Grading the Most Scenic Courses in PGA History

Very often, the words scenic and golf courses are mentioned in the same sentence.

And because the PGA Tour plays on only the best layouts, those who play at the game's highest level have a chance to play on all of the sport's most aesthetically pleasing courses.

Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But there are some courses that get unanimous accolades and the following list is a collection of what seems to be the most scenic.

10. Old White TPC

The Greenbrier Classic is the newcomer to the PGA Tour on this list, but it has quickly become a player and fan favorite.

It’s definitely the most remote of any on the list, located in the mountains of West Virginia in White Sulphur Springs. But that’s what qualifies it for the scenic list.

With the Allegheny Mountains surrounding the resort, scenic views are everywhere.

The Old White is the first 18-hole course built at the Greenbrier. It was designed originally by Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor in 1914.

The course is heavily-treed and is traditional in every sense except one.

It’s unique in that it finishes with a par three, only 162 yards on the scorecard but it plays much more difficult than that with the pressure of winning or losing a tournament riding on it.

9. TPC Sawgrass

It’s located not far from the ocean, approximately a mile, so water definitely comes into play on the TPC Sawgrass, perhaps the most devilish of all of Pete Dye’s designs.

This one is special because of how it wanders through what’s left of the swamp that the course was built on and around the naturally created water hazards.

Humps and bumps all around the course make for great vantage points for spectators and ramp up the difficulties for players.

The course has become world-famous for the 17th island green that has played a big role in several Players Championships.

But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of other pitfalls prior to the penultimate hole.

In a state loaded with really good golf courses, this one will knock your socks off.

8. Harbour Town Links

The red and white striped lighthouse that stands sentry over the Inland Waterway and Calibogue Sound at the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island is called the Harbour Town Lighthouse and is the visual centerpiece of the resort.

But the Pete Dye-designed Harbour Town Links is as visually striking as anything else on the island.

The course is a great mix of tree-lined fairways, open meadows and then playing along the sound.

It has an awesome collection of par threes and a finishing hole that’s a 400-plus yard beast that’s one of the best on the PGA Tour.

No doubt about it, Harbour Town Links is a head-turner.

7. Muirfield Village Golf Club

There’s no ocean in Dublin, Ohio.

But that doesn’t take anything from the scenic value of Muirfield Village Golf Club, the house that Jack Nicklaus built.

There’s no pretense about what this beauty is all about: it is as pristine and eye-catching as anything on the PGA Tour.

Every year, this course features conditioning that most courses would die to have.

Tree-lined fairways, immaculate bunkering, the most spectacular shade of green on the fairways and putting surfaces, all of that is in abundant supply just outside of Columbus.

Holes that hold particular beauty are nine, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 18. And if you miss seeing water, there’s enough on the course for both golfers and spectators.

6. TPC Scottsdale

In a modern-day architecture sort of way, the TPC Scottsdale is a true oasis in the desert.

Just looking at it in a general way, the contrast of the bright green tees, fairways and greens against the outline of the dormant Bermuda rough lights up the Sonoran Desert just north of Phoenix.

But as you make your way around this Tom Weiskopf/Jay Morrish design, you are surrounded by the beauty of the Southwest, with stunning views of the McDowell Mountains.

The ho-hum 16th hole, a 160-yard par three is transformed into party central during the week of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

The 15th, 17th and 18th holes also provide great viewing opportunities as well as strategic difficulties for the players.

5. Plantation Course at Kapalua

The question is: how can a golf course located in Hawaii not be scenic? And I don’t have an answer for that.

But the scenery provided by the Plantation Course at Kapalua is the best of the best.

For the golfer, the course provides stunning vistas created by significant changes in elevation.

With the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, it’s not unusual to see whales breaking the water’s surface, surfers breaking it in the other direction, and plenty of other sorts of aquatic activity.

4. Torrey Pines South

There’s just something about golf and the ocean.

The South Course at Torrey Pines is another knockout venue for golfers and spectators alike.

With hang gliders sailings over the beach that’s below the course, Torrey Pines is an idyllic setting.

The downhill par three third hole looks as though the tee shot is being launched into the Pacific.

The tough par four 12th hole is a real test of a golfer’s depth perception as the relatively flat putting surface appears to never end.

There are plenty of challenges on the South, but they’re far outnumbered by the things that make you say ‘Wow.’

3. Monterey Peninsula Shore Course

There is Pebble Beach and then there is everything else. 

But at the head of the line behind Pebble is the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

Never heard of it? It was originally designed by Robert Baldock in 1960 and redesigned by the late Mike Strantz in 2003 and is now a jewel.

The Pacific Ocean is in view from the fifth hole to the 18th. The course now provides more of a links golf challenge.

The South is a links-type course, sitting on 400 acres of forest, dunes and coastal landscape.

If you like wildlife, the ever-present deer can occasionally distract you from the coastal scenes.

2. Augusta National Golf Club

Even if the Augusta National Golf Club wasn’t one of the truly beautiful tracts of land anywhere, the fact that the Masters is the first major championship of the year makes it even more attractive.

Snowbound golfers around the country and the world anxiously await the Masters every year and are rewarded with spectacular sites like the majestic Georgia pines, the azaleas, magnolias and a golf course that shimmers a bright green that’s brightened even more under the Georgia sunshine.

Amen Corner, featuring the world-famous par three 12th, is not only difficult for the golfers, but provides great viewing for spectators.

1. Pebble Beach Golf Links

The Pebble Beach Golf Links is one of those golf courses that produces a great paradox: while there have been hundreds of thousands words written about this spectacular seaside layout, it is sometimes hard to come up with the appropriate things to say about it.

The course runs along some spectacularly rugged Northern California coastline, affording great views of Carmel Bay, the Pacific Ocean and the south side of Monterey Peninsula.

The course features an unparalleled stretch of holes from seven-10 in which the sea is a definite factor.

Definitely the ultimate eye candy for golfers and spectators.