plenty of havoc over the years. So, too, are the green complexes, which slope in every direction and are littered with sand traps all around them.
In 2012, the last time this course held a U.S. Open, Webb Simpson claimed his only major by winning at 1-over par. Then, in 1998, Lee Janzen won the U.S. Open at even par.
Another fascinating aspect about it is where the par-5s are situated. The 670-yard 16th and the 522-yard 17th welcome some scoring opportunities towards the end of the round—if you can survive the course until then.
Tournaments hosted:
U.S. Open: 1955, 1966, 1987, 1998, 2012
PGA Championship: 2028
U.S. Women’s Open: 2021
Ryder Cup: 2033
U.S. Amateur: 1958, 1981, 2007, 2025
U.S. Women’s Amateur: 2030
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
