There are few PGA Tour venues that are accessible to even below-average golfers of below-average means. The Tournament Players Club (TPC) at Deere Run, site of the John Deere Classic, just happens to be one of these rare golf courses.
For a green fee of just $70, including cart, the Average Joe can play for a $5 Nassau where Joe Pro plays for a million bucks. But resist the temptation to think that accessibility and affordability imply lower quality or lesser challenge. This is, if you'll recall, the course that almost killed Michelle Wie.
The TPC at Deere Run opened with much fanfare in 2000. Tour pro, Illinois State University graduate, and budding course designer D. A. Weibring consulted with PGA TOUR Design Services in turning the one-time Arabian horse farm into a world-class golf course, suitable to host a Tour event.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said of the property: "This is without a doubt the best piece of property we have ever had to build a TPC facility."
And long-time Tour mainstay Peter Jacobsen said of the layout, "I rate the course a 9 [out of 10] and that's worth telling people about."
The natural setting lends itself to one spectacular hole after another. Five sets of tee boxes on each hole (well four, really, as the black tees listed on the card are never in place) allow the layout to be played at a muscular 7,183 all the way down to a manageable 5,179 yards.
TPC Deere Run clubhouse
The clubhouse of the TPC at Deere Run is a proud statement of the commitment of John Deere to golf and to its namesake tournament.
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TPC Deere Run clubhouse back
The back of the clubhouse at TPC Deere Run offers stately shelter to course-battered hackers and PGA Tour pros alike.
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TPC Deere Run hole 1
The first hole at the TPC at Deere Run bends uphill to a blind landing area.
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TPC at Deere Run hole 1 green
TPC at Deere Run: Hole #1 green
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TPC Deere Run hole 2
The reachable par-5 2nd at the TPC at Deere Run harkens back to the roots of the course, and the company whose name it bears.
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TPC Deere Run hole 3
The 186-yard 3rd plays longer than its yardage, just like every par-3 at Deere Run.
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TPC Deere Run hole 4
The green of the 454-yard 4th at Deere Run seems to drop off into utter nothingness.
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TPC Deere Run hole 5
The approach at the 433-yard 5th is as nerve-wracking as they come.
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TPC Deere Run hole 7
The 226-yard par-3 7th at Deere Run
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TPC Deere Run hole 7
TPC at Deere Run: Hole #7
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TPC Deere Run hole 9
TPC at Deere Run, the 509-yard par-4 9th -- the hardest hole on the course.
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TPC Deere Run hole 10
Your approach to the 596-yard par-5 1oth at the TPC at Deere Run must be precise -- any miss = bogey+
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TPC Deere Run hole 12
The TPC at Deere Run: Hole #12
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TPC Deere Run hole 13
TPC at Deere Run: Hole #13
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TPC Deere Run hole 14
TPC at Deere Run: Hole #14
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TPC Deere Run hole 15
TPC at Deere Run: Hole #15
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TPC Deere Run hole 16
The 158-yard 16th at the TPC at Deere Run is one of the prettiest short par 3s in the Midwest.
Kiel Christianson/GolfPublisher.com
TPC Deere Run hole 17
TPC at Deere Run: Hole #17
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TPC Deere Run hole 18
The 476-yard 18th at the TPC at Deere Run makes for a dramatic tournament stage.
Kiel Christianson/GolfPublisher.com
TPC Deere Run bunkering
The bunkering at the TPC at Deere Run is eye-catching, and ball-catching, too.
Kiel Christianson/GolfPublisher.com
TPC Deere Run chipping areas
The greens at the TPC at Deere Run tumble off into tightly-shaved chipping areas.
Kiel Christianson/GolfPublisher.com
