Updated on November 8, 2026
👉 All Our Golf Rankings: The Top 100 Golf Courses in the World, The Longest Drives in History…
What is the most difficult golf course in the world? Oakmont, in Pennsylvania, tops our roundup: it’s the course most frequently cited by the major lists and the toughest of the 2025 PGA Tour season. It ranks ahead of the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, which has the highest possible slope rating, and Augusta National. Here are our top 15 most challenging courses in the world.
Top photo: The 17th-hole green at Pine Valley, surrounded by sand and pine trees. Frjlove, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
The 15 Hardest Golf Courses in the World, Ranked
15 courses shown.
| Rank | Course | Country | Access | Selections | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakmont Country Club | United States (Pennsylvania) | Private | 3 out of 6 | 150 |
| 2 | Ocean Course, Kiawah Island | United States (South Carolina) | Public (resort) | 3 out of 6 | 155 |
| 3 | Augusta National | United States (Georgia) | Private | 3 out of 6 | — |
| 4 | Muirfield Village | United States (Ohio) | Private | 3 out of 6 | 155 |
| 5 | Whistling Straits (Straits Course) | United States (Wisconsin) | Public (resort) | 3 out of 6 | 152 |
| 6 | Pine Valley | United States (New Jersey) | Private (very exclusive) | 2 out of 6 | 155 |
| 7 | Torrey Pines (South) | United States (California) | Public (municipal) | 2 out of 6 | 148 |
| 8 | Bethpage Black | United States (New York) | Public (state park) | 2 out of 6 | 155 |
| 9 | Pinehurst No. 2 | United States (North Carolina) | Public (resort) | 2 out of 6 | 138 |
| 10 | Royal Portrush (Dunluce) | Northern Ireland | Private (visitors welcome) | 2 out of 6 | — |
| 11 | Carnoustie (Championship) | Scotland | Public | 2 out of 6 | 143 |
| 12 | TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) | United States (Florida) | Public (resort) | 1 out of 6 | 155 |
| 13 | Shinnecock Hills | United States (New York) | Private | 1 out of 6 | — |
| 14 | Quail Hollow | United States (North Carolina) | Private | 1 out of 6 | — |
| 15 | Winged Foot (West) | United States (New York) | Private | 1 out of 6 | 140 |
Selections: the number of the six selections studied that mention the course. Slope: the slope rating for the back tees published by the club or the federation (from 55 to 155; 113 = average difficulty). “—”: not published or not verified. Values vary depending on the tees and sources.
How We Ranked the Hardest Golf Courses
There is no single ranking of the most difficult courses. We've compiled six recent lists: Golf Digest (The Most Challenging Courses in the United States, 2025), GOLF (The 5 Toughest Courses in His World Top 100, 2025), Golfweek (The Toughest Courses of the 2025 PGA Tour Season), Golf Monthly (The Toughest Courses on the PGA Tour, 2024), Golf Monthly (The World's Toughest Course) and Golfbreaks (The Toughest Courses by Slope, 2026). The courses are ranked based on the number of lists that include them, and then based on their average ranking within those lists. We also provide two objective metrics: the slope (the difficulty for an average golfer, on a scale from 55 to 155) and, for tournament courses, the average score of professional golfers relative to par. This ranking is updated annually.
The Top 15 in Detail
Designers, year founded, par and length (back tees): the clubs' Wikipedia pages, checked on November 8, 2026; nothing is shown when the page does not say. Photos under free licenses via Wikimedia Commons.
1. Oakmont Country Club 🇺🇸
- Designed by Henry Fownes; restored by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner
- Founded 1903
- Par and length Par 71 · 7,431 yards (6,795 m)
Selections 3 out of 6 · Slope 150
The toughest course of the 2025 PGA Tour season: an average of +4.2 strokes per round at the U.S. Open, which J.J. Spaun won at 1 under par. Ranked No. 2 by Golf Digest.
2. Ocean Course, Kiawah Island 🇺🇸
- Designed by Pete and Alice Dye
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,876 yards (7,202 m)
Selections 3 out of 6 · Slope 155
The course has the highest slope rating (155) and one of the highest course ratings in the world (79.1): ten holes run along the Atlantic coast and are exposed to the wind. Hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships.
3. Augusta National 🇺🇸
- Designed by Bobby Jones, Alister MacKenzie
- Founded 1933
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,510 yards (6,867 m)
Selections 3 out of 6 · Slope —
The Masters course: very fast, sloping greens. An average of +1.9 strokes at the 2024 Masters and +0.8 in 2025. Ranked 4th by Golf Digest.
4. Muirfield Village 🇺🇸
- Designed by Jack Nicklaus
- Founded 1974
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,569 yards (6,921 m)
Selections 3 out of 6 · Slope 155
The course created by Jack Nicklaus For the Memorial: the most difficult of the PGA Tour's regular-season tournaments in 2024 (+1.5) and 4th in 2025 (+1.4).
5. Whistling Straits (Straits Course) 🇺🇸
- Designed by Pete and Alice Dye
- Founded 1998
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,790 yards (7,123 m)
Selections 3 out of 6 · Slope 152
More than 1,000 bunkers along the shores of Lake Michigan. Three PGA Championships and the 2021 Ryder Cup.
6. Pine Valley 🇺🇸
- Designed by George Crump, Harry Colt
- Founded 1913
- Par and length Par 70 · 7,201 yards (6,585 m)
Selections 2 out of 6 · Slope 155
Ranked No. 1 on Golf Digest's list of the most challenging courses and No. 1 in the world on GOLF's Top 100: fairway islands nestled amid sand and brush.
7. Torrey Pines (South) 🇺🇸
- Designed by William Francis Bell
- Founded 1957
- Par and length Par 72 · 7,802 yards (7,134 m)
Selections 2 out of 6 · Slope 148
The San Diego public course is the second-toughest of the 2025 PGA Tour season (+1.7 at the Farmers Insurance Open). 2008 and 2021 U.S. Open.
8. Bethpage Black 🇺🇸
- Designed by Joseph Burbeck, A. W. Tillinghast
- Founded 1936
- Par and length Par 71 · 7,468 yards (6,829 m)
Selections 2 out of 6 · Slope 155
A sign at the start of Hole 1 warns: “extremely difficult” course, reserved for very skilled players. And yet open to the public. Ryder Cup 2025.
9. Pinehurst No. 2 🇺🇸
- Designed by Donald Ross
- Length 7,588 yards (6,938 m)
Selections 2 out of 6 · Slope 138
Donald Ross’s undulating greens punish imprecise approach shots: an average of +2.9 strokes at the 2024 U.S. Open, the toughest course of that season.
10. Royal Portrush (Dunluce) 🇬🇧
- Designed by Harry Colt
- Founded 1888
- Par and length Par 71 · 7,337 yards (6,709 m)
Selections 2 out of 6 · Slope —
Named by GOLF as one of the 5 toughest courses in its Top 100 worldwide; host of The Open in 2019 and 2025.
11. Carnoustie (Championship) 🏴
Nicknamed “Carnasty” since the 1999 Open and Jean Van de Velde’s collapse on the 18th. Featured in GOLF and Golf Monthly.
12. TPC Sawgrass (Stadium) 🇺🇸
Maximum slope (155) and the famous island green on the 17th. Ranked 2nd in the Golfbreaks selection.
13. Shinnecock Hills 🇺🇸
Ranked No. 3 by Golf Digest; the 2018 U.S. Open held there was one of the toughest in recent decades.
14. Quail Hollow 🇺🇸
The third-most difficult course of the 2025 season (+1.5 at the PGA Championship). Its 18th hole was the toughest hole of the tournament.
15. Winged Foot (West) 🇺🇸
Ranked 5th by Golf Digest. At the 2020 U.S. Open, Bryson DeChambeau was the only player to finish under par over 72 holes.
Records and Trivia
The Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Indiana, has one of the highest course ratings in the United States (80 from the back tees, for a par 72). In China, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club is the world’s longest course according to Guinness (8,548 yards, or 7,816 meters), at an elevation of over 3,000 meters. In Hawaii, the legendary Ko’olau, reputed to be the toughest course in the world, closed in 2020. In France, the Albatros course at Le Golf National (2018 Ryder Cup, 2024 Olympic Games) reopened in September 2026 following renovations.
Fred's Take on Hardest Golf Courses
On these courses, the score matters less than the experience. Play from tees that match your handicap: even the pros struggle from the back tees. Torrey Pines, Bethpage Black, Pinehurst, Whistling Straits, Kiawah, and TPC Sawgrass are open to the public.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Most Challenging Courses
What is the most difficult golf course in the world?
Oakmont, Pennsylvania, tops our list of six selections, ahead of the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island and Augusta National.
Which course on the PGA Tour is the most difficult?
In 2025, at Oakmont during the U.S. Open: an average of 4.2 strokes over par per round. Among the regular tournaments, Torrey Pines South and Muirfield Village are the toughest.
What is a course's slope?
The slope measures how difficult a course is for an average golfer compared to an excellent player, on a scale from 55 to 155. The average is 113; 155 is the maximum.
Can you play the world's most challenging courses?
Yes, several of them are: Torrey Pines South, Bethpage Black, Pinehurst No. 2, Whistling Straits, the Ocean Course at Kiawah, TPC Sawgrass, and Carnoustie are open to the public.