The 10 hardest and 10 easiest courses on the PGA Tour in 2015-2016
PGA Tour

The 10 hardest and 10 easiest courses on the PGA Tour in 2015-2016

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Of the 48 or 49 courses the PGA Tour plays each year, there are some that stand out as the hardest, most difficult, by far. More often than not, many of the toughest courses on the PGA Tour come from major championship host venues. And while many believe Augusta National plays easy compared to some of the other major courses, it turns out to be one of the hardest.

Then there are the easiest courses on the PGA Tour, averaging at least one full stroke under par per round on the average.

So, what are the hardest courses on the PGA Tour? And, by extension, which are the easiest courses on the PGA Tour? Let's take a look by the numbers.

Hardest courses on the PGA Tour

These are the 10 toughest courses on the PGA Tour in 2016 based on average number of strokes against par:

  1. Oakmont CC, U.S. Open, par 70, 3.562 over par
  2. Torrey Pines GC (South), Farmers Insurance Open, par 72, 2.498 over par
  3. Augusta National GC, Masters Tournament, par 72, 2.421 over par
  4. Royal Troon GC, The Open Championship, par 71, 2.161 over par
  5. PGA National (Champion), The Honda Classic, par 70, 1.768 over par
  6. Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), Valspar Championship, par 71, 1.618 over par
  7. Firestone CC (South), WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, par 70, 1.416 over par
  8. Harbour Town GL, RBC Heritage, par 71, 1.285 over par
  9. Quail Hollow Club, Wells Fargo Championship, par 72, 0.953 over par
  10. TPC Southwind, FedEx St. Jude Classic, par 70, 0.93 over par

For each of the last five years, the hardest course on the PGA Tour by scoring average has been the U.S. Open host course that year. (Actually, in 2015, the U.S. Open course appeared twice because Chambers Bay had two different par configurations.) No surprise there, but it means that the toughest courses each year include, at most, nine year-to-year PGA Tour courses.

Looking at the courses that appear in the top 10 most frequently, here are the toughest regular PGA Tour courses based on their combined strokes over par:

  1. Torrey Pines (South), Farmers Insurance Open
  2. TPC San Antonio (Oaks), Valero Texas Open
  3. PGA National (Champion), The Honda Classic
  4. Innisbrook (Copperhead), Valspar Championship
  5. Harbour Town Golf Links, RBC Heritage
  6. Firestone C.C. (South), WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
  7. Riviera Country Club, Genesis Open
  8. TPC Southwind, FedEx St. Jude Classic
  9. Muirfield Village Golf Club, the Memorial Tournament
  10. Trump National Doral (Blue Course), WGC-Cadillac Championship

Easiest courses on the PGA Tour

These are the 10 easiest courses on the PGA Tour in 2016 based on average number of strokes against par:

  1. Kapalua Resort (Plantation Course), Hyundai Tournament of Champions, par 73, 3.195 under par
  2. PGA West (Tournament), CareerBuilder Challenge, par 72, 3.064 under par
  3. La Quinta CC, CareerBuilder Challenge, par 72, 2.852 under par
  4. Kuala Lumpur G&CC, CIMB Classic, par 72, 2.381 under par
  5. CC of Jackson, Sanderson Farms Championship, par 72, 1.529 under par
  6. Waialae CC, Sony Open in Hawaii, par 70, 1.501 under par
  7. RTJ Trail (Grand National), Barbasol Championship, par 71, 1.494 under par
  8. Sheshan International GC, WGC-HSBC Champions, par 72, 1.419 under par
  9. Sea Island Resort (Plantation), The RSM Classic, par 72, 1.194 under par
  10. PGA West (TPC Stadium Course), CareerBuilder Challenge, par 72, 1.182 under par

Looking at the courses that appear in the top 10 most frequently, here are the easiest regular PGA Tour courses based on their combined strokes under par:

  1. Kapalua Resort (Plantation Course), Tournament of Champions
  2. La Quinta C.C., CareerBuilder Challenge
  3. Torrey Pines (North), Farmers Insurance Open
  4. TPC Deere Run, John Deere Classic
  5. TPC Louisiana, Zurich Classic
  6. Coco Beach C.C., Puerto Rico Open
  7. TPC Summerlin, Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
  8. Sheshan International, WGC-HSBC Champions
  9. TPC Kuala Lumpur, CIMB Classic

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

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