Palmetto Golf Club was established in 1892 but the course was revised in 1933 by Alister MacKenzie, the famed Scottish golf course architect whose designs include Augusta National, Cypress Point and Royal Melbourne.

Palmetto is old-style golf, from holes like the short blind par-4 15th and the severe par-3 7th to the small clubhouse designed in 1902 by Stanford White. There are enough shorter par 4's to make a low score possible (witness Dane Burkhart's closing 59 to win the 2005 event), but there are enough elevation changes, excellent green contours, and quirks to keep players off balance.