A look at the toughest tests our players faced in the 2024 season on the DP World Tour.
It's that time of year again where we use the Fortinet Threat Score to demonstrate which holes on the DP World Tour tested the best to their very limits.
The Fortinet Threat Score demonstrates the average score to par for the field, enabling fans around the world to track in real time how players coped.
Here, we look at what proved to be the top ten hardest holes from the 846 played across 47 different courses on the 2024 DP World Tour schedule.
Difficulty rank: 10th
Hole 16 - Heritage La Réserve Golf Club
Par: 4
Length: 474 yards
Scoring average: 4.40
The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is one of the most poular events for the players on Tour, allowing them one last chance of a win in the calendar year while in an island paradise - but among all the beauty is this beast. It yielded 28 birdies to 168 bogeys or worse and one of hose bogeys came from eventual winner Louis Oosthuizen in round four, as a ragged tee-shot and second cut his lead to one in a tense finish. But it is the only hole on our list to produce an eagle, with Ryan van Velzen holing his second shot in the final round.
Difficulty rank: 9th
Hole 2 - Pinehurst Resort & CC
Par: 4
Length: 500 yards
Scoring average: 4.40
Ahead of the 124th staging of the U.S. Open in June, only four players had finished under par in the three previous editions of golf's second-oldest Major at the venue. In the lead up, players spoke of expecting a "war of attrition" with the par-four second yielding a week-low 16 birdies. With a bunker protecting the front of the green and drop offs on all sides of an elevated putting surface, a huge 146 bogeys were made, 19 double-bogeys and five triples.
Difficulty rank: 8th
Hole 6 - The Belfry
Par: 4
Length: 448 yards
Scoring average: 4.40
No sixth hole across the season resulted in more double bogeys as 34 were made at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo. On top of that, there were a further 12 worse scores at the opening event of the Back 9. Among those was a quadruple-bogey by Tyrrell Hatton in the final round after the Englishman found water twice. There were no such issues for Niklas Nørgaard as the Dane parred it every day to help claim his maiden DP World Tour title.
Difficulty rank: 7th
Hole 11 - Royal Troon
Par: 4
Length: 498 yards
Scoring average: 4.43
The links courses on The Open rota boast of some of the best and toughest holes in the game, and their often unforgiving nature was evident in Ayrshire as all but one hole - the par-five 16th - played above its par. But it was the near 500-yard 11th that played the most challenging scoring-wise. With almost 50 double bogeys or worse, and a mere 27 bidies across all four days at this hole, the numbers tell the story of just how challenging it played amid the elements of the week. Xander Schauffele showed his pedigree to play it in one under, with his birdie on the final day the first of four on the back nine on his way to a three-shot victory and his second Major success of the year.
Difficulty rank: 6th
Hole 15 - Royal County Down
Par: 4
Length: 468 yards
Scoring average: 4.44
Another links beauty on our list after we took a trip to Northern Ireland and a course often ranked among the very best in the world for the Amgen Irish Open. Royal County Down is also regarded as one of the most beautiful golf courses in the world but it is also one of the toughest, with Shane Lowry saying before the start of the week: "Would I take level par and sit here and wait? Possibly." In the end, Rasmus Højgaard finished at nine under to take the title by one shot, playing the 15th in one under while nearest rival Rory McIlroy played it in one over, making a damaging bogey in the final round. The hole produced just 27 birdies, with an equal amount of double bogeys.
Difficulty rank: 5th
Hole 18 - The Belfry
Par: 4
Length: 497 yards
Scoring average: 4.45
Over the years it has earned a reputation for being among the most exacting closing holes in world golf. With a sweeping left hand dog leg, an accurate tee shot is required with water down the left side of the fairway always in the mind. No hole over the Brabazon saw more double bogeys or worse (49) coughed up across the week, with no fewer than four players making a triple-bogey seven in the third round. The Brabazon is the only course to make two appearances on our list.
Difficulty rank: 4th
Hole 16 - Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate
Par: 4
Length: 560 yards
Scoring average: 4.46
We now head to South Africa for what is comfortably one of the longest par fours in the game, at a course that at 8,233 yards played 72 yards longer than last year when it became the longest course ever played on Tour. There were 27 double bogeys or worse across the week, with 13 of those coming in the second round alone. Even while at altitude, a mere 15 birdies across four days of golf tells the story of just how much of a challenge it was. One of those was made by Dean Burmester as he made it six consecutive different South Africans to win their national open.
Difficulty rank: 3rd
Hole 15 - Houghton GC
Par: 4
Length: 536 yards
Scoring average: 4.50
One of only two holes that make a return to our list from 2023. Host of the Joburg Open on the opening weekend of the season, a week-high 142 bogeys and 54 double bogeys were made by the field across the four tournament days. Burmester made a birdie during the final round on his way to a three-shot victory to play it one under, defying the scoring average of almost half a shot over par.
Difficulty rank: 2nd
Hole 14 - DLF G&CC
Par: 4
Length: 535 yards
Scoring average: 4.51
This dogleg-left hole where second shots are played to a green which has several run off areas is the first on our list to play over half a shot over par. Its 29 birdies are matched by its amount of double bogeys and its 15 double bogeys or worse are the third-most across any hole on that metric. Keita Nakajima may have won the event but he played the 14th in five over for the week, making a double in round four as he saw a nine-shot lead at the turn eventually become a four-shot win via back nine of 40.
Difficulty rank: 1st
Hole 17 - Old Course St. Andrews
Par: 4
Length: 495 yards
Scoring average: 4.57
After three consective seasons in our top ten, the famous - or should that be infamous - 17th at the Home of Golf tops our list. Arguably one of the toughest holes in golf worldwide, the Road Hole is renowned for its famous tee shot and deep greenside bunker. While it may have its detractors, it produces plenty of intrigue and demands excellent execution under pressure. Despite it being a hole most of the field at the annual Alfred Dunhill Links Championship know so well, it played almost six tenths above its par. A mere seven birdies were made all week, one of them belonging to eventual winner Tyrrell Hatton in round three.
