Power Ranking the 10 Toughest Golf Courses on the PGA Tour in 2010
If the year of 2010 has taught golf fans anything, it is that great golfers and cutting-edge technology can take the bite out of just about any golf course.
Can you ever remember a year when more winning scores were in the 20 under range? Or lower? How many guys shot 62s and 63s throughout the year. Heck, there was even a couple of 59s.
Yet, despite the PGA professionals assaulting American golf courses on a weekly basis, there are still some courses that refuse to take it lying down.
Here are the ten golf courses that put up the best fight in 2010 on the PGA tour. If the golf course didn't always win the battle, it certainly went down trying.
For the sake of this top ten list, we will not include any of the major tournaments in 2010. Just the toughest non-major courses that the PGA visited, or will yet visit, this year.
10. Innisbrook Resort: The Transitions Championship
1 of 10
Jim Furyk was the winner back in March when the tour stopped at Innisbrook.
It was Furyk's first win in almost three years and his first victory in the states in four.
Jim held off charges from K.J. Choi and Bubba Watson on Sunday to win by one with a 13-under par score.
The tournament at Innisbrook is held on the Copperhead Course. It is an unusual layout for Florida in that there is significant elevation changes. Copperhead played at over 7,300 yards. In 2009 it ranked as the ninth toughest on tour out of 51 courses, and it certainly didn't get any easier in 2010.
9. PGA National Resort: Honda Classic
2 of 10
Almost everyone in the field struggled with the Florida course except the winner, Camilo Villegas. Villegas strolled to a five shot victory, shooting 13-under par. The 267 scored over the week was the lowest total since the Honda Classic moved to the PGA National Resort in 2007.
A relatively short track at 7,158 yards, the PGA National makes up for it in other ways. Tricky greens, huge bunkers and some intimidating water.
Holes 15-17 played a collective one shot over par for the week.
8. Harbour Town Golf Links: Verizon Heritage
3 of 10
Jim Furyk's second win of the year is most notable for the penalty Brian Davis called on himself in the sudden death playoff, giving Furyk the win.
Harbour Town, in Hilton Head, South Carolina, is one of Pete Dye's better designs. The greens are tiny, averaging only about 3700 square feet. It is also a very tight course with narrow, tree-lined fairways.
Dye was the original designer of the course which opened in 1969, and then Pete did his own redesign in 2000.
In 2009 Harbour Town ranked 17th toughest out of 51 golf courses.
7. Redstone Golf Club: Shell Houston Open
4 of 10
Anthony Kim beat Vaughn Taylor in a playoff to win the 2010 Shell Houston Open.
Designed by Rees Jones, Redstone is long at over 7,457 yards. The course is noted for well engineered greens and its challenging bunkering.
No walk in the park.
6. Muirfield Village: The Memorial Tournament
5 of 10
Jack's tournament is always one of the highlights of any PGA season. Muirfield Village is consistently one of the better-maintained golf courses on tour.
This year Justin Rose was able to claim his first ever PGA win at the Ohio course.
Jack has put water in play on 11 of the 18 holes, and the course has been lengthened over 250 yards from its original design.
Rose fired a 66 on Sunday to win the tournament by three shots over Rickie Fowler.
5. Quail Hollow Golf Club: Wells Fargo Championship
6 of 10
Quail Hollow was the site of Rory McIlroy's first ever PGA Tour win in early May.
The Irishman rolled to a four-shot victory over Phil Mickelson.
The Charlotte, North Carolina course constantly gets rave reviews from many of the PGA players. The golf course has been awarded the 2017 PGA Championship.
The players like to call it a difficult but fair golf course, which is the ultimate compliment from a tour player.
4. TPC Sawgrass: The Players Championship
7 of 10
Tim Clark won the much sought after prize of the Players Championship this year. It was a one-shot win over Robert Allenby.
The Ponte Vedra, Florida course is most known for the par 3 island green 17th. A tough test of short iron to say the least.
No. 17 is sandwiched by the toughest hole on the course, number 18, and the easiest hole on the course, number 16.
The par 72 plays 7,215 yards.
3. Bay Hill: Arnold Palmer Invitational
8 of 10
Arnie's course, outside of the Masters, is the highlight of the first part of the golf season. Played two weeks before the Masters it is always the big tune up for the world's greatest players before the major season begins.
Ernie Els won the event in 2010 with an 11-under par, two better than Kevin Na and Edoardo Molinari.
A 7,381 par 72 located in Orlando.
The final three holes are among the very best finishing holes in all of golf. A great, tough golf course.
2. Cog Hill: BMW Classic
9 of 10
Cog Hill will be the sight on the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs third week. Tiger Woods is the defending champion.
Course No. 4 at Cog Hill, named Dubsdread, hosts the tournament, and has since 1991. It is a favorite among the players. It was renovated in 2008 by Rees Jones.
The Lemont, Illinois course has large, tiered, difficult bentgrass greens, tree-lined fairways and over 110 bunkers.
The par 71 plays a shade over 7,380 yards.
Last year Woods shot an amazing 19 under par to win by eight shots.
1. Pebble Beach Golf Links: AT & T National Pro Am
10 of 10
Pebble Beach held two events this year, the U.S. Open in June and also, back in February, the National Pro Am. Dustin Johnson won the Pro Am, defending the title he won in 2008.
Ranked the number one public courses in America year in and year out, Pebble Beach has been frustrating golfers for about 90 years now.
Sloping, difficult greens. Rugged cliff-side fairways. Wind that can wreak havoc. Pebble Beach has everything you could ask for in a golf course that can make even the best golfers in the world look out of their element.
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