Wentworth Golf Course, England

England Wentworth golf course Virginia Water, Surrey.

Wentworth is not a links course and therefore the Open Championship is not played there, but it is certainly the best-known inland course in England and plays host each year to the World Matchplay Championship and the Volvo PGA Championship. It is known as "The Burma Road" because of its length and the course ends in two par-5 holes of which the 17th measures 571 yards (522m). It was opened in 1924 and has been the scene of many memorable encounters. Arnold Palmer won the first World Matchplay event in 1964, Gary Player won five times in the next nine years, Severiano Ballesteros has also won the event five times and Sandy Lyle has reached the final five times but has won only once. The South African, Ernie Els, won the event for two years running in 1994 and 1995.

Pebble Beach Golf Course, America

America Pebble Beach golf course California.

One of the best-known courses in the USA, Pebble Beach was created by S. F. Morse with the help of the golf-course architect Jack Neville. It contains a number of spectacular holes, such as the par-5 6th with its green perched on the headland, the par-3 7th where the green points out into the ocean, and the 8th where the Pacific has to be carried with the second shot. Jack Nicklaus twice landed on the beach in the US Open of 1972. Tom Watson birdied the last two holes, considered to be two of the toughest closing holes in golf, to win the US Open by a stroke from Jack Nicklaus in 1982. The major championships are not held there as often as they might be because the course lies 120 miles south of San Francisco and is thought to be a bit too far from any major city.