One golf tournament had six of the easiest holes on the PGA Tour this year. Which one?
If a golfer played every event in the PGA Tour’s regular season, starting with The Sentry in Hawaii in January and ending with the Tour Championship in Atlanta In August, he would have played 828 different holes. Some of those holes would have been ridiculously tough, and others would have been mouth-wateringly easy.
Not surprisingly, some of those easy holes are in The American Express tournament in La Quinta, a tournament noted for its low scoring on all three of its courses. While some fans lament the low scoring at The American Express, saying the pros should be challenged more, the pros on the PGA Tour love coming to the desert to get their games in shape on smooth greens and wide fairways that promote low scoring.
Because of the traditional low scoring in the desert — 2024 winning Nick Dunlap shot 29-under par for 72 holes with a 12-under 60 in his third round — it can’t be a surprise that some of the tournament holes showed up among the easiest on the Tour. In fact, six holes in The American Express were among the 25 holes with the lowest scoring averages in 2024.
No. 3, 11th hole, Nicklaus Tournament Course, PGA West
This par-5 measures just 528 yards, and if a player hits the fairway and avoids large mounds to the left of the landing area, it’s a pretty simple shot into the green. The scoring average on the hole was 4.200, or more than three-quarters of a shot under par. Of all the short par-5s in The American Express, this one is the easiest for the pros.
No. 5, 11th hole, La Quinta Country Club
When people think of scoreable par-5s at La Quinta Country Club, they tend to think of the back-to-back fifth and sixth holes. In reality, this very straight 543-yard hole was the easiest on the course in 2024. Four bunkers surround the green, but the front of the green is open and inviting, with a 4.219 scoring average for 2024.
No. 12, sixth hole, La Quinta Country Club
The front nine at La Quinta is where players tend to score the lowest on the course, and this 527-yard par-5 is part of the reason. Not much longer than some par-4s on the PGA Tour, this hole is again typical of the course, with bunkers ringing the green. But most pros will be hitting mid-irons into the generous green, accounting for a 4.297 scoring average for the hole this year.
No. 14, 13th hole, La Quinta Country Club
This 547-yard par-5 has a few more teeth than some of the other par-5s on the course, with even a bit of a dogleg to the right. But the second shot, played into the backdrop of the Santa Rosa Mountains, is still wide open for the pros. Scoring average for the 2024 American Express was 4.333.
No. 21, seventh hole, Nicklaus Tournament Course, PGA West
Another par-5 under 530 yards, this hole has an interesting green complex with a putting surface that angles away from the player from front right to back left and with deep grassy areas protecting the back of the green. But the pros still handled the hole well with a 4.374 scoring average.
No. 25, fifth hole, La Quinta Country Club
The first of the back-to-back par-5s on the front nine at La Quinta, this hole’s 4.381 scoring average for 2024 is a bit higher than the sixth hole, but by less than two-tenths of a stroke. The fairway turns to the right, but at just 516 yards, it’s easy to see how pros can play the hole as a long-4 and be disappointed with a 5.
Not to be outdone, the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West also had a relatively easy hole, with its par-5 eighth hole coming in 26th on the list at 4.386. The easiest hole on the PGA Tour in 2024 was the par-5 fifth hole at the Plantation Course at Kapalua, the home of The Sentry season-opening event. That hole played to a 4.106 scoring average. One hundred and thirty-three par-4s on the Tour this year played to a higher scoring average.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t tough holes in The American Express rotation as well. The 233-yard par-3 sixth hole at the Stadium Course at PGA West actually made the top 50 toughest holes on Tour with a 3.251 scoring average. Holes like the par-3 17th at the Nicklaus Tournament Course and the par-4 second at La Quinta Country Club played over their par as well.
But if anyone asks why the scoring is so low at The American Express, having six of the tournament’s par-5s among the lowest-scoring holes on the PGA Tour is certainly a good place to start.
