Inverness Club - Ohio, U.S.A.

Inverness in Toledo is one of America's most historic championship courses. The club dates back to a nine-hole course built in 1903, when S.P.Jermain, the club's first president, received permission from the Scottish village of Inverness to use its name and crest. In 1919, the club hired Donald Ross to rework those nine holes and add nine more. Several architects have tinkered with Ross's handiwork over the years, most notably George and Tom Fazio, who built four new holes before the 1979 U.S. Open, a change much decried by architectural purists. The club held its first U.S. Open in 1920 when Harry Vardon, almost 50, was on his way to winning until a fierce windstorm descended as he was playing the back nine, causing him to lose the tournament. Jack Nicklaus made his U.S. Open debut at Inverness in 1957, when Dick Mayer defeated Cary Middlecoff in a playoff, and Hale Irwin was the winner of the 1979 Open. The most memorable major tournaments at Inverness, however, have been the 1986 and 1993 PGA Championships. In 1986, Bob Tway unforgettably holed his bunker shot on the final hole to beat Greg Norman. Norman was again the agonizingly hard-luck runner-up in 1993, losing to Paul Azinger on the second extra hole of their sudden­death playoff.

Rock Hollow Golf Club - Indiana, U.S.A.

Rock Hollow Golf Club is located in the town of Peru, 70 miles north of Indianapolis. Designed by Indiana native Tim Liddy, a long-time associate of Pete Dye, and opened in 1994, the public course is terraced through an abandoned sand and gravel quarry. The course was developed by Terry Smith, the president of Rock Industries, on land that his company had mined out 40 years earlier. For Smith, building a golf course was also a family affair, since his son Chris plays on the PGA Tour, and another son, Terry, is the professional at Rock Hollow, and holds the course record. The course's Flinstonian name is entirely self-descriptive, since the holes are laid out 50 feet below ground level, between the quarry walls. One of the toughest holes on the course that captures the essence of Rock Hollow is No. 14, a 228-yard par-three where the huge elevated green is guarded on the right by a rocky pond.