Golfers are obsessed with long. How long do they drive the ball? How long do they hit a club? They're also obsessed with the longest golf holes and longest golf courses by yardage, both in the United States and in the world.
However, golf is always changing and so, too, is the title of longest golf hole and longest golf course. Let's take a look at the current champions of longest golf hole and longest golf course in both the United States, home to the most golf courses in a single country, and in the world.
Longest golf course in the United States
The longest golf course in the United States is in The International Golf Club's Pines Course in Bolton, Mass. It's the fourth-longest golf course in the world, and it comes in at 8,325 yards as a par-73 layout. Geoffrey Cornish and Francis Ouimet originally designed this course, which opened in 1901 as a nine-hole course. In 1957, it was expanded to 18 holes. Then Robert Trent Jones Sr. redesigned it in 1972 to make it the longest golf course in the world. There's another course, the Oaks designed by Tom Fazio, at the private club. It's just about 7,000, or the short course on the property.
The second longest golf course in the United States is also a Robert Trent Jones design. It's the 8,191-yard Ross Bridge course in Hoover, Ala. It used to host the Regions Charity Classic on the PGA Tour Champions (before it became a major). There are 10 holes that play along the banks of two man-made lakes. A waterfall between the ninth and 18th greens drops 80 feet and connects the lakes. But you can still play this course, the fifth-longest in the world, at a reasonable length, as short as 5,300 yards.
Longest golf course in the world
The longest golf course in the world is in the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club in Lijiang, China. As might make sense, it's a mountain resort, so the course plays at altitude of 10,800 feet in the Himalayas...but still, to a crazy 8,548 yards. And, yes, it's a par-72 track. Robin Nelson and Neil Haworth designed the course, with the fifth being its longest hole, a 711-yard par 5.
The second longest golf course in the world is the Signature Course at Legend Golf & Safari in Waterberg, South Africa. Yup, it's the course with the extra par 3 that you need to take a helicopter ride to reach the tee box some 1,200 feet in the air. A variety of designers, including two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen, contributed to the course.
Longest golf hole in the United States
The longest golf hole in the United States is at Meadow Farms Golf Course in Locust Grove, Va. The course is a gimmick course, with all kinds of theme holes, including a par 3 set on a baseball diamond. The family that owns the course owns a variety of farms and nurseries in the area. The 12th hole is an 841-yard par 6, so enjoy that.
The second longest golf hole in the United States is at Spring Lake Golf Resort in Sebring, Fla. The retirement town features a lot of courses, but this one has an 800-yard par 6 on the sixth hole.
Longest golf hole in the world
The longest golf hole in the world is at Gunsan Country Club in South Korea. The third hole on one of five courses at Gunsan Country Club is a par 7 that measures 1,097 yards from the tips. If that's not the longest golf hole in the world, we don't want to know what is.
