When it comes to determining the toughest courses on the PGA Tour, there are several metrics that can be used.
For example, statistics on everything from the percentage of fairways hit off the tee and three-putt avoidance during a tournament, to winning scores collated over the years, all point to a course’s difficulty. However, some stats can be wildly different from one edition to the next based on factors including weather conditions and course set-up.
In general though, the data offered by scoring average relative to par provides a good indication of the course’s overall difficulty and that’s what PGATour.com uses to rank the toughest courses on the circuit on a year-by-year basis.
Its data for 2024 gives us an unsurprising top three. While not technically PGA Tour events, the four Majors are listed as part of its schedule – and they take up three of the top four places.
The US Open is usually the Major set up to be the most difficult and that proved the case last year when Pinehurst No.2 provided a stern test of the players’ abilities, in particular with the famous domed greens of Donald Ross’ design – something Rory McIlroy found to his cost on the back nine of the final round. The course comes top of the 2024 list with a scoring average relative to par of a brutal +2.891.
Immediately beneath it was the venue for The Open, Royal Troon, where Xander Schauffele triumphed in typically challenging weather conditions. Its scoring average relative to par came in at +2.851. Home of The Masters, Augusta National, was next, where players struggled for low scores all week on the famously undulating greens and fairways, and that’s reflected in its position of third as players finished on average +1.906 over par.
Valhalla was the outlier of the 2024 Majors, coming in at 14th on the list with -.426 as many players, including eventual winner Schauffele, indulged in a birdie-fest.
In terms of regular PGA Tour venues, PGA National’s Champion Course ranks as the toughest over recent seasons, as shown by Data Golf, which offers a statistical breakdown of each Shotlink-equipped PGA Tour course since the 2015 season.
The host venue for the Cognizant Classic came in with a scoring average of +1.41, as players regularly face windy conditions while attempting to find…
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