This just in: golf is hard. It was meant to be. Its challenges are central to its charm, but they are not constant. Difficulties vary by day, shot, player and course. Not all models are equally demanding.
The last ranking of GOLF e Top 100 courses in the world casts a wide lens, capturing a wide range of architectural styles that are meant to be enjoyed by gamers of all stripes. But stretch them to the top and let them show their teeth, and some courses in the rankings become particularly demanding.
Here are 5 of the toughest from our recent list.
Oakmont
Oakmont, Pa.
Thursday at the 2025 US Open, Oakmont played to an average of 74.64 – the highest opening round number since a wind stroke Shinnecock in 2018. For this country, this was not an aberration. Pittsburgh’s venerable fairway has punished golfers for generations with its mix of lightning greens, brutal lengths and bunkers like the Church Pews that allow for little more than an arm and a prayer. Johnny Miller’s 63 at the 1973 US Open, dampened by rain, remains the one that proves the rule. Want another tough figure? This summer, the USGA stamped Oakmont’s championship course with a course rating of 78.1 and a slope of 150. Sounds about right.
Valley of the Pines
Pine Valley, NJ
The Devil’s A hole — the deep bunker guarding the par-3 10th — is not where you want to be. But it’s just one of countless unpleasant spots to finish on course no. 1 in the world. George Crump set out to build a beast, and with the help of the leading architects of the day, he succeeded so completely that he once had a standing bet that no one would break 80 on the first visit. Although modern equipment has softened some of the original bite, Valley of the Pines still shocks you with its visuals: vast sandy wastes, heroic carries like the one required over Hell’s Half Acre, a purgatorial stretch of sand on the par-5 7th. The bunkers, by the way, aren’t dug in—players smooth their tracks with their feet—making them dangerous in the truest sense.
Carnoustie
Carnoustie, Scotland
“Bad Carn” isn’t the fanciest nickname, but it earns its keep. The course bleeds with its length, with its harsh snarl, fickle North Sea winds and its bunkers that seem to multiply in the corner of your eye. And then there’s the Barry Burn, the winding canal where Jean Van de VeldeThe open hopes of 1999 vanished. In his defence, Carnoustie has long been the toughest test in the rotas, and in ’99 he was at his absolute worst – howling, scoring brutal. Plus-6 made a playoff. Enough said.
Royal Portrush
Portrush, N. Ireland
Don’t let the 17-hole Scottie Scheffler at the 2025 Open fool you. The conditions were good, and he is Scottie Scheffler. On a normal day, Portrush offers a steady procession of strong questions: an open free kick, surrounded from out of bounds on either side; a medium stretch par-4 bruiser; and the long par-3 16th known as Calamity, which isn’t the only place scorecards get destroyed. When the weather changes – and here, it often does – the whole place grows with fans.
