TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois

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.