GLOBAL MAJOR VENUES
If the PGA of America ever decided to take their championship outside the US where would the championship be played?
Here’s 10 suggested venues we think are major worthy.
10. HIRONO, JAPAN
A revered C.H Alison design that rewards brave driving and good strategy. Widely regarded as Japan’s best course, despite some questionable alterations in recent years.
9. ROYAL PORTHCAWL, WALES
Overlooked for more than 120 years as a venue for The Open, Wales’ No.1 course covers beautiful linksland and would present a superb championship test.
8. FANCOURT LINKS, SOUTH AFRICA
The Gary Player and Phil Jacobs-designed Links Course (one of four on the Fancourt Estate) hosted the 2003 Presidents Cup and ticks all the boxes for tournament infrastructure and quality golf holes.
7. THE JOCKEY CLUB, ARGENTINA
The Red Course is an Alister MacKenzie design that hosted the World Cup back in 1970 (won by Aussie pair David Graham and Bruce Devlin). It’s not overly long but MacKenzie’s mounding and bunkering make scoring difficult.
6. YANGTZE DUNES, CHINA
Completely redesigned by Ogilvy, Clayton, Cocking and Mead in 2018, this is a dramatic links course that plays to all points of the compass and exposes golfers to changing wind conditions and directions on the Yangtze River.
5. TARA ITI, NEW ZEALAND
Only five years young, this Tom Doak design covers pristine dunes with vast sandy waste areas dominating the landscape by the sea. Exposed and strategically challenging, it would be interesting to see how the world’s best players tackle this one.
4. GOLF DE MORFONTAINE, FRANCE
The Tom Simpson-designed Grand Parcours layout is on the short side but what it lacks in length it more than makes up for in demanding accurate approach shots into big, welldefended greens.
3. KINGSTON HEATH, AUSTRALIA
Has hosted plenty of national championships and the 2016 World Cup so its credentials stack up as a tournament venue, not to mention it is one of the finest courses in the world.
2. ROYAL COUNTY DOWN, NORTHERN IRELAND
Surprisingly the course ranked the No.1 in the world outside the United States, has only hosted the Irish Open four times in 94 years. Would add to its lofty statue in the game to host a major.
1. ROYAL MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
World Cups, Presidents Cups, Australian Opens and PGA Championships have been contested across the Composite Course at Royal Melbourne. Each time, players and spectators alike can only rave about how good the course is (with the exception of Lee Trevino, but that’s another story).