Trump International Golf Course

The Trump International Golf Links, in Aberdeenshire, is set in a dramatic set of sand dunes. It is a 7,428 yard golf course with tumbling fairways that have variable elevations. This video shows some of the golf course's holes and landscapes.

Golf Courses That Have Plenty of Water

Whilst golf courses are predominately grass, they also include sand and water. The water is included on golf courses either with man-made lakes, or surrounding coastline. Golf courses that are located beside the sea do not always require the addition of lakes to add water. These are a few notable golf courses that have a variety of water holes.

Pebble Beach Links

Pebble Beach Links is a great championship golf course that is located on the coast of Monterey Bay, in California. After the first three holes at this golf course, the next four play around the coast of Stillwater Cover. The seventh hole is one of the more famous on the course, a short par 3 little more than 100 yards that has a green located beside the Pacific.

The latter nine also include some coastal holes. The 17th and 18th finishing hole are perhaps the most famous. The 18th hole is a par-5 hole that extends some 543 yards. The Pacific Ocean runs along the left side of the hole, up the green.

Pebble Beach Links golf course extends some 6,828 yards. Overall, half of the golf course's holes are located along the Pacific coastline. As such, even without any lakes water is still prevalent at Pebble Beach Links.

The Players Stadium Course

The Players Stadium Course is the Players Championship golf course. This is a golf course located in acres of Florida swampland. Whilst not a coastal course, a variety of lakes have been added to its holes.

Perhaps the most famous hole at this golf course is that of the 17th Island Green. That's a short par 3 that expands some 137 yards. The green is located in the middle of a lake, and is surrounded by water. Thousands of balls drop not on the green, but in the lake that surrounds it.

The 18th hole is another that has plenty of water. That's a 462 yard hole located beside a lake. The lake dominates the left side of the hole up to the green.

Cypress Point

Another great coastal golf course in Monterey is that of Cypress Point. Whilst the golf course doesn't have a comparable number of coastal holes as Pebble Beach, it still has some great water holes. The 15th, 16th and 17th are a majestic triumvirate of coastal holes.

The 16th hole is a par 3 that expands 231 yards. On that hole an ocean enclave separates the tee from the green. With up to six greenside bunkers included, the green is also surrounded by sand.

Aside from those the golf course doesn't include that many more coastal holes. The majority are more inland, and without any additional lakes don't have any water added. However, it's still a great coastal course.

Pelican Lakes Golf Course

Pelican Lakes, in Colorado, is an 18-hole championship golf course which expands 7,264 yards. However, with five expansive lakes, that expand hundreds of acres, the golf course has lots of water across its 18 holes. A lake runs alongside the left of the first and second holes. The 542 yard 11th hole is another located beside a lake that dominates one side of its fairway. The 17th hole is also surrounded by plenty of water.

With their coastlines and lakes they are golf courses which have considerable shorelines. As such, they have plenty of water holes. You won't find many other golf courses with a greater range of water holes.

How Golfers Qualify for the U.S. Open

The U.S. Open is one of the four major golf championships played at various golf courses. This is a golf championship that has more open qualification than that of the Masters. Whilst the Masters invites the top 50 ranked PGA golfers, the U.S. Open includes up to 156 in the championship.

By default the top 60 ranked golfers qualify for the U.S. Open a few weeks before they play in it. Previously it was the top 50 ranked golfers, but that has now been expanded. As such, the top 60 in the PGA rankings amount for 38% of the overall number of players in the championship.

The previous winners of some PGA Tour championships also qualify for the Open. U.S. Open champions from the last 10 championships all qualify to play in it, and the top 10 from the previous Open are also included. As such, winning it once is a great way to ensure further qualification. In addition to this, the winners of the previous five majors such as the Masters, the U.K. Open and PGA Championship all qualify for the U.S. Open.

Aside from the majors, the U.S. Open includes the winners of the previous three PGA Championships. The winner from the previous BMW PGA Championship also qualifies. Amateur golfers that win either the previous U.S Amateur Championship, or U.K. Amateur Championship, qualify for the Open. Those that played in the previous year's Tour Championship are also included in the U.S. Open.

However, for those that aren't PGA Tour players, the road to the U.S. Open usually begins with local qualification. The first step of qualification is played over 18 holes at over 100 U.S. golf courses. A handful of those that begin at local qualification usually reach the U.S. Open. Several players, at each site, usually qualify from the sectional qualifiers.

The second, and last, stage of U.S. Open qualification is that of the sectional qualifiers. They are international qualifiers that take place at 11 U.S. golf courses, one in England and in Japan. They are played over 36 holes, with only a few number of qualifying spots at each of the sites. The number of U.S. Open spots at the sites varies depending on the number of players they have. In 2013, the number of spots at each site ranged from nine to two.

Those that qualify from the sectional qualifiers then join the rest of the PGA Tour players at the U.S. Open. A couple of golfers that qualified from the local and sectional stages have won the U.S. Open. However, the top ranked PGA golfers dominate, and usually win, the U.S. Open.

The 2014 U.S. Open will be played at Pinehurt's No 2 golf course. The local and sectional qualification stages whittled 9,860 golfers down to 156 final contenders for the 2014 U.S. Open championship title. They will be further cut to 60 after 36 holes at the No 2 course. Check out the U.S. Open website for further details on the championship.

Wade Hampton Golf Course

Wade Hampton, in Cashiers, North Carolina, is usually ranked within Golf Digest's top U.S. golf courses. This is a 7,302 yard golf course located within a natural valley between flanking mountain peaks. Check out this Wade Hampton video which shows the golf course's great landscapes.

Harding Golf Course Reopens

Harding Golf Course is a venue of the PGA Tour that the Tour once left after a period when the golf course deteriorated. However, the Tour returned again after renovations expanded the golf course to 7,200 yards. The World Golf Championships and Presidents Cup are among the great championships that have been played at TPC Harding Park. In 2013, the golf course underwent further renovations; and it has now just reopened for golfers.  

Mayor Lee stated: “TPC Harding Park is a world-class public golf course that has been part of our city’s storied golfing history. San Francisco is proud to showcase the newly renovated greens of Harding Park to residents and avid golf players around the globe.”

As such, all 18 greens at Harding Park have now been replaced. Their renovations include reconfigured approaches and refurbished bunkers. They filled the bunkers up with about 375 tons of Pebble Beach white sand.

TPC Harding Park is rated one of the top municipal golf courses in the United States. For further details, check out this website.

Add a Golf Theme to Google Chrome

Looking for some golf themes for the Google Chrome browser? Well, you might not find many; but can still add your own custom golf themes to the browser. My Google Chrome is an extension with which you can add custom themes to Chrome. 

Click the + Free option on the extension's page to add it to your browser. Then click Launch App on the extension page to open a wizard which you can set up your own golf theme with. Select some golf wallpaper for the browser’s New Tab page background, and add green colors to Chrome. Then you might have a Google Chrome golf theme comparable to the one in the shot below.

With the My Google Chrome extension you can add a variety of golf themes to the browser. Check out this previous post for some links to golf wallpaper websites. Alternatively, you can also add your own golf photos to the theme.