The golf clubs and resorts that comprise the PGA Tour’s annual schedule have provided a consistent (and predictable) itinerary for championship golf in recent years. You need to go back at least five Tour seasons to find a few famous venues that no longer welcome the world’s best on an annual basis. Those courses—and others—were top of mind for many of the Tour’s players when we asked them which courses they missed visiting the most each year.
“I wish I could’ve played Firestone,” says Cam Davis, who earned his Tour card in 2019, the same year the famous golf course was dropped from the calendar. “It’s got iconic holes, and so many great moments have happened there. It would be very fun to walk in the footsteps of people I’ve seen go around there and to see what they got to see. I loved watching that one on TV every year.”
The classic Robert Trent Jones Sr. layout in Akron, Ohio is also Rickie Fowler’s first choice. “There’s not many old-school golf courses that we play, especially ones like Firestone that, score wise, held its own—other than when it got really soft. It was always a big event, a WGC, not that it needed to be. Firestone was one of those courses that seemed like a staple for a long time.”
Predictably, some players were quick to highlight courses for sentimental reasons. “The greens were always great at Annandale Golf Club,” Chris Kirk says of the former home of what is now the Sanderson Farms Championship. “I won there during my rookie year, so that always has kind of a special place [in my heart]. It’s that memory of getting my first Tour win more than anything else.”
Webb Simpson is influenced in a similar way; however, the 2012 U.S. Open champion made a point to back up his choice, TPC Boston, for reasons beyond fond memories of his victory there in 2011. “What I loved about the golf course—outside of me having some success there—is that if you play well, you can shoot five or six under, but it’s still a tough golf course,” he says. “Those are my favorite kind. It’s not brutally hard, but it’s not a walk in the park. That’s why I loved it there from year one. It was the perfect balance.”
Defending WM Phoenix Open champion, Nick Taylor, harbors similar fond memories of a former Tour stop that not only made players earn their scores, but where any round in the red was a significant accomplishment. “Las Colinas, the old venue for the AT&T, was tricky and not very well-liked [by players on Tour],” he says. “But I liked that course and preferred it over the last couple that they [the Tour] have changed to. A couple under par there went a long way. You go to Craig Ranch these days and you’ve got to shoot six-under each day.”
Continuing the theme of hard courses that tugged at players’ heartstrings, Seamus Power focuses on a course that, ironically, is still an annual Tour stop, albeit one that they now visit at a different time of year. “Back when the St. Jude Classic was played at TPC Southwind in June, it seemed like nine-under won the golf tournament,” he says. “The greens were firmer and it was always a tough test. Now, when we’re going there, there’s no wind and the greens are soft and the scoring is really low. Shooting one or two under there isn’t a good score anymore, and it used to be. That’s one of the courses that I loved when it played firm.”
As challenging but fair golf courses go, TPC Potomac is one that several players highlighted. Yes, the 7,124-yard layout has hosted three PGA Tour events over the last eight seasons, but it seems many on the Tour would prefer to play there every year. “If you gave that course two weeks’ notice, it could host a U.S. Open,” says Peter Malnati. “It has a great variety of holes and a lot of them are really challenging. There’s a very precise line between a good shot and a bad shot [hit there].”
“Its toughness separates the good golfer from the bad,” echoes Byeong Hun An. “You’ve got to drive it really well, you have to hit good irons shots, you need a good short game around the greens, and you need to putt really well there. It tests every aspect of your game.”
A Golden Age classic also popped up a couple of times during our conversation with players, albeit for different reasons. “It’s just a really great, classic Seth Raynor course that rewards driving accuracy, good wedge play, and good putting,” Brendan Todd says of the Old White course at The Greenbrier, acknowledging that it never hurt that those requisites aligned with his own strengths.
Denny McCarthy, on the other hand, misses annual visits to The Greenbrier for what the Tour stop offered away from competition. “There’s a lot to do outside of golf,” he says of the resort, “so you can bring your wife or girlfriend and your family.”
The overall allure of a course’s broader destination also influenced Mackenzie Hughes, who always enjoyed going to Liberty National, even if it wasn’t an every-season stop during the FedExCup playoffs. “We don’t often play in big cities like New York, so that added a little bit extra to that week where there’s stuff to do downtown at night,” he says. “I remember being at the course one morning and seeing the Statue of Liberty right there and the skyline was backlit by a perfect sunrise.”
While most of the players’ responses focused on events that fell during the heart of the PGA Tour season or—in the case of Hughes and Simpson—were a part of the FedExCup playoffs, Billy Horschel thinks longingly of The Walt Disney World Golf Classic, which ended a more-than-40-year run on the Tour’s calendar in 2012. “The courses aren’t anything special,” Horschel says, referencing the resort’s Magnolia and Palm courses. In fact, Horschel acknowledges that he only had a chance to play in the event a couple of times, but he fondly remembers spending time with Chris DiMarco and his family, going to the theme parks after their rounds. “So long as you had your card secured and you didn’t have to stress about keeping it, that event was a really enjoyable week. It was a cool place to go to end the year.”
What former Tour stops do you remember fondly? Tell us about them in the comment section.
Don’t know how you could leave out Westchester Country Club, except these guys probably never played there.
Without a doubt, I will always remember Cypress Point in The AT&T Pro Am, a great memory in 1990.
I do not know how many on tour have played Cypress. Used to have a round there for California State Amateur.
In 1969, the Crosby Pro-Am was still held at CP. I was fortunate to have caddied for George Knudson for a practice round at Cypress Point. It was just the two of us. He was a nice guy but quiet and we had limited conversation. The course was nearly empty and the weather was awful, yet we made it to the 16th. Knudson hit his driver across the ocean hole and put 2 balls on the green. The rain started and we walked in leaving the balls on the green. It was memorable experience for an 18-year-old.
George was in contention that week but lost to George Archer. He also made it to 3rd place at the Master’s that year, also won by Archer.
I loved Firestone! I had the privilege of playing there many times and then being a member for several years (one of eight corporate members). To see the pros be challenged by the course design and not just length was special, particularly when I had to play from some of the same places where my errant shots landed. Always amazed by how well Tiger played that course.
Being from the Chicago area, I miss the PGA playing at Cog Hill #4 and before that, Butler National. Now Chicago is just an afterthought.
Brown Dear Park
Greater Milwaukee Open
Pleasant Valley in Sutton MA, I attended at least 20 tournaments from 1977 to 1997. Great course layout and perfect for watching the pros.
Ridgewood CC in Paramus, NJ
Amazing Tillinghast course with undersized greens, huge deciduous trees lining the fairways and tough thick rough.
I think if you spoke to the next generation past Doral would have been included, Im talking back to the 60’s , 70’s and 80’s when Miami was in its prime