TPC River Highlands

The closing stretch is the course's calling card. The par-3 16th, with its green perched above the Coginchaug River, and the drivable par-4 15th have produced some of the tour's most replayed finishes, including Phil Mickelson's ace-and-eagle heroics and Jim Furyk's record-setting 58. That river corridor through the flatter Connecticut River Valley terrain gives the back nine a different character than the more wooded front, and it's part of why the course photographs and plays so differently depending on where you stand.

Cromwell itself sits in the middle of the Hartford area's golf scene, close enough to the capital that the Travelers Championship draws serious galleries every June. As a semi-private club, River Highlands opens its tour-tested layout to members and guests the rest of the year, giving everyday golfers a chance to play the same greens and angles the pros negotiate on tour week, on a course whose par of 70 rewards precision over raw power.