Pinehurst No. 4 golf course - North Carolina

The Pinehurst Resort is like a living golf museum, and they don't let just anyone fool around with the exhibits. The original master, Donald Ross, designed the No. 4 golf course back in 1919. Subsequent redesigns were carried out by Robert Trent Jones and his son Rees Jones, though most of Ross' original routing remains. When it came time for yet another updating, Pinehurst turned to a contemporary all-star, Tom Fazio.

Fazio's mission was to create a modern golf experience in a historical setting at the core of the old resort, and to give golfers an experience similar to playing the famed No. 2. He brushed the course with a Scottish influence (more than 140 pot bunkers, all here for strategy and not for show) and crowned the greens, which reject any approach shot long, short, wide or otherwise errant. It adds up to a considerable challenge - not quite No. 2 (though No. 4 has its army of advocates), but maddening enough if your game's not at absolute peak precision.