Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West in La Quinta

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Set among one of golf's great settings, the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West offers a bear of a test.

This 7,204-yard golf course ranks is Jack Nicklaus at some of his picturesque best as a designer.

Opened in 1987, it sits alongside five other PGA West golf courses and features a challenging mix of sand, water and rolling terrain between pair of mountain ranges.

The tournament course has hosted premier events, including the Skins Game and PGA Tour-qualifying school. It remains open to the public year-round.

PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 1

No. 1 on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course plays 412 yards from the championship tees and features an elevated green, well bunkered on the left.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 2

The second hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course, a 444-yard par 4, plays straight with a small bunker near the green to capture short approach shots.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament GC - hole 3

No. 3 on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course, a 192-yard par 3, plays to a large, sloping green surrounded by bunkers in the front and grass hills behind.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 4

A 549-yard par 5, the fourth hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course includes an elevated fairway and grassy bunkers that protect the front side of the green.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 5

The 364-yard, par-4 fifth hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course features a fairway split by a long bunker, with a much larger sand hazard short of the green and left.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 6

The par-4 sixth hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course plays 462 yards, with little sand but a rolling fairway and a tricky, undulated green.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 7

No. 7 on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course, at 527 yards, features an undulated fairway with raised sides that plays to an elevated green.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 8

The par-3 eighth hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course plays 172 yards to a large, peninsula green protected behind by a bunker nearly as big as the putting surface.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 9

The 461-yard ninth hole, a par 4, ranks as the most difficult hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course, featuring a dogleg right and a giant lake that forces a harrowing approach shot.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 10

No. 10 on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course, a 370-yard par 4, turns slightly to the left with a large bunker on that side to guard the green.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament G.C. - hole 11

The 528-yard, par-5 11th hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course plays over several large mounds, with the last of the grassy hills in front of the green on this dogleg left.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 12

Anything to the left is wet on the 12th hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course, a 188-yard par 3 that requires a water carry to the green, guarded in the front by sand.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 13

The 419-yard, par-4 13th hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course includes water off the tee and a curvaceous fairway to an elevated green.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 14

The 14th hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course, a 442-yard par 4, plays through a rolling fairway to a multi-tiered green with sand in the front on the right and left.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 15

The par-5, 572-yard 15th hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course features a sloping, split fairway to an island green guarded in front and behind by sand.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 16

A lake off the tee guards the right side of No. 16 on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course, a 440-yard par 4, which plays to a severely sloped green after a fairway that turns to the left.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament GC - hole 17

The 209-yard, par-3 17th hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course travels through a valley to a large green protected on the front, left side by a pot bunker.

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PGA West - Nicklaus Tournament Course - hole 18

Stay left on the 453-yard, par-4 finishing hole on PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament Course to avoid a large waste area and a lake that follows the entire fairway to a tiered green.

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