For many golfers, the beauty of the game is the fact that it's the ultimate sporting challenge. It takes a lifetime, if we're lucky, to master. And even so, there are far more days the game defeats us than we prevail.

We've dug into the nearly 500,000 reviews on Golf Advisor to see which courses are being hailed as the most challenging. When you post a review on Golf Advisor, one of the optional fields is to grade the difficulty of the course from five options. We assigned each selection a numerical value 1-5, with "extremely challenging" assigned a score of 5. About 75 percent of all reviews have a course difficulty rating. These are reviews from golfers of all ages and handicaps, playing the tees they felt the should play on that day.

The results have plenty of expected names from some of the most infamous designs in golf. Others are more under the radar, known to locals as severe tests. You'll see some familiar names here: a few major championship and pro golf venues, as well as some of the most storied links golf courses in Ireland. Architects like Jack Nicklaus (7), Pete Dye (7), Robert Trent Jones Jr. (5) have the most entries in this top 50.

When assessing a course's difficulty, its championship yardage, slope and rating only tells part of the story. Often times, a course's setup (like pin locations), conditions (rough height or green speeds) and weather (wind or wetness) play an even bigger role than the design. And just because a course might be manageable for low-handicappers, it may be an entirely different beast for higher handicaps.

So if you crave the sternest of tests, keep this list in mind, compiled by golfers all over the world, and features not just U.S. courses, but bruisers in Canada and Ireland as well.

Carmel, Ind.
Yardage: 7,073 | Slope/rating: 137/74.8
Architect: Robert Trent Jones Jr.
What they're saying: "Prairie holes and several that went into the woods and were lined with trees." - Jesse5296632

Bond Head, Ontario, Canada
Yardage: 6,981 | Slope/Rating: 144/74.5
Architect: Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry
What they're saying: "A dramatic course, elevation changes everywhere. Would recommend to anyone, but may need to play it twice to truly 'get it'." - amarasovic

Bend, Ore.
Yardage: 7,379 | Slope/rating: 151/75.2
Architect: Jack Nicklaus
What they're saying: "I thought Jack Nicklaus was a nice guy." - Hacksalot

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Yardage: 6,891 | Slope/Rating: 142/73.2
Architect: Jack Nicklaus
What they're saying: "a roller coaster ride through the most mountainous golf course site on the island."> - MikeBaileyGA

Estero, Fla.
Yardage: 7,393 | Slope/Rating: 153/77.6
Architect: Jack Nicklaus
What they're saying: "Beautiful, but will kick your butt if you are too aggressive." - Eldon4031533

Marana, Ariz.
Yardage: 7852 | Slope/Rating: 145/77.2
Architect: Jack Nicklaus
What they're saying: "Many holes can have a long carry to green, so pick your tees accordingly." - Kronmiller

Benton Harbor, Mich.
Yardage: 6,852 | Slope/Rating: 143/74.4
Architect: Jack Nicklaus
What they're saying: "Just bring your best flat stick game cause Jack knows how to design a green complex." - Gonzokush

University Place, Wash.
Yardage: 7,585 | Slope/Rating: 146/78.1
Architect: Robert Trent Jones Jr.
What they're saying: "Play from the correct tees, load up on some extra pearls, and embrace this beautiful brute." - DamonHackGC

Pebble Beach, Calif.
Yardage: 6,821 | Slope/Rating: 140/74.0
Architect: Robert Trent Jones Jr., Tom Watson
What they're saying: "Almost every shot off line will be swallowed by dunes or trees on the higher holes of the back nine. " - JasonDeeganGA

Village of Pinehurst, N.C.
Yardage: 7,588 | Slope/Rating: 138/76.5
Architect: Donald Ross, Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw
What they're saying: "approach shots in to some of the most diabolical green complexes I've ever played." - sd014808

Sanford, N.C.
Yardage: 6,532 | Slope/Rating: 144/71.7
Architect: Mike Strantz
What they're saying: "I can't imagine what the architect was thinking or how he conceived the layout but, wow, brilliant!" - GeoAZ

Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Yardage: 7,402 | Slope/Rating: 155/77.5
Architect: Ted Baker
What they're saying: "A tough course that rewards accuracy and penalizes any lapse in concentration." - tlindst

Pound Ridge, N.Y.
Yardage: 7,165 | Slope/Rating: 150/76.0
Architect: Pete Dye, Perry Dye
What they're saying: "Shot 86 with 42 putts. The pros couldn't break par from the tips" - Pokermeister

Rothbury, Mich.
Yardage: 6,900 | Slope/Rating: 146/73.6
Rothbury, Mich.
Architect: Arthur Hills
What they're saying: "Check out the greens before you hit - lots of buried elephants give HUGE undulations." - Noise396

Port Severn, Ontario, Canada
Yardage: 6,503 | Slope/Rating: 146/71.4
Architect: Shawn P. Watters
What they're saying: "Put the driver away and tee off with a 3 wood or take a couple of dozen balls!" - Normshiffman

Amana, Iowa
Yardage: 6,824 | Slope/Rating: 142/72.8
Architect: William J. Spear
What they're saying: "The course's natural beauty can also be enjoyed by the novice player who brings an extra box (not sleeve) of balls!" - coppersmith

North Las Vegas, Nev.
Yardage: 7,560 | Slope/Rating: 145/74.5
Architect: Tom Fazio
What they're saying: "Stunning water features, brilliant bunkering and true-rolling greens make this one worth the price of admission." - BillBowmanGA

County Kerry, Ireland
Yardage: 6,802 | SSS: 72
What they're saying: "The par 3's are as hard a collection as anywhere in the world while still retaining a facade of fairness." - IAN1196853

North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Yardage: 6,504 | Slope/Rating: 135/71.6
Architect: Les Furber
What they're saying: ' I play here once a month and can't say I've played a tougher front 9 before." - Jason2894225

Corona, Calif.
Yardage: 6,745 | Slope/Rating: 145/73.9
Architect: Nicklaus Design
What they're saying: "Almost every hole has forced carries off the tee and/or to the green over native red staked ravines."> - NickSquire

Otterville, Ontario, Canada
Yardage: 7,124 | Slope/Rating: 136/74.6
Architect: Dick Kirkpatrick
What they're saying: "Not for the faint of heart. Huge challenge...with intimidating shots all over the place." - peebee1

Huntsville, Ontario, Canada
Yardage: 7,011 | Slope/Rating: 140/75.1
Architect: Thomas McBroom, Bob Cupp
What they're saying: "When it was built they didn't give you a lot of bail out room like they give you on the newer courses." - Reidb

Pensacola, Fla.
Yardage: 6,801 | Slope/Rating: 145/73.9
Architect: Arnold Palmer
What they're saying: "Nice, but difficult course. There's a reason it's called 'lost balls'." - drws187

Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Yardage: 7,367 | Slope/Rating:135/75.3
What they're saying: "A great challenge, but no tricks. If you hit good shots you get good results." - bmcmynn

Palm Coast, Fla.
Yardage: 7776 | Slope/Rating: 150/78.2
Architect: Tom Watson
What they're saying: "I'm a low handicap player and would NOT even think of playing the back tees! 7700 yards is just insane!" - golfismylife223

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