Muirfield Village Golf Club, Columbus, Ohio

On Sunday America’s Matt Kuchar won his second title of the 2013 season at the Memorial Tournament, hosted at Muirfield Village Golf Club near Columbus, Ohio. Designed by its founder - legendary Jack Nicklaus- and surrounded by a thriving golfing community, the course is a feast for the eyes while remaining playable by long-hitting amateurs and pros alike.

Nicklaus designed the course at Muirfield Village and launched the facility in 1974. The course is named in honour of Muirfield, Scotland where he won his first Open Championship in 1966, and since its launch it has undergone several modifications as Nicklaus tweaks the layout to maintain the high standards of play at the Memorial.

The course design favours Nicklaus’ own style of play, with long fairways that require long drives which can be shaped quite accurately. Nine out of eighteen holes feature a water hazard of significant size, mostly alongside the fairways. If low-handicap players can weather the long fairways and the water, scoring shouldn’t be too high on this course. Because Nicklaus designed the course for championship play, every hole ends with an amphitheatre viewing area, giving recreational players a real taste of professional golf.

Muirfield Village is challenging and visually appealing all-round, but the highlight of course has to be the par-five holes – the 5th, 11th, and 15th. These holes are some of the best in North America, and with a long drive and an accurate short game they could even provide birdie opportunities to the lucky few.

The green at the 5th hole is guarded by a large water feature that is best avoided, but a good fade off the tee could set up a birdie opportunity if properly executed. The 11th features another large water feature, while the 15th is played off a high elevation, in line with Jack Nicklaus’s belief that golf should be played downhill rather than uphill.

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