The 2026 The American Express is played this year at PGA West's Stadium Course, PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, California.
The tournament's host course has been PGA West's Stadium Course for a while now, though it has changed several times over the years.
PGA West's Stadium Course plays as a par-72 golf course, playing to a scorecard distance of 7,210 yards, making it one of the shortest golf course on the PGA Tour. Four courses on the PGA Tour player under 7,000 yards, and two of them are for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Then, we have the Nicklaus Tournament course that plays to a length of 7,147 yards, while the La Quinta Country Club is 7,060 yards. They're both par-72 courses as well, with La Quinta playing the easiest of the three almost every year.
PGA West's Stadium Course scorecard breakdown
PGA West's Stadium Course has four par 5s, four par 3s and 10 par 4s, and the golf course finishes with a challenging 5-3-4 finish. The scorecard remains the same from 2024.
There's a similar length in the par 3 pairs on each side of the par 3s, with one around 170 yards and the other closer to 220 yards. The par 5s are birdie opportunities for any player in the field and must be taken advantage of this week.
The par 4s have an interesting mix of shorter and longer, setting up kind of like one another on both sides, just in a different order of par.
PGA West's Stadium Course scorecard
| HOLE | PAR | YARDS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 445 |
| 2 | 4 | 371 |
| 3 | 4 | 471 |
| 4 | 3 | 170 |
| 5 | 5 | 535 |
| 6 | 3 | 227 |
| 7 | 4 | 346 |
| 8 | 5 | 559 |
| 9 | 4 | 452 |
| OUT | 36 | 3576 |
| 10 | 4 | 405 |
| 11 | 5 | 591 |
| 12 | 4 | 363 |
| 13 | 3 | 214 |
| 14 | 4 | 389 |
| 15 | 4 | 468 |
| 16 | 5 | 600 |
|
| ||
| 17 | 3 | 165 |
| 18 | 4 | 439 |
| IN | 36 | 3634 |
| TOTAL | 72 | 7210 |
PGA West's Stadium Course course breakdown
Now that we know the layout of the golf course, what else makes PGA West's Stadium Course a challenge?
The end of the golf course is really the kicker. The whole course was designed to be especially penal, but the length of the modern game makes it much easier. There are more demanding shots and plenty of sudden penalties that can happen either in water or sand with a poorly played, too-aggressive shot.
PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course scorecard
| HOLE | PAR | YARDS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 378 |
| 2 | 4 | 444 |
| 3 | 3 | 192 |
|
| ||
| 4 | 5 | 549 |
| 5 | 4 | 364 |
| 6 | 4 | 462 |
| 7 | 5 | 527 |
| 8 | 3 | 172 |
| 9 | 4 | 461 |
| OUT | 36 | 3549 |
| 10 | 4 | 370 |
|
| ||
| 11 | 5 | 528 |
| 12 | 3 | 165 |
| 13 | 4 | 419 |
| 14 | 4 | 442 |
| 15 | 5 | 572 |
| 16 | 4 | 440 |
| 17 | 3 | 209 |
| 18 | 4 | 453 |
| IN | 36 | 3598 |
| TOTAL | 72 | 7147 |
La Quinta Country Club scorecard
| HOLE | PAR | YARDS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 382 |
| 2 | 4 | 434 |
| 3 | 3 | 202 |
| 4 | 4 | 384 |
| 5 | 5 | 516 |
| 6 | 5 | 527 |
| 7 | 3 | 168 |
| 8 | 4 | 389 |
| 9 | 4 | 399 |
| OUT | 36 | 3401 |
| 10 | 4 | 405 |
| 11 | 5 | 543 |
| 12 | 3 | 202 |
| 13 | 5 | 547 |
| 14 | 4 | 469 |
| 15 | 3 | 206 |
| 16 | 4 | 454 |
| 17 | 4 | 421 |
| 18 | 4 | 412 |
| IN | 36 | 3659 |
| TOTAL | 72 | 7060 |
