10 Golf Holes Prominently Defined by Waterfalls

It was more than 30 years ago when female R&B group TLC cooed their way to the top of the Billboard charts, soulfully urging to “don’t go chasin’ waterfalls.” It’s sage advice when playing the following collection of golf holes, too, as any attempts to go chasin’ would only lead to lost balls and one-stroke penalties. These 10 golf holes are all the more beautiful and dramatic thanks to those prominent waterfalls, all of which are positioned near the field of play.

Horseshoe Bay Resort, Slick Rock (Hole 14)—Horseshoe Bay, Texas

Every minute, almost 8,000 gallons of water rush down the bi-level waterfall that separates tee boxes from the fairway on Slick Rock’s 14th hole. The aquatic feature cost almost $1 million when it was built in 1990. That’s the equivalent of about $2.4 million by today’s value, though it’s easy to think that such an undertaking would carry a much steeper price in 2025. Nevertheless, the feature is a rousing success in two significant ways. First, it adds a strong dash of spectacle to a tee shot that would otherwise lack excitement. Second, it’s become the most-photographed spot of any of the resort’s golf courses.

Highlands Falls Country Club (Hole 15)—Highlands, N.C.

Described by some golf architecture scribes as one of “the most memorable par three in golf,” the 15th hole at Highlands Falls features a green complex that is both perched on a rock ledge and only a flop shot away from a 100-foot waterfall that cascades down a steep rocky cliff face. In the estimation of architect Bill Bergin, who with his Bergin Golf Designs team refreshed the course in 2020, this diminutive one-shotter, which plays less than 130 yards from the tips, is “can’t-miss theater,” especially as you stand by the rail along the backside of the green and feel the spray of water coming off the rocks. “Speaking of can’t miss,” he says, “there is only one option from the tee—take dead aim.”

Big Cedar Lodge, Buffalo Ridge (Holes 14 and 15)—Ridgedale, Mo.

At Big Cedar Lodge, the waterfall that topples down the canyon wall behind Payne’s Valley’s 19th green rightfully gets the lion’s share of attention when it comes to rushing water features on the resort’s golf courses. However, the back nine on Buffalo Ridge features two holes where falls make their presence known in slightly more subtle ways. The par-five 14th concludes with an approach over a pond—one that’s filled by a powerful waterfall to the left of the green complex. It’s a stunning scene made all the more idyllic by the covered bridge that golfers must cross to get to the putting surface. On the following hole, a broad water hazard runs the entire right side of the hole, with a staircase of small falls and chutes cascading gradually downhill. Golfers who hit their tee shots down the right side of the fairway will certainly hear these water features as they play their approach shots, but it’s a far more tranquil sound than what they encountered on the previous hole.

Wynn Golf Club (Hole 18)—Las Vegas, Nev.

For most of a round played at Wynn Golf Club, golfers will be hard-pressed to know that they’re only a short stroll from Las Vegas’s famous Strip. The nearby Wynn and Encore Towers give it away, of course—as do glimpses of the Sphere positioned directly across Sands Avenue—but there’s nothing about the course, itself, that’s laden with the glitz and glamour of Sin City. That is, until golfers arrive at the 18th hole. A converted par four, the hole now plays as a long par three with a green complex flaked by a 100-foot-wide, 35-foot-tall manmade waterfall. When Tom Fazio redesigned the course back in 2019, it marked the first time that he built a course with a par-three finishing hole.

Valhalla Golf Club (Hole 13)—Louisville, Ky.

For as beautiful as the new environment surrounding the 13th green at Valhalla may be, the row of waterfalls cascading down the rocky embankments on the hillside to the right of the putting surface can be more detrimental than they are dynamic. But that’s only if players let those falls distract them from the task at hand—namely, hitting a quality wedge or iron shot to the center of a raised island-inspired green. If you’re lucky enough to tee it up at the site of the 2024 PGA Championship, heed our advice on this short par four: don’t let your eyes stray from the center of the green as you prepare to hit your approach. You’ll have plenty of time to marvel at those water features as you walk to the green with your ball safely on dry land.

Trump National Golf Club Westchester (Hole 13)—Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.

It stands to reason that the signature hole at Trump National Westchester would make this list. After all, the one-shotter is defined by water—not only by the voluminous waterfall towering more than 100 feet behind the green, but for the smaller chutes just in front of the putting surface that spillover into an expansive pond and make every foot of the tee shot a nerve-wracking forced carry. As waterfalls go, this hole delivers the goods, while also epitomizing the look of a highly manufactured environment conceived by Tom Fazio with no budget constraints. This hole, by itself, cost $7 million to build.

Shadow Creek Golf Course (Hole 17)—Las Vegas, Nev.

When Tom Fazio and Steve Wynn first collaborated on a golf course in the Las Vegas desert back in 1990, Wynn spared no expense in transforming a flat desert floor into a sculpted oasis. (The entire project reportedly cost $47 million.) That commitment to building the perfect environment is perhaps best displayed on the 17th hole, a par three that features elevated tees, a rock-framed island green, a forest-like clumping of trees behind the green, and—yes, you guessed it—a cascading waterfall that is set within those pines, spilling over rocks and flowing down into a pond that fronts the green. As Fazio acknowledges, with a putting surface that’s three times wider than it is deep, the hole is as difficult as it is beautiful. “Like the 12th at Augusta,” Fazio says, “any tee shot allowing use of a putter for a second shot is an accomplishment.”

Meadows Farms Golf Course, Waterfall Course (Hole 4)—Locust, Va.

The Meadows Farms Golf Course in northeast Virginia, which features three distinctive nine-hole layouts, isn’t modest when it comes to promoting the 3rd hole on its “Longest Hole” course—an 841-yard par six that’s recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest hole in the United States. Overshadowed by that accolade is the 4th hole on the “Waterfall” course, which appropriately plays to a green that’s positioned at the top of a waterfall. While so many of the holes on this list are punctuated by a dramatic water feature to the side or behind the green, this 174-yard par three stands out for the fact that those falls are positioned just in front of the putting surface. It brings new meaning to the term “forced carry.”

Tot Hill Farm Golf Club (Hole 15)—Asheboro, N.C.

If you ventured to the edge of the mountainous Uwharrie National Forest in central North Carolina to play Tot Hill Farm at any point in the past, you might be scratching your head at the golf club’s inclusion on this list. However, the third par three on the back nine, No. 15 (nicknamed “Water Fall”), at one time showcased a dynamic water feature behind the green, and that waterfall is one of the primary features of the hole that the club recently committed to resuscitating as part of a larger restoration of the entire course. Overall, the course is known partially for its devilishly contoured greens, and the putting surface on this short one-shotter is no different. Chasing the pin when holes are cut far from the center is a fool’s errand. So, no matter what, take aim at the center of the green. Of course, that’s a more difficult task now that a dramatic waterfall once again flows in the background.

Waterfall Club (Hole 2)—Clayton, Ga.

It should come as no surprise that a golf club with “waterfall” in its name should boast a prominent waterfall feature. The private Georgia club also doesn’t waste anytime revealing it, as the 2nd hole, an extreme drop-shot par three, is defined by the cascading water feature. Unlike the other holes in this story, however, the 2nd at Waterfall Club offers players a unique vantage point—they play their initial shots from tee boxes positioned just above the precipice of the falls. It’s only when players get to the green and look back from where they came that they have the opportunity to revel in the waterfall’s grandeur.

What other golf holes with waterfalls should be on this list?