Or even the hardest you ever played.

Barton Creek Fazio Foothills is the most difficult I have ever played. It hosted the Legends for a few years. The slope and tight fairways make it suck ass for a hack like me. The greens are pretty awesome.

TPC, Dural.  'Play' would be an over statement.     But I’ve visited both a few times.

Augusta

I drove a golf ball into Mexico, does that count?

The Dream.

How does it play when not set up for The Masters?

A lot of slope there too.

Trump National In PV is pretty awesome.

And please post details; the whole experience.

I'll tell you two I hate.. Forest Creek in Round Rock and Crystal Falls in Cedar Park.

Too many blind shots at both. Crystal Falls has the most ridiculous par 3 I've ever seen. Tee off 100 feet above the green 150 yards away.  Fuck that shit.

I've played a round on a course in Arizona.


"Rough" is different than i'm used to.

 
Yup. I played Augusta last August and stayed in the Bobby Jones cabin.


Amazing experience I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Please give some details. The story.

Augusta is the holy grail for hackers like me.

Give it up, man!

Closest I ever got to a famous course is a TPC in Arizona.

Kiawah Island a few times.


Eta: I play Barton Creek a few times a year. Great course OP.

We had a traveling team of hackers that would head down to the Nancy Lopez charity classic in Albany, Georgia every year. One of the courses we played along the way was The Judge. It's an incredible course that drops off into the Alabama river bottoms. There's lots of water along the course and I've had to run a small gator off the putting green.

RTJ GOLF TRAIL AT CAPITOL HILL

One of the most popular sites on the Trail, Capitol Hill, in Prattville, continues to get praises from golfers and golf writers alike. Golf Magazine called the Judge course one of the 10 public courses in America worthy of hosting the U.S. Open and the Zagat Survey of America's Top Golf Courses ranked it among the top 50 courses in America. The Senator course was named among the Top 10 New Courses in the nation by Golf Magazine and is the host course for the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic.

JUDGE Course Tour
The Judge offers stunning vistas alongside the glistening backwaters of the Alabama River. With 14 holes adjoining the water and a stunning bulkhead island green, the Judge is described as simply magnificent.


http://www.rtjgolf.com/capitolhill/

Not famous per say but one of my favorites here.

 
Firstly, the club values its privacy and the privacy of its members so I won't discuss any names. I was told I could take pictures but to not post them online under any circumstances.




I know someone that knows a member and I was fortunate enough to get an invite. I had never been to the club even to watch the masters. This was my first time there so I was very surprised how incognito it was from the outside. It was hard to believe that the world's most exclusive and prestigious club was just on the other side of some very tall shrubbery and fence while driving down the road before turning onto the entrance.




Driving down Magnolia Lane is when I started getting chills. As I got settled into the cabin and had dinner at the clubhouse, it was almost as if I had stepped into a time machine back to the 40's-50's. Everything about this place is understated and of course oozes of tradition. Nothing gaudy or fancy. Everything seems as if nothing had changed since Bobby Jones built it in the 30's.




No matter how many times you hear people tell you how hilly the course is, you really don't realize how hilly it is until you're there. Watching the Masters on TV doesn't capture a fraction of the slope for some reason. Especially on the greens. I like fast greens but these were unreal. Probably rolling around at least 13-14 as they were pretty firm and very smooth.




I played tournament golf before and was even a class-A PGA professional in a previous life. But this experience was absolutely terrifying for some reason. I could not believe where I was. Every single step was incredibly surreal. Especially once we got to Amen corner. I hit a lot of great shots that I will remember until the day I die. I just hope I get to play it at least one more time.


 

Augusta is not the world's most exclusive and prestigious club. Pine Valley in NJ holds that honor.

Many people have managed to get a ticket to play Augusta. Pine Valley is in a whole 'nother world of difficulty to get on the course.

I've got nothing that compares to Augusta.

But the hardest course was The Ridges in Jonesborough TN. Greens were like glass.

I've played the TPC course a couple of times.  Back in the 80s, the greens were like putting on concrete--kinda like putt-putt, if you were below the hole it either went in, or came right back down to you.  They change the grass they used a while back.

Played Bethesda as well.

I birdied #16 at harbor town once its a par3 nice tee shot put me 8 feet from the whole.  I use to caddy at successions in SC$25,000 per year membership

I have never played.   Though I could get on the Old White TPC for free.

Used to be an avid golfer,... Until I got into guns

But seriously, I've played Whispering Pines (#1 private in Texas) a ton.

Otherwise,.. Colonial, Talking Stick, TPC San Antonio...


For extreme elevation changes in central Texas, try Colovista in Bastrop!

Torrey Pines, both North and South; the most recent time being over 30 years ago.  I remember them both being really long, which given my inability to hit a fairway wood worth a darn, meant I was in for a long day.

I'm going to be near Pebble Beach this summer but no way am I paying the greens fees to hack up their course.

Pebble Beach
1992.  My brother and I were in Napa for a couple of weeks and drove down to play Pebble Beach / Spyglass Hill / Spanish Bay over two days.  Pebble cost $175 at the time.  I think it's over $500 now. Still worth it.  Amazing place.  Standing on the 8th fairway looking down at the green with the Pacific on my right while the huge fox squirrels ransacked our cart is a moment I'll never forget.
St. Andrews Old Course and Carnoustie
We spent 16 days and played 9 different courses.  Of the others we played I really liked Royal Aberdeen and The Machrie (on the island of Islay.)  The Old Course was amazing.  I could literally feel the footsteps of the greatest players in history walking the fairways and greens.  St. Andrews is a very cool town, I would definitely go back.  I think I shot a 92, which wasn't bad.  But the wind was only blowing 20mph, which is a gentle breeze over there.





Hitting over the hotel on 17 was really fun.  I missed a long approach
shot and ended up where you do NOT want to be - the rough short of the
dreaded Road Hole.  I managed to get the ball up on the green and stop
it before it went into the road.  Bogey was a great score on that hole.  People gather around the 1st tee and the 18th green, right in front of the R&A Golf Association (tradition staring you in the face...) which of course are right next to each other.  On 18 I hit a nice drive up to the crosswalk, and then my approach shot landed 3 feet from the flag.  They applauded me coming down the fairway.  I felt like Jack Nicklaus... until I missed the birdie putt.  
Carnoustie was a great course as well.  I managed to stay out of most of the bunkers;  I think my friend found every one.  I shot 89 in some wind, which I was pretty proud of.  Parring the 18th, where Jean Van de Velde so famously blew a three shot lead to lose the 1999 Open Championship, was AWESOME.
When we checked in at Cruden Bay, an old member was coming in, and asked, "Laddies, yer not goin' out there are ya?  The wind's blowing the balls off the greens!"  It wasn't so much 'golf' as it was a test of wills.  I recall playing a 520 yard Par 5 coming in against the wind, and hitting seven PERFECT 4-irons (which for me normally go about 180 yards) before getting close enough to the green for a wedge.  And yes, the wind blew several balls off the green.  Seriously, a steady 35 mph with 50 mph gusts.  Brutal, brutal, brutal.
Kingsbarns, near St. Andrews, is not a famous course, but it will be, if they can get it on the Rota.  So beautiful.  They moved a lot of dirt to manufacture this course, but it looks like a very natural part of the landscape, and it reminded me of Pebble Beach.  The most expensive course we played on our trip.  I had  'Playstation Shot' on a Par 3.  It was a peninsula green, with huge rocks all around it.  There was nothing but green and rocks.  I hit a 6-iron high and....and....not quite long enough.  It hit a rock, bounced high in the air, then bounced on the rocks at least 8 more times before coming to rest almost exactly where it first hit!
(Side note...)  Friend's wife was supposed to drive while he and I drank whisky on the distillery tours.  About 30 minutes of her driving on the wrong side of the car and the wrong side of the road pretty much blew that idea all to hell. (Cue the 'Nope, Nope, Nope! gif...)
TPC Sawgrass



Definitely the most difficult course I've ever played.  Parred the 17th.   Shot 142 I think...
Harbour Town
Hilton Head is a Beautiful place.  Very tough course if you don't drive the ball straight.  Almost every fairway is narrow, with out-of-bounds only 20 yards off the fairway.  If I play it again I'm hitting 5-irons off every par 4 and par 5 and playing for bogie.  I'm not a terrible driver of the ball, and I was out-of-bounds a LOT.
Whistling Straits
Played the Straits course and Blackwolf Run (itself a very nice course.)  The Straights course is incredible. There's really nothing else like it, which is why it so quickly became a fixture for major championships. I played very poorly, and I want to go back and at least give myself a chance to score better than I did.  Nothing worse than playing like a total hacker when you've ponied up $300+ to play a course like that.
Hats off to whoever played Augusta.  I'm hoping to get the chance to spectate one day.  I have no illusions about ever being able to play there.
 

I call bullshit.  You can't golf in Valhalla thats where Warriors go when they die to feast with Odin.

I also don't like golf because its a misappropriation of land.  A golf course is a perfect rifle range just waiting to be used as such.

When I golf, my sole purpose is to make the other 3 guys in the foursome look really good!

Firestone South right after the NEC tournament, rough day

Par 3 on the DMZ in Korea.  Knocked it 3 feet from the hole.  I'm left handed and was trying to slice it.  It was said beyond the fence is a mine field.

Bethpage Black Course

Came here to post this I was stationed at the JSA there in 97-98 and don't golf but did it to say that I did

Never played it near tournament time but I did get a few chances to play it when I was 16-17.  A friend's Dad was a member and got us in.

There's a course here called Golden Ocala that has a bunch of replica holes, including a pretty darn good copy of Amen Corner.  I used to love playing that course when it was public.  Now it's a private $Million equestrian/golf club.  Can't imagine playing the real thing...





 

Yep, Barton Creek is a whole lot of fun.  I had a blast on The Bandit as well, and Silverhorn is one that anybody traveling to San Antonio with their clubs should play.  Very 'old school' golf.  Nothing too fancy, just a very well thought out layout, with great 'feel.'



 

I definitely want to take a RTJ tour soon.



 

This might be fun...
"The club does allow the public in for one day in late September every
year to watch the Crump Cup, a nationally recognized tournament
featuring elite mid-amateur players."
I enjoy watching good players on very exclusive courses.  In 2007, 2009, and 2011 Golf Magazine named it "The Best Golf Course in the World."
 

for free.  a buddy's dad was some muckity muck there.

The ridges is really nothing.
Imo glenrochie or the olde farm, both in Abingdon are far harder from the blacks.
For those who don't know, The Olde Farm is one of the top 10 elite private courses in the entire country. Last time I recall, initial membership fees after invitation were over 150k with annual dues over 45k. Many players fly helicopters in. I caddied there for nearly 4 years. I've seen emmitt smith, couple different presidents, and got to caddy for jimmy Johnson, Jr. Seau, the mannings, and Dan Marino.

I have played harbour town and pinehurst no 2 both from the black(not because I'm that good, just for the experience. I play around a 7hcp)

I feel harbour town was more difficult. It's length, narrowness, small turtle back green and heavily guarded greens. You better be good out of the sand or it'll be a really long day out of some of the deeper bunkers that force you to hit backwards.

 
I will post some pictures later.


It is probably the most manicured couple hundred acres in the world.  It is so perfect that the grass doesn't look real.


The course itself is easy to play from the middle tees......the length is fair.  Without the stands set up, each hole is wide open with only a few tough tee shots or tough second shots.


The difficulty is on the greens.  The elevation change on each green is extreme....some greens having 10 feet.  Also, unless you play the course frequently, you can't read the greens because of the grain.  You have to have a caddy to do it for you.  


Honestly I was disappointed.  Don't get me wrong, I am one of the luckiest guys in the world for having the chance to play there.  I will never forget it.  But I have played a hundred courses that were better designed. There are blind shots everywhere.  Anyone can build a long golf course from the tips.  All you need is enough property to do it. Anyone can build greens with stupid slopes.  Anyone can let the grain get carried away with itself with bent grass.  


That is what Agusta is along with incredible manicuring.


If you want to play a really well designed and challenging golf course, go up to Koelher and play Whisling Strsights.

TPC Sawgrass in the early '90s.

The only thing of note that I remember is that your drive had to land in a certain spot, or you were screwed for your second shot.

I used to play The Golf Club, in New Albany weekly.  Rule was we always had to let the member(s) play through.

Considering it only has billionaires and actors as members, you never knew who you might see.  It was cool though because they usually just assumed you were on their level...  Like the two dudes in Airwalks asking us about Gulfstream jets on the T box one day.

Said I was still using net jets

Best actor member: Sean Connery.  

My roommate was one of the supervisors.

Doral Blue Monster
Pebble Beach

Please allow me to let the air out of this thread.



A friend of mine - who does not golf - won a golf outing with president of operations of Dow Chemical.  It was a company picnic thing & and the outing was one of the prizes.



So a couple weeks later, Ol' Crispy Keith borrowed a set of clubs, bought an egg carton of used golf balls & showed up to just have some fun.  Keith being the guest was first up on the tee.  With the Prez, VP of marketing & head of HR standing there Ol' Keith says as he's about to hit the ball,  "Ya know, this is the first time I've ever been on a golf course without my car".

The hardest course I've played so far was in the Massanutten Resort in Virginia. It's a mountain course that's very narrow and very high.

Chipping to a green that is 40 feet above you will make you appreciate the loft and bounce angle of a Mack Daddy!

I once won a pretty intense mini golf tournament.