Major Attractions
They won’t let you go to bat in Fenway Park or shoot foul shots in Madison Square Garden any time soon, but you can tee it up and play on golf courses where many of the majors are hosted, striding in the footsteps of golf’s greatest. Take a caddie and stroll these courses, and you are literally walking through golf history.
Four times a year, the best golfers in the world compete on the biggest stage in what’s known as the majors. One is held in Great Britain, and the other three are contested in the United States. The Masters is always at Augusta National, a famously private course off limits to everyone except and their guests. But the other two, hosted by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the PGA of America, offer regular golfers the chance to compete on the same grounds as the stars of the game.
In the past, most of these tournaments were held on private clubs, with Pebble Beach and Pinehurst No. 2 the notable public exceptions. But about 22 years ago, that began to change. It was 2002, and a red-hot Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open at New York’s Bethpage Black, the first major held on a municipal American course. Since then, a slew of accessible courses have been added to the major roster, including Torrey Pines, Chambers Bay, Firestone, Whistling Straits, Kiawah’s Ocean Course and Erin Hills. Today, there are 18 U.S. courses that you can play that have hosted men’s major championships. (This situation is completely reversed in the British Isles for the Open Championship. Every venue where it has been contested is accessible to the public.) While a handful are one offs that you probably never heard of, most are exceptional. A few have also hosted the Ryder Cup, and many offer caddies, a rare luxury in resort golf. Best of all, more than half are located at upscale resorts with multiple courses that are world-class golf destinations.
If you are going to spend the money and time to take a high-quality golf vacation, why not become a part of the game’s richest history by teeing it up on a course that has challenged the best players in the world on the biggest stage? These are your domestic options, in rough order of historic importance and quality of experience, starting with full-service resorts.
Pinehurst No. 2
Pinehurst, NC
This is one of just two courses to have hosted two different majors and the Ryder Cup, and the USGA recently named No. 2 as the first “anchor site” for the U.S. Open. It was held there for the fourth time this year, and is scheduled to return in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. The history here is unbelievably rich, and the course (which has veteran caddies) is dramatically improved after an extensive and historically accurate 2014 renovation by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw taking it back to the original ideals of designer Donald Ross.
Pinehurst No. 2 would be worth a trip on its own, but it’s just one of 10 full courses here, the largest golf resort outside China. There is simply no other place with so much great golf at one venue, with the recently renovated Ross gem No. 4 and Tom Fazio’s No. 8. The sprawling resort has been extensively improved with new dining and facilities and there is a broad choice of lodging options in the grand Carolina Hotel, condos, villas and boutique inns. You can play here year round.
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Monterey, CA
No public golf course has hosted the U.S. Open more than legendary Pebble Beach, with six to its credit, including two of the most famous ever. This is where Tiger Woods won the 2000 Open by a record 15 shots and where Jack Nicklaus battled Tom Watson in the legendary “Duel in the Sun” in 1982, with Watson dramatically chipping in on 17.
Playing here generally means staying here, and the enormous Pebble Beach Resort includes three hotels, the boutique luxury Casa Palmero and the larger Inn at Spanish Bay and Lodge at Pebble Beach. There are myriad restaurants, bars, sporting facilities, one of the most technologically advanced golf academies in the nation and four 18-hole golf courses, including Spyglass Hill and the Links at Spanish Bay. Golf is played all year, and caddies are available.
Straits Course: Whistling Straits
Kohler, WI
Debuting a year before Bandon Dunes, Pete Dye’s Straits Course was the first modern walking-only course. It helped revive resort caddie programs and changed modern golf course development, kicking off the neoclassical revolution and embrace of links-style golf, a global trend that continues to this day and dominates course rankings. The Straits hosted the 2004, 2010 and 2015 PGA Championships, as well as a Senior U.S. Open, and will host the prestigious U.S. Amateur in 2028.
Destination Kohler is a village resort at the headquarters of owner Kohler Co. and includes The American Club luxury hotel, one of the best spas in the country, multiple restaurants, more affordable lodging options and two 36-hole golf facilities, making it the only resort with four Pete Dye-designed courses. Whistling Straits sits on the shores of Lake Michigan and Blackwolf Run is in Kohler proper. Golf season is spring through fall.
Ocean Course
Kiawah Island, S.C.
Pete Dye was the most awarded architect of the past century, and the Ocean Course is his best work. It is the premier waterfront layout on the East Coast and anchors a luxury 90-hole resort with designs by Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. A masterclass in golf course architecture, the Ocean Course combines beauty with brawn and plays dramatically tougher as you move back in tees. Visitors with humility can have a great time playing up, while the best players in the world are challenged from the tips. Kiawah Resort sits on an island off of charming Charleston with the superb Sanctuary hotel and spa. Golf can be played here year round.
South Course: Firestone Country Club
Akron, OH
Firestone has been one of America’s most vaunted private clubs for nine decades, but in 2020 it cracked open its gates allowing the public in via stay-and-play packages. Lodging here is intimate but luxurious, and includes 30 rooms in its enormous locker complex (two floors, each with its own bar) and four-bedroom cottages spread across the three golf courses.
The flagship South Course is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that has hosted the PGA Championship three times. Woods won eight times on this course (including a major) and Nicklaus won one of his five PGA Championships here. Firestone has an acclaimed, longstanding caddie program, and its other two courses are both quite good. The packages are surprisingly reasonable and golf season runs from spring through fall.
South Course: Torrey Pines
San Diego, CA
This 36-hole seaside facility, owned by the city of San Diego, became the second municipal U.S. Open venue in 2008. Jon Rahm won his first major here in 2021, and it has also been an annual high-profile stop on the PGA Tour for more than half a century. The South course is the star, but both seaside courses here are excellent. San Diego residents are given much preferred access to tee times, making it hard for out of towners to get on the course, but the luxury Lodge at Torrey Pines resort is an easy solution. It has contractual tee times each day, offers stay-and-play packages and is so close to the clubhouse that its outdoor bar and grill is the de facto dining for golf. Many visitors never even realize it is not a true golf “resort,” though staying here certainly feels like one. With San Diego’s famously pleasant weather, golf can be played here all year.
Donald Ross Course
French Lick, IN
Rare in several ways, this “new” course by the design legend Donald Ross reopened in 2007 after more than half a century of closure. It is the only major venue on this list that is not the top layout at its resort. While the Donald Ross Course hosted the 1924 PGA Championship, and is a lot of fun, it gets overshadowed by the monstrous 8,100-yard Pete Dye Course. The French Lick Resort is comprised of three hotels, including West Baden Springs and French Lick Springs, which have large spas. Both were massively renovated in a half-billion-dollar rebirth around 2006. It is the only property on this list with a casino, and also has another attractive 18, Sultan’s Run, half an hour away, as well as a 9-hole par-36 layout on site and a new 9-hole short course opening soon. You can play spring to fall.
Bethpage Black
Farmingdale, NY
There’s no lodging at Bethpage, but this famously difficult Tillinghast layout is a superb challenge for anyone. One of five 18-hole courses within Long Island’s Bethpage State Park, it was the first municipal course ever to host a U.S. Open in 2002, when Tiger Woods was the only player to break par. Gone are the infamous days of overnight slumber parties in the parking lot to get a tee time, thanks to a computerized reservation program, but the system still favors local residents. It is one of the toughest public courses in the world.
Champion Course: PGA National
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
The top layout among the six at Florida’s largest golf resort has held the PGA Championship twice (1987, 1971). It also hosts the Honda Classic, and both pros and regular golfers must battle designer Nicklaus’ infamous “Bear Trap,” the most difficult stretch on the course. The resort recently underwent a $100 million renovation.
Erin Hills
Erin, WI
Home to the 2017 U.S. Open, Erin Hills is a walking-only layout (with caddies) that plays firm and fast, and is as small as golf resorts get. There’s a small amount of onsite lodging, designed like a rural Irish village. You can play here from spring to fall.
Chambers Bay
Tacoma, WA
On a former sand quarry on the Pacific Coast lies Chambers Bay, designed by Robert Trent Jones II. It’s the ideal site for links-style golf, and it exploded onto the scene when it debuted in 2007. Of the three big municipal major venues (Bethpage Black and Torrey Pines South) it’s the easiest tee time to score, and is less than an hour from downtown Seattle and just outside Tacoma. The finish is extremely strong, with views of Puget Sound.
Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort
Shawnee On Delaware, PA
This venerable resort on the Delaware River in the Poconos has been welcoming guests for more than 110 years, and is home to the very first course ever designed by the now legendary A.W. Tillinghast, a 27-hole layout with three nines that hosted the 1938 PGA Championship. Sam Snead was the head pro here then, and the unique practice facility was designed by modern legend Tom Doak. It includes a six-hole par-3 course, with each modeled after a famous hole at Tillinghast designs, including San Francisco Golf Club, Baltusrol and Winged Foot. Golf can be played here from spring to fall.
Others
Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, North Carolina, is a 36-hole public facility, and the aptly named Champion Course hosted the 1974 PGA Championship. In 2018, it was renovated by Robert Trent Jones II, whose father did the original layout. The West Course at Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pennsylvania, site of the 1940 PGA Championship, is part of a vast resort that’s testament to the enduring popularity of chocolate. You probably don’t think of Atlantic City, New Jersey, as a place for a major, but the 1942 PGA Championship was held here at Seaview Resort. There are two courses, the Bay Course and the Pine Course, and nine holes from each were used for the tournament. Keller Golf Course in Maplewood, Minnesota, hosted two PGA Championships, in 1932 and 1954. New York’s Eisenhower Park is overshadowed by nearby Bethpage, but the quality course was recently renovated and lengthened to 7,100-yards. Cedar Crest Golf Course is a public layout in Dallas that was designed by A.W. Tillinghast, and it hosted the 1927 PGA Championship. With weekday walking rates maxing out at $31, it is likely the least expensive major venue you can play in the world.
