Players' Picks: Top 10 PGA Tour Courses

By Geoff Shackelford

When Golf World set out to identify which courses players liked and disliked most on the PGA Tour, we opted to set aside many of the categories that have become synonymous with the Golf Digest ranking process, and instead let these busy elite golfers simply award a 1 to 10 score, with 10 being best. Even with this condensed form of evaluation, the 81 players polled often agonized over scores and even changed a few to ensure consistency. In short, they put their heart, soul and minds into our year-long process and as evidenced by the top 10 courses, they simply love older courses that do not fight the land and which reward intelligence as much as they benefit brawn.

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - FEBRUARY 16: David Lingmerth of Sweden hits out of a bunker on the 9th hole in the final round of the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club on February 16, 2014 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

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Augusta National GC (Augusta, Ga.)Tournament: The Masters; Designers: Alister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones; Rating: 8.96Anonymous pro comments: "Best we play on a yearly basis." ... "Only reason it's not a 10: too manicured, too many [Tom] Fazio changes." ... "It was a 10 when Jack won in 1986, but they've added too much length." ... "I think the course is too gimmicky, yet there's no other tournament in the world I would rather play in."

Stephen Szurlej

Harbour Town GL (Hilton Head Island, S.C.)Tournament: The Heritage Designer: Pete Dye; Rating: 8.7702Anonymous pro comments: "My favorite Pete Dye course" ... "the best course we play." ... "don't need length for a great golf course" ... "It's a 10 because of great greens." ... "you have to shape the ball on almost every hole."

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Riviera CC (Pacific Palisades, Calif.)Tournament: Northern Trust Open; Designers: George Thomas and Billy Bell; Rating: 8.7687Anonymous pro comments: "Classic" ... "You have to hit all the shots," at a course several called the "best design on the tour" ... a property "all the people building newer courses should go look at" ... "outside of the sixth hole with the silly bunker in the green, Riviera is perfect."

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Pebble Beach GL (Pebble Beach, Calif.)Tournament: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am; Designers: Jack Neville and Douglas Grant; Rating: 8.56Anonymous pro comments: "Favorite place on earth" ... "no better scenery with just a great mix of holes and shots" ... "Great course, but it's never in good shape the time of year we play it," ... "Never a 10 until they fix 14 green" ... "Never gets old. Excited to play it every time."

J.D. Cuban

Colonial CC (Fort Worth, Tex.)Tournament: Crowne Plaza Invitational; Designers: John Bredemus and Perry Maxwell; Rating: 8.40Anonymous pro comments: "A great golf course," a "lot of fun to play" and for one player, "the best layout I've ever seen." ... Nos. 3-5 earned raves, with one player calling the fifth "one of the best par 4s we play on tour." ... "Could still lose trees, especially the ones they keep to prevent us from hitting it too far" ... "so solid" because "you know what you're going to get."

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Muirfield Village GC (Dublin, Ohio)Tournament: The Memorial; Designer: Jack Nicklaus; Rating: 8.34Anonymous pro comments: "Immaculate"...has a major feel to it"..."when you are playing well, [there is] no more fun course to play … I think that's the ultimate compliment"..."the best-conditioned course on tour every year."...But another said of Jack's tinkering, "too much ego: see changes to 17 and 18"..."at the forefront of encouraging more courses to constantly get better in all respects."

Courtesy of Jim Mandeville/Nicklaus Design

Shaughnessy G&CC (Vancouver, B.C.)Tournament: RBC Canadian Open; Designer: Vernon Macan; Rating: 8.29Anonymous pro comments: "Phenomenal" ... "an awesome, amazing course" with "a lot of neat holes" ... one player wished "they played here every year," with praise for the greens and in particular, the bunkers, which are "maintained like Australian bunkers with very little sand in the faces" ... "Neat look to the place but way too much rough for such a potentially great design."

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Aronimink GC (Newtown Square, Pa.)Tournament: AT&T National; Designer: Donald Ross; Rating: 8.25Anonymous pro comments: "A great, classic course, which we need to play more of" because players "have to work the ball both ways." ... "This is a Ross? Doesn't feel like it, but still very good." ... "Don't add length, it's great the way it is." ... "Sensational course, great conditioning, setup has been good and the crowds energetic, so why again we are leaving to go back to Congressional?"

Stephen Szurlej

Innisbrook Resort - Copperhead (Palm Harbor, Fla.)Tournament: Transitions Championship; Designers: Larry and Roger Packard; Rating: 8.09Anonymous pro comments: "Best course we play in Florida" ... "nicely designed greens with good undulations" ... "Doesn't feel like you're in Florida" because of "elevation changes" ... "benefits from the neighborhood: Florida swing courses are so mediocre." ... Mostly though, the tour's finest call it a "good, solid course" because in player parlance, you "can't fake it out there."

Michael Cohen/Getty Images

Congressional CC (Bethesda, Md.)Tournament: AT&T National; Designer: Devereux Emmet; Rating: 8.06Anonymous pro comments: "Love the shorter front nine, not wild about the back which is just too much golf, too many blind shots and too many forgettable holes." ... Players respect the "history and test" ... "Hard, hard, hard, with a good routing, but the 10th hole is the worst par 3 I've ever seen." ... "some really good holes and some real dogs." ... Hate the tour's setup of it, loved what the USGA did, just too bad it was so soft."

Stephen Szurlej