The Masters' venue, Augusta National, is famous for its pin placements on Sunday. The greens are hard, nerves are on edge and the wind plays tricks with a player's sense of direction. Coming down the stretch, including Amen Corner, demands all their golfing wisdom from those who would lead to the end. A slight mistake can put a player in deep trouble and cancel any dreams of wearing the Green Jacket.
Another great golf course, Pebble Beach , offers beauty and demands precision in return. Everybody interested in the game remembers watching Arnold Palmer explore the rocky sea-shore in search of an errant golf ball. Other pros have experienced the same feeling of frustration as the strong winds coming off the Pacific Ocean turn a well-hit shot into a catastrophe.
Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey has consistently been officially ranked as America's number one layout – when it wasn't number one, it was within a couple of spots from the top. The course has probably the finest collection of par fives and par threes in the world. It boasts a course rating of 155 from the championship tees, and has never hosted a major tournament because the club refuses to change itself in order to accommodate thousands of spectators. One of the more colorful holes is the par three 10th, where a very deep sand-trap has been dubbed "The Devil's Asshole." Many a player has muttered worse things about Pine Valley.
In Belgium, there is a monstrous facility known as The Royal Course at Waterloo – not far from where Napoleon was routed by British forces. The layout has two great 18-hole regulation courses and one 18-hole executive course. An added feature deserves mentioning. Near the entrance of the club house stands a full-size bronze statue of a young lady swinging a golf club. She had been the European amateur champion. The statue presents her completely in ...
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