The PGA Tour’s 2018 season kicks off next month with the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. And as is tradition, the Tour starts out on the west coast for the first seven weeks, until late February when it heads east for Florida and the Honda Classic.
This seven-week stretch is known unofficially as the West Coast Swing, and it’s tournaments are contested at some of the most iconic golf courses in the country, including Kapalua, Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, and Riviera.
Here’s a quick look at the seven championship golf courses where the tour pros will be teeing it up, starting next month.
KAPALUA RESORT, PLANTATION
Event: Sentry Tournament of Champions
Where: Kapalua, Hawaii
Date: Jan 4-7, 2018
Stats: Par 73 | 7,411 Yards
Designer: Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, 1991
Defending: Justin Thomas
Interesting Factoid: The only course on the PGA Tour that plays to par 73.
WAIALAE COUNTRY CLUB
Event: Sony Open
Where: Honolulu, Hawaii
Date: Jan 11-14, 2018
Stats: Par 72 | 7,125 Yards
Designer: Seth Raynor, 1927
Defending: Justin Thomas
Interesting Factoid: The 10th hole introduces features of the 17th Road Hole at St. Andrews in Scotland.
TPC STADIUM at PGA WEST
Event: CareerBuilder Challenge
Where: La Quinta, Calif.
Date: Jan 18-21, 2018
Stats: Par 72 | 7,300 Yards
Designer: Pete Dye, 1986
Defending: Hudson Swafford
Interesting Factoid: The Pete Dye-design is viewed as the sequel to his legendary work at TPC at Sawgrass.
TORREY PINES, SOUTH
Event: Farmers Insurance Open
Where: La Jolla, Calif.
Date: Jan 25-28, 2018
Stats: Par 72 | 7,698 Yards
Designer: William Bell, 1957 | Rees Jones, 2001 | Tom Weiskopf, 2016
Defending: Jon Rahm
Interesting Factoid: The course is named after the Torrey Pine, a rare tree that grows in the wild only along the coastline of San Diego.
TPC SCOTTSDALE, STADIUM
Event: Waste Management Phoenix Open
Where: Scottsdale, Arizona
Date: Feb 1-4, 2018
Stats: Par 71 | 7,266 Yards
Designer: Tom Weiskopf and Jay Moorish, 1986
Defending: Hideki Matsuyama
Interesting Factoid: The par-3 16th hole at the Stadium Course is the only fully enclosed hole on the PGA Tour.
PEBBLE BEACH GOLF LINKS
Event: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Where: Pebble Beach, Calif.
Date: Feb 8-11, 2018
Stats: Par 72 | 6,816 Yards
Designer: Jack Neville and Douglas Grant, 1919
Defending: Jordan Spieth
Interesting Factoid: Neville used a unique figure 8 layout in order to place as many of the holes as possible along the beautiful Monterey coast line. Because of this design, Pebble’s 9th and 10th holes do not return to the clubhouse.
RIVIERA COUNTRY CLUB
Event: Genesis Open
Where: Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Date: Feb 15-18, 2018
Stats: Par 71 | 7,322 Yards
Designer: George C. Thomas, 1926
Defending: Dustin Johnson
Interesting Factoid: The movie ‘Pat and Mike’, starring Katharine Hepburn and Babe Zaharias, was filmed at Riviera, as was The Caddy, starring Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, with a cameo appearance by Ben Hogan.
SOURCES: Getty Images, Wikipedia, TPC Network, Pebble Beach Golf Links, City of San Diego
