The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, a Pete Dye design
The PGA Championship, like the US Open has been occasionally played on golf courses that are open for public play. While the Open Championship in the United Kingdom is played on all courses available for public play, the Masters is played only at the exclusively private Augusta National Golf Club. If you’re a historian or purist of the game and appreciate the classics with a lot of history, you may want to add the following PGA Championship venues you can play to your itinerary when traveling across America:
1924 won by Walter Hagen after Jim Barnes shanked a mashie niblick on the 18th at the French Lick Resort in southern Indiana. It’s an original Donald Ross design from 1917, with a much newer Pete Dye layout in recent years.
1927 won by Walter Hagen when Joe Turnesa’s putt on the 18th hung on the lip at the Cedar Crest Golf Course on the southwest side of Dallas, an original Tillinghast design that’s been restored by D.A. Weibring.
1932/1954 won by Olin Dutra and Chick Harbert respectively at the Keller Golf Course, now a classic muni on the northeast side of downtown Saint Paul, MN.
1936 won by Denny Shute with an eagle on 18 over Jimmy Thompson at Pinehurst #2 which has also held the 1951 Ryder Cup,-US, 1999 US Open-Payne Stewart, and 2005 US Open-Campbell, and will again host the US Open in 2014.
1938 won by Paul Runyan 8 and 7 over Sam Snead, when it was still a match play event, played at the Shawnee Inn, another Tillinghast design in the middle of the Delaware River near Stroudsburg, PA on the PA/NJ border.
1940 won by Byron Nelson over Sam Snead on the 18th, played at the Hershey Country Club just east of Harrisburg, on the grounds of the High Point Mansion, Milton Hershey’s former home.
1942 won by Sam Snead over Jim Turnesa with a 60 foot chip in on the 35th hole to win 2 and 1, at the Seaview Country Club, outside Atlantic City, a classic Donald Ross layout, that’s now a swanky Marriott Resort with a newer Tom Fazio course.
1968 won by Julius Boros over Bob Charles and Arnold Palmer in the sweltering heat at the Pecan Valley Golf Club in San Antonio, which unfortunately is now closed and slated for a housing development.
1971/1987 won by Jack Nicklaus and Larry Nelson respectively at the PGA National, the original home of the PGA in Palm Beach, FL, now with an upscale resort and spa, and a total of five golf courses.
1974 won by Lee Trevino by one over Jack Nicklaus at Tanglewood Park, a Robert Trent Jones, Sr layout on the west side of Winston Salem, NC.
1977 won by Lanny Wadkins who birdied 18 over Gene Littler at the Pebble Beach Golf Links, home to the annual PGA Tour Event, five US Opens and four US Amateurs over the years.
2004/2010 won by Vijay Singh and Martin Kaymer respectively at the Whistling Straights Golf Club, the links style layout on the shores of Lake Michigan, designed by Pete Dye, and developed by the bathroom fixture magnate Herb Kohler.
2012 being played this week at the Ocean Course at Kiawah, a posh residential and resort development with a total of seven golf courses, 40 minutes south of Charleston, SC. The Ocean course was designed by Pete Dye, and was the venue for the 1991 Ryder Cup with 10 holes routed along the Atlantic.
All of these public access golf courses are listed within our directory of the best golf courses you can play in America, give it a look to plan your golf expedition!
Cheers!
