Our sim course pick - February
February 22, 2026 – Mike Pennick
Each month, we highlight one simulator course we truly recommend. Courses that are fun to play, look great on screen, and give you that feeling of being somewhere else for a while. This month, we went big.
Hazeltine National Golf Club
This is the kind of course that makes you feel the pressure before you even hit a shot.
Hazeltine National is located in Chaska, Minnesota, about 25 miles southwest of Minneapolis. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and opened in 1962, it was built from the start with one purpose: to host the best players in the world at the highest level of competition.
That intention shaped everything. The fairways are narrow. The greens are well-protected. Nine of the eighteen holes have water in play, and the course stretches to over 7,600 yards from the tips. It is demanding, but not unfair. Multiple tee options bring it well within reach for everyday golfers, and the challenge scales well at every level.
The signature hole is the par four sixteenth. Your tee shot has to carry over Hazeltine Lake to a peninsula green that falls off on all sides. It is the kind of hole you remember.
A Course Built for Major Championships
Hazeltine has hosted some of the most significant events in golf history. The 1970 and 1991 U.S. Opens were held here. So were the 2002 and 2009 PGA Championships. In 2016, the United States won the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine in one of the most memorable editions of the event in recent memory, with Davis Love III captaining the American side.
And there is more to come. Hazeltine is set to host the 2029 Ryder Cup, meaning the world's spotlight will return to this course in a few years.
Playing a venue with that kind of history adds something. You find yourself thinking about the shots that were played here, and the ones that cost players dearly.
One of TrackMan's Newest Additions
Hazeltine is one of the most recent courses to be added to the TrackMan course library, which makes this a good moment to talk about it.
On the simulator, the course translates well. The elevation changes feel real. The tee shots are genuinely intimidating, especially on the holes where Hazeltine Lake is in play. The views across the water from the fifteenth and sixteenth greens are some of the best scenery you will find on any sim course.
Over 100 bunkers are spread throughout the layout, and you will notice them. The brilliant white sand is striking on screen, and it has a way of making you rethink your line off the tee.
Course Facts
- 18 holes
- Par 72
- Length: approximately 5,700–7,674 yards depending on tees
- Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., refined by Rees Jones
- Private club, opened 1962, Chaska, Minnesota
- Course rating 77.8 / Slope 148 from championship tees
- Host of the 1970 and 1991 U.S. Opens, 2002 and 2009 PGA Championships, 2016 Ryder Cup, and the upcoming 2029 Ryder Cup
- Difficulty: 4 of 5
Why I Recommend It
Hazeltine is not a casual round. It asks you to think, and it punishes hesitation.
But that is exactly what makes it worth playing on the simulator. The tee shots have real consequence. The water holes create genuine nerves. And the history of the place adds a layer that is hard to put into words.
If you want to know what it feels like to stand on the tee at a Ryder Cup venue, this is your chance.
Enjoy the round.