Honored with the PGA Tour Courage Award in 2024 for his battle with a brain lesion and his recovery from surgery, Gary Woodland owns four PGA Tour victories, including the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He also competed for the U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup, played at Australia’s Royal Melbourne. With six top 15s in major championships, it’s evident he knows how to handle the toughest tracks.
So which courses does this Topeka, Kan., native find the most demanding—and which ones are his favorites? Here are Gary’s picks in this edition of “My Courses.”
MY FAVORITE COURSE: Pebble Beach. It’s got everything. It’s got holes on the ocean, the beauty of the whole place, and then my biggest win on tour. I’ve got a lot of history there.
FIRST COURSE I EVER PLAYED: Forbes Golf Course in Topeka, Kan. It’s a little 9-hole muni. I believe they once had sand greens, but they were grass greens by the time I got there.
THE COURSE I’VE PLAYED MOST OFTEN: Topeka Country Club, where I grew up. I played more there than anywhere, and I go home there for the summer. That’s home.
COURSE THAT PRODUCED THE SWEETEST MEMORY: Pebble Beach, for sure. The biggest golf moment of my life, winning. Not only that, but it was also on Father’s Day. My dad was there. Pretty special.
HARDEST COURSE I EVER PLAYED: Olympic Club at the U.S. Open in 2012. Just the way the golf course is designed, doglegs left with a fairway sloping to the right, it makes you hit every shot in the book. The weather was a little chilly that week. It was firm—it was the U.S. Open, after all, so it was set up tough, but I believe that was probably the hardest week I’ve ever seen as a golfer.
BEST COURSE I EVER PLAYED: I’ll say Spyglass Hill. I love Spyglass. It’s got holes on the ocean; it’s got holes in the forest. It’s got a lot of good holes. It makes you hit different shots. Short par threes.
A COURSE NOT IN THE TOP 100 THAT SHOULD BE: Pine Tree in Boynton Beach, Fla. Yes, I’m a member there. I love it. I think it’s a great golf course. It’s long, it’s hard—a lot of bunkers. Everyone that comes down and plays it loves it.
A COURSE IN THE TOP 100 THAT HAS MY NUMBER: Prairie Dunes. I played a lot of tournaments there as a kid and played the Big 12s there, and I struggled there. It’s just hard. If you miss the fairway, it’s in the junk. The wind’s always blowing. I love it. It’s one of my favorite courses, but it has my number.
THE NO. 1 COURSE ON MY BUCKET LIST: It had been Cypress Point for a long time. I just played it for the first time two years ago. So, what’s at the top right now? I’ve been lucky. I’ve played a lot of good golf courses. I’ll tell you what I haven’t played. There are some courses out in New York, out on the island that I haven’t played—the National, Sebonack. There’s a couple out there that people talk about that I need to get out there and play.
THE COURSE I’D PLAY IF I HAD JUST ONE MORE ROUND: Pebble Beach.
THE COURSE I’D PLAY IF I COULD PLAY ONLY ONE COURSE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE: I’ll go home and play Topeka Country Club.
