No. 4, Pikewood National
GOLF DIGEST RANKS PIKEWOOD NATIONAL
AMONG AMERICA’S 20 HARDEST GOLF COURSES
MORGANTOWN, W.Va., (April 2016) – Golf Digest has named Pikewood National Golf Club one
of America’s 20 Hardest Golf Courses in a March posting on its web site GolfDigest.com.
Pikewood National was ranked No. 18 by Golf Digest’s course-ranking panelists. Other courses receiving
recognition include Pine Valley Golf Course, Oakmont Country Club and Augusta National Golf Course.
Pikewood National is a 72 par private course located near Morgantown, W.Va. The course opened as
an 18-hole layout in 2008.
Stephen Hennessey of Golf Digest stated, “Given as golf continues to recognize the importance of fun
and playability in course design, the measure of championship-caliber golf is by a course’s Resistance to
Scoring. How does a course defend par? And is it fair? These courses embody that measurement.”
Golf Digest has previously ranked Pikewood National in its “World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” and
“America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” rankings. In 2009, Pikewood was named “Best New Private
Course in America” by Golf Digest.
America’s 20 Hardest Golf Courses ranking included the following comments about Pikewood National
from its Golf Digest panelists:
“(The) vistas behind many of the holes make the experience worth it regardless of how you are playing.”
“Best collection of par 3s I’ve ever played. The green complexes are really good—they allow shots to run
onto greens. But if you miss on either side, you’ll get to experience MacKenzie style bunkering.”
“Best collection of par 3s I’ve ever played. The green
complexes are really good—they allow shots to run
onto greens. But if you miss on either side, you’ll
get to experience MacKenzie style bunkering.”
Dow Finsterwald, a former Ryder Cup Captain
and PGA Champion and currently pro emeritus
at Pikewood National, noted that “Pikewood
National is the most challenging, fair, and
beautiful course in the world. Pikewood National is the greatest walk in golf.”
- Golf Digest
Pikewood National was designed by John
Raese and Bob Gwynne. “We are very
grateful to have been selected by Golf Digest for this honor,” says Raese. “The courses on this list are
the preeminent representatives of championship golf in America and are widely recognized internationally. To have Pikewood National recognized with some of the all-time great courses in America is a very
humbling experience.”
Bob Gwynne stated, “We are thankful to be recognized by Golf Digest for inclusion in such a prominent
list of great American golf courses. Our thoughts on course design from the beginning were to design
a championship course that was both challenging and fair. We wanted it to test a player’s level of skill
and to identify areas needed for improvement in a player’s game. It is exhilarating to see our efforts
receive such acclaim, but when you get right down to it, we were blessed by Mother Nature with some
of the best land formations our great state has to offer.”
Pikewood National is among the nation’s elite golf courses according to the Golf Digest ranking.
Fourteen of the 20 courses have played host to major tournaments while 17 have held major and/or
PGA Tour events.
Other courses ranked by Golf Digest include: 1. Pine Valley Golf Club, Clementon N.J., 2. Oakmont
Country Club, Pittsburgh, Pa., 3. Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga., 4. Winged Foot Golf Club
(West), Mamaroneck, N.Y., 5. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, N.Y., 6. Merion Golf Club (East),
Ardmore, Pa., 7. Bethpage State Park (Black), Farmington, N.Y., 8. Kiawah Island (Ocean), Kiwah Island,
S.C., 9. Oakland Hills Country Club (South), Bloomington Hills, Mich., 10. Oak Hill Country Club (East),
Rochester, N.Y., 11. Oak Tree National, Edmond, Okla., 12. Butler National Golf Club, Oak Brook, Ill.,
13. The Olympic Club (Lake), San Francisco, Calif., 14. Whistling Straits (Straits), Sheboygan, Wisc.,
15. Spyglass Hill Golf Course, Pebble Beach, Calif., 16. Victoria National Golf Club, Newburgh, Ind.,
17. Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst, N.C., 18. Pikewood National Golf Club, Morgantown, W.Va.,
19. Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif., and 20. Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio.
Tim Bennett serves as General Manager and Director of Golf at Pikewood National. Brett Bentley is
the golf course superintendent and Mike De Meo is executive chef.
- pngc For more information
Tim Bennett (304) 864-3312
pikewoodnational.com