Tom Weiskopf enjoyed a remarkable career, winning 16 PGA Tour titles—along with the 1973 British Open. In many ways, however, his career as a course designer eclipsed what he accomplished as a player—including popularizing the drivable par four. With one of his final designs, Utah’s Black Desert Resort, in the spotlight as host to the PGA Tour’s Bank of Utah Championship, Weiskopf’s architecture takes center stage once more.
Here are the top dozen North American Tom Weiskopf designs that you can play.
1. Black Desert Resort—Ivins, Utah
The final championship course in the design career of Tom Weiskopf resulted in the aptly named Black Desert, a 7,417-yard, par-72 layout near St. George in southwestern Utah that formally opened in 2023. Home to a PGA Tour event in October and to the LPGA Tour in the spring, Black Desert features fairways that zigzag through ancient black lava fields, with holes backdropped by red sandstone mountains. Filled with variety and replete with risk/reward options, Black Desert boasts two of Weiskopf’s signature drivable par fours, the 350-yard 5th and the 326-yard 14th.
2. Forest Dunes (Forest Dunes)—Roscommon, Mich.
This inspired, 7,116-yard, par-72 design opened in 2002 three hours northwest of Detroit and rolls through man-made sand dunes and red pine forests, with ground game options aided by firm, fast, rumpled fairways and perfectly groomed greens. Strategic tests such as the double-fairway, 439-yard par-four 10th, called “Decision,” and the drivable 302-yard par-four 17th, framed with sand and fescues, are superb.
3. Troon North (Monument)—Scottsdale, Ariz.
The public version of nearby Troon Country Club, Weiskopf once stated that the Troon North parcel was “such a beautiful piece of property that anybody could have done those courses and had them turn out pretty good.” With nine holes designed by the team of Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and the other nine a Weiskopf solo effort, there’s sure to be a signature drivable par four. In fact, there are two of them on the 7,039-yard, par-72 Monument: the 306-yard 6th and the 299-yard 15th, both framed by lush desert vegetation and mountain vistas. Unforgettable is the 556-yard par-five 3rd, its fairway dominated by a giant boulder positioned dead-center of the landing area.
4. Troon North (Pinnacle)—Scottsdale, Ariz.
Though slightly lower ranked than its Monument sibling in most listings, proponents assert that Pinnacle is every bit as good—or better. Tucked into the shadows of Pinnacle Peak and down the block from the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale, this 7,009-yard, par-71 Weiskopf/Morrish creation zigzags through boulders and cacti, at times leapfrogging dry desert washes and at others, skirting mountain slopes. Daunting forced carries and strategic risk/reward options elevates the Pinnacle for strong players. Pinnacle is a bit tighter off the tee than Monument and its configuration makes it the more walkable of the two.
5. TPC Scottsdale (Stadium)—Scottsdale, Ariz.
The desert’s ultimate must-play is the TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium course, which Weiskopf designed with Jay Morrish in 1986 and then renovated it on his own in 2014. It’s not the region’s beauty contest winner, but the famous footsteps you’ll walk in include Tiger Woods—whose 1997 Saturday ace at golf’s rowdiest hole, the par-three 16th, touched off a football-like fiesta—and Phil Mickelson, the former Arizona State star who won three times here. And we can’t forget Scottie Scheffler, who went back-to-back in 2022–23. The island-green, par-five 15th and the drivable par-four 17th, facing the McDowell Mountains in the backlit afternoon sun, are other standouts.
6. Snake River Sporting Club—Jackson, Wyo.
Designed by Weiskopf in 2006, Snake River fell victim to the 2009 economic downturn. It lay fallow until 2014, when it made a spectacular comeback. Weiskopf’s inspired 7,533-yard, par-72, lay-of-the-land creation is the centerpiece of a private residential community. The 6,000-foot elevation fosters towering drives—picture the kind Weiskopf hit in his heyday—and the wilderness environment includes granite mountains, beaver ponds, eagles’ nests, and bugling elk in autumn. Of the 70-plus drivable par fours Weiskopf designed or co-designed, the downhill, 322-yard 2nd hole is one of his very favorites—due in part to its wildly contoured green. Guests of The Sylvan Lodge in the heart of the development have access to play the golf course.
7. Spanish Peaks (Championship)—Big Sky, Mont.
Fifteen years after the 1992 film, A River Runs Through It, introduced the world to Big Sky, Mont., Spanish Peaks made its debut. The 7,193-yard, par-72 layout has maintained its private status throughout, but when the on-site Montage Big Sky hotel opened in 2021, access to the golf course got a little easier. These days, hotel guests can play during the afternoons, all the better for warmer temperatures at the 7,000-foot elevation. Dense forests, ski runs, and mountain peaks are in view for the entire journey. Maximum eye candy arrives at the 210-yard par-three 15th, which plays downhill over water.
8. Kukui’ula—Kauai, Hawaii
Weiskopf designed crowd-pleasing Kukui’ula in 2011 on Kauai’s sunny south coast and nearly 15 years later, it remains universally admired for its scenery, playability, and strategic interest. Measuring a shade over 7,000 yards, par 72, the course dishes out roomy fairways, artistically sculpted bunkers, and resort-friendly greens, even as it remains a private club. Those who are looking to sample two of Hawaii’s best back-to-back oceanside holes—the downhill 506-yard par-five 13th with the Pacific in the background, and the 320-yard drivable par-four 14th—need to book a stay at the Lodge at Kukui’ula. Tee times for guests are available starting at 12:40 pm Tuesday through Friday and at 11:40 am on Saturday and Sunday.
9. Ocean Club—Paradise Island, The Bahamas
Located on the eastern end of Paradise Island, bounded by the Atlantic on the north, Ocean Club was once home to a 1964 Dick Wilson/Joe Lee design. Closed for good in the late 1990s, it was reimagined as the Ocean Club by Weiskopf in 2001 for new owner Sol Kerzner, a South African who also created the sensational Atlantis Resort next door. Weiskopf cleared much of the thick brush that had bracketed the fairways to open up more ocean vistas. He also set new tees and greens next to the turquoise-hued sea. Ocean Club played host to the LPGA Tour from 2013–18, the Korn Ferry Tour in 2025, and multiple editions of the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational. In the frequent breezes, Ocean Club offers plenty of challenge at 7,159 yards, par 72, but the best hole might well be the one that yields the most birdies, the 281-yard drivable par-four 17th, which plays entirely along the ocean and beach to the left.
10. Vista Vallarta (Weiskopf)—Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
The counterpart to Jack Nicklaus’s stunning, but manufactured sibling at Vista Vallarta is this almost minimalist Weiskopf design that features low-profile fairways slashed by creeks and ravines and framed by thick, jungle rough. Landing areas are wider than they look, though the tall trees will intimidate early and often. Opened seven months after Nicklaus’s course in 2001, this 6,993-yard, par-72 layout closes in dramatic fashion, with a potentially drivable par four at 346 yards from the Gold, 310 yards from the Blue. Yet, it’s equally impressive for its drive-and-pitch options. A carry up the left side over a huge diagonal sand sprawl leaves a simple, open approach. A safer drive short and right of the sand requires a longer second over more sand to a green angled to make it less receptive to those right-side approaches.
11. Old Kinderhook—Camdenton, Mo.
Lake views, rock waterfalls, gurgling streams, and zoysia fairways highlight this 6,726-yard, par-71, 1999 Weiskopf creation that plunges into a tranquil, tree-lined valley in the Ozark hills. Unforgettable is the 416-yard par-four 8th that plays 100 feet downhill to a green menaced by hardwoods and wetlands, but with water lurking on 12 holes, there’s drama throughout. A final hook is the superbly conditioned bent grass greens, which are large, fast, and subtly undulating.
12. Seven Canyons—Sedona, Ariz.
In 2002–03, Weiskopf took an existing routing and conjured up the greens and bunkers to make Seven Canyons his own. It is unquestionably one of the most dramatically beautiful inland golf courses in America, with its climbs, plunges, and red rock panoramas everywhere you turn. Although on the short side, at 6,858 yards, par 71, Seven Canyons demands precision and shotmaking. Phil Smith, who worked alongside Weiskopf to build Seven Canyons, completed a comprehensive renovation in 2024. Guests at the top-rated Enchantment Resort nearby can access this private spread.
