Palm Desert has long been a refuge for Los Angeles’ élite. Rest and relaxation are not what designer Pete Dye had in mind when he introduced what he called his “grenade-attack look” at the PGA West Stadium Course. The course is pockmarked with moguls, swales and bunkers so imposing that one of the bunkers earned the nickname “the San Andreas Fault.” After the PGA Tour’s Bob Hope Desert Chrysler Classic was staged for many years at this La Quinta, Calif., course, it was dropped in 1988 after professionals complained of its difficulty. As the great sportswriter Jim Murray put it, “It’s either the toughest golf course in the world or the easiest slave-labor camp.”
Top 10 Most Difficult Golf Courses
The Augusta National course is storied, exclusive, very opulent and very private — the perfect location for Tiger Woods to make his much anticipated return to golf. As the pros gear up to take the green in the annual Masters tournament, TIME takes a look at the toughest courses in the game