Let's Lend A Helping Hand To The PGA Championship & Design A Rota

[Ronald Montesano]

I'm not going to dictate a theme for this hypothetical rota; I'll leave that to y'uns.

The point of this exercise is to set a rotation of courses (I'll set 8 courses as the immutable parameter; I'm obdurate like that) with a theme of your choosing, that will make the PGA Championship more significant (in your eyes) and more distinctive (in your eyes) for the golf aficionados del presente and aficionados del porvenir. Architectural significance/connectivity should be fully explained.

If you choose to go the humorous route, I'll allow it. A minor amount of entertainment is always welcome.

The more realistic route would be to find a way to incorporate less-used site, albeit ones that would have a modicum of interest and the ability to host (community support, on-site/neighboring infrastructure, etc.)

Take your marks, get so, a-go...

[Mike Sweeney]

The Masters is played on the same course every year.

The Open and US Open are played on a rota of links course and a rota of US style seaside and inland courses.

The Players, as the Fifth Major, is played on same course every year.

The LAST THING in the world that the PGA should do is play on one course per year or a "rota" of 8 second tier courses in comparison to the US Open.

Pretty soon, someone in Dubai is going to put a big pile of money on the table, and you will have a new 4th Major replacing the PGA.

The fastest was to obscurity for the PGA is to do the same thing as everyone else. The USGA took a chance at Merion this year, maybe the PGA tries a course in Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic or Bandon one year.......

[Jim Nugent]

Sebonack should be one of them. 

[Jud_T]

Match play is a win/win for the PGA.  Different format from the other majors and opens up a bunch of interesting course options once protecting par isn't the be all and end all,  i. e. Bandon and a host of classic courses.

[Steve Kline]

I sort of agree with Mike here. If the PGA truly wanted to stand out they would become the first major to travel the globe, uniting the professional golf associations in the major countries. They could rotate continents instead of courses every six years - North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia. Now that would be a mission that would grow the game. The growth is in the rest of the world not in America and Europe.

The only requirement I would put on the courses is to choose something architecturally interesting that encourages firm and fast conditions, water conservation, and environmental conservative agronomic practices that are inexpensive.

So, the tournament wouldn't have a standard date because of the change in hemispheres. That would make things a little difficult.

Otherwise, they will always be the second U.S. Open of the summer that signifies the golf season is almost over and it is time to watch football.

Also, they should dump CBS and go to the Golf Channel, which has channels in other countries. They might be hungry for some more programming right about now.

[Greg Taylor]

Tennis majors are hard court, clay, grass, hard court, so arguably one of the hard courts is the golfing equivalent of the PGA.

Brit Open is links. US Open is tough "beat par" rota, Masters is TV golf. So, the PGA needs to be something different.

I don't know the answer, but gut vote is for Tobacco Road....!

[Eric Smith]

Sebonack should be one of them. 

Excellent choice. Top of my list.

I'll add Streamsong Resort. Pick a color. PGA of America likes blue. So let's go with Blue.

[Jason Topp]

The PGA should be 36 holes of stroke play followed by match play and highlight the organization's involvement in growing the game.  The Stroke play rounds would be on Wednesday/Thursday, with match play following the USGA schedule running from Friday through Monday. The courses should be high quality public courses with the infrastructure to host such an event that have shown a commitment to providing affordable golf and junior programs such as the First Tee.  The television presentation should be multi-channel with each channel showing two matches, using something like the series of channels used by DirecTV for major events.  Junior Kids should play significant volunteer roles and be highlighted in the event.  Local club pros will conduct clinics and various grow the game events at the second course while the match play event is going on in order to grow the game and highlight the important contributions the PGA makes to growing the game.

The field size is the same as it is now with the allotment of club pros allowed now.  I also like the idea of a women's PGA running at the same time to welcome women to the game and provide two championship matches on the day of the finals.


Venues would be of the following ilk:

Northern California - Poppy Hills, Bayonet/Blackhorse or Harding Park
Southern California - Torrey Pines N and S
Seattle - Chambers Bay(?) or the facility with mountain in the name
Denver - Common Ground plus an additional course
Texas - not sure of venue but Texas has plenty of affordable golf
Minneapolis - Victory Links/Bunker Hills
Chicago - Cog Hill
Cincinatti - not sure of venue
New York - Bethpage
Boston - ?

Other cities could apply to host by (1) building or using quality affordable facilities that meet the criteria above and (2) demonstrating a multi year track record of committing to affordable junior golf.  Successful bids would host two championships with the second event contingent on a review of whether or not the event is living up to its pledge to grow the game.

[Jud_T]

I nominate Jason to head the PGA.  That makes entirely too much sense I'm afraid...

[Mark Buzminski]

There was a journalist (forget his name) who was promoting the idea of a early/mid Oct. date for the PGA Championship.   I like the idea a lot.   To me, it would make the golf viewing calendar more balanced, and really give the PGA its own niche, rather than being two weeks after the Open, with no real buildup or momentum leading into it.  Naysayers will talk about football and money.  So be it.  

[Steve Kline]

Forget Cincinnati as venue. There are absolutely zero courses here capable of holding a major let alone a regular tour stop. And, there are definitely no public courses capable.

Dayton would have privates available - NCR North/South or Moraine.

But, the real problem is that while match play is a blast to play it just doesn't work well in the age of television. The final match has too much downtime and the players that most people tune in for (Tiger and maybe Mickelson) are overwhelmingly likely not to be in the final or even semi-finals. Maybe it would work with some sort of round robin system.

And, it is not a novelty in the world of professional golf. There is the WGC event and whatever the event was in Europe.

[Steve Kline]

There was a journalist (forget his name) who was promoting the idea of a early/mid Oct. date for the PGA Championship.   I like the idea a lot.   To me, it would make the golf viewing calendar more balanced, and really give the PGA its own niche, rather than being two weeks after the Open, with no real buildup or momentum leading into it.  Naysayers will talk about football and money.  So be it.  

Call them naysayers all you want, but they are right. You won't get casual sports fans that time of year on Saturday and Sunday. And those are the people that drive the ratings higher for majors and/or when Tiger is in the hunt. Now, it could work if you went outside the box and played the tournament Tuesday through Friday in prime time, which means West Coast only.

[David Whitmer]

I'm not so sure the PGA Championship needs a helping hand, but I'll play along.

I like the PGA Championship, because it's one of the four majors, and every professional golfer treats it as such. That's why, in my opinion, its place in the world of golf is secure, and its status won't ever be diminished. I like that it usually doesn't care if double digits under par is the winning score. I also like the fact that it goes to some golf courses that are not looked at by the USGA. Some of them, like Kemper Lakes, end up being a poor selection. But that does not mean that Payne Stewart did not win a major there.

I like the mix of some classic, old courses with some new tracks. My 8-course rota would include Baltusrol, Whistling Straits, Atlanta Athletic Club, Riviera, Inverness, Valhalla, Southern Hills, and something in the Pacific Northwest. In my opinion, those are eight (seven specific) worthy golf courses that have proven they can stage a major. They are scattered throughout the country, which I think is important.

Let's face it...the PGA Championship is never going back to match play. Television simply won't allow it, as ratings would plummet unless the final has two elite players in it (which almost never happens). Also, why would the PGA of America choose to take their championship to another country? Television won't pay them any more money, and it would cost more to have everyone associated with the event travel there multiple times. Like Deepthroat said, "follow the money." I doubt the PGA of America has enough in their coffers to take a hit like the USGA did this year at Merion.

As much as some people don't like to admit it, the PGA Championship is a major, one of four each year. It's a major because the players deem it to be. There's a reason The Players Championship never became "the 5th major," despite the PGA Tour's deep desire for it to be. The players have never decided it is a major. I like the PGA Championship. I've said it here before, but it's like what coach Norman Dale said in one of my favorite movies, Hoosiers: "I would hope you would support who we are, not who we are not."

[Jud_T]

If Match play and October are out of the question then I agree with VK or whoever suggested they move it to February or March.  Everyone's itching to get out on the course in the northern climes, and many of us hate the period between the superbowl and baseball opening day.  I know there's some diehard NHL fans and the schmucks who still follow the NBA, but all you have to do is avoid the NCAA tournament and flip the Masters off in the process. Of course that means only southern or west coast courses.  but it works well if you bring in international venues.  PGA championship at Cape Kidnappers!

The other option is May.  There's a pretty long period between the Masters and the US Open.

[Josh Tarble]

I actually like the thought of making a sort of "resort" rota.  Streamsong, Bandon, French Lick (already hosting Senior PGA), Prairie Club, Kohler, Kiawah.  I'm sure there are multiple others I'm forgetting as well.  Make them out of the way destination venues.  Could recoup a bit of the dip in ticket sales for extra hosting fees from the resorts for advertising.  Competitors could stay at the resort - small number of fans there as well and let the rest commute in.  

[Jason Topp]

But, the real problem is that while match play is a blast to play it just doesn't work well in the age of television. The final match has too much downtime and the players that most people tune in for (Tiger and maybe Mickelson) are overwhelmingly likely not to be in the final or even semi-finals. Maybe it would work with some sort of round robin system.

Steve:  I understand the point but I think it changes in early rounds with multi-channel programming (where the opposite problem exists - too many matches to follow).  I like the idea of a women's PGA running concurrently both to fit with the theme of promoting the game and the PGA's role in it and to provide two meaningful championship matches on the final day to avoid the dead time.  I think another championship match would make for more interesting television than a third place match in which the players struggle to stay motivated.  Round Robin is just too tough because of all of the golf that would need to be played in order to crown a winner.  

[Jason Topp]

I nominate Jason to head the PGA.  That makes entirely too much sense I'm afraid...

I couldn't pass the PAT

[Jim Nugent]

If you want a different format, that stands out from everything else, hold the PGA each year at Bandon.  Play each course once.  72 hole medal play. 

Can Bandon handle enough spectators for a major championship?  What is the weather like there in August? 

[Richard Choi]

Some of you really must love cartball, since that is what it is going to be when you host a tournament in Aug in Florida/Texas after a couple of caddies keel over.

If you love GCA, you need to face the reality - you cannot change nature. A major tournament should be held on a firm and fast course. That is going to be hard (and getting harder with the climate change) to do in the east coast. You need to go where the climate is going to allow that in Aug.

If PGA was smart, it would base its tournament in the west coast. The courses in California, Oregon, Washington, Utah will offer their best conditions in Aug with mild(er) temperatures and dry/sunny days. It doesn't matter where, though courses like Pebble and Riv stand out. Just pick the climate you want and find a course there. You can always narrow the fairways (since you are going to do that any ways).

The last thing we should want is to further bastardize old classics with overly narrow fairways and ridiculous rough to compensate for soft conditions.

[Jim Nelson]

Watching this year's PGA, I was struck by the lack of grand stands throughout the course.  Seems they have considerably less than the US Open and the Open.  Anyone else notice this?  If true, this lessens the impact of the tournament on the hosting course quite a bit, as they don't have all that construction going on.  This would also seem to open up the potential number courses that might be wiling to host.  Agree regarding the West Coast vs the rest of the country.  Perfect golf weather in August, more so in September.  

[David Davis]

As much as I hate to say it I find the PGA Championships a bit boring in comparison to the other majors. Golf is such a growing sport internationally I really would like to see the PGA Championships moved down under. Not my idea, someone else suggested this in another thread but I really thought it was a brilliant idea.

So the list of courses could look something like this:

Royal Melbourne - composite
Kingston Heath
NSW
Royal Adelaide
The National
Metropolitan

And maybe 2 courses in NZ.

Cape Kidnappers and?

I guess the guys from down under would be better able to judge the ability of these courses to hold such an event. Personally on one play it's too tough a call but I think it would be great for golf and make the PGA Chmps a lot more interesting.

[Jonathan Mallard]

Tennis majors are hard court, clay, grass, hard court, so arguably one of the hard courts is the golfing equivalent of the PGA.

Brit Open is links. US Open is tough "beat par" rota, Masters is TV golf. So, the PGA needs to be something different.

I don't know the answer, but gut vote is for Tobacco Road....!

If they actually played TR, unless they put the pins in the middle of the slopes on some of those holes, it would take -8 to make the cut, and -34 to win.

They would eat that course alive.

[Tom_Doak]

This thread is ridiculous.  The PGA of America owns and operates its own championship for the benefit of its membership.  They are not going to move the tournament to New Zealand.  They will continue to go where the money is, and to try and appease certain influential PGA of America officers and board members, who have always had a heavy thumb on the scales of site selection.

Richard's idea of moving it to the west coast is good, except for two things:  the players might not be enamored with flying out west every year just for one week, and, with the PGA being a coast-to-coast organization, they aren't likely to limit themselves geographically.

[Tom_Doak]

This thread is ridiculous.  The PGA of America owns and operates its own championship for the benefit of its membership.  They are not going to move the tournament to New Zealand.  They will continue to go where the money is, and to try and appease certain influential PGA of America officers and board members, who have always had a heavy thumb on the scales of site selection.

Richard's idea of moving it to the west coast is good, except for two things:  the players might not be enamored with flying out west every year just for one week, and, with the PGA being a coast-to-coast organization, they aren't likely to limit themselves geographically.

How about this?  They play it every year at the home club of the professional who won the previous year's Club Professional Championship.

[JESII]

Like that...when my cousin won about 5 years ago his course had a 750 yard par 6. Would love to see a putt for double eagle!