Cypress Point Golf Course, California

America golf course Cypress Point, Pebble Beach, California

One of the two great courses on the Monterey Peninsula (the other is Pebble Beach), Cypress Point was designed by Alister Mackenzie who used the natural surroundings to the full to construct a magical course bounded by the Pacific Ocean.

The most famous hole is the 16th, a par 3 of 233 yards (214m) across the ocean, which is where many balls end up; only the best shots get home. This is followed by the 17th, another spectacular dog-leg hole across the Pacific Ocean. The course is not really long enough to be used for the major championships and the club is very exclusive.

Baltusrol Golf Course, New Jersey

America golf course Baltusrol, Springfield, New Jersey

Baltusrol has staged the US Open a record six times and the event has been played on three different courses. The original course, constructed in 1895, was of nine holes only. In 1920 A.W. Tillinghast was appointed to redesign the course and he constructed two 18-hole courses, the Upper and the Lower.

The US Open was played on the Lower course in 1954, 1967 and 1980 while the Upper course hosted the 1936 Championship. Jack Nicklaus won the last two US Opens held at Baltusrol. He beat Arnold Palmer in 1967 with a last round of 65 to Palmer's 69 to win by four strokes, but he eclipsed that record in 1980 when he played the 72 holes in 272 strokes, which was not equaled until 1993 by Lee Janzen. Baltusrol is a long course at over 7,100 yards (6,500m) with a championship par of 73. Baltusrol's best-known hole is probably the short 4th, which plays across a lake to a green guarded by a wall, and it has the longest 17th and 18th holes in championship golf.