With a population of over 1.7 million and two airports, the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News MSA (number 37 in the U.S.) meets the definition of a major city.
Putting aside the fact the great golf course isn't defined in the question, I'd say the Hampton Roads area, formerly known as Tidewater, has some pretty interesting golf courses.
If you extend the region to Williamsburg, and I do, There are two Mike Strantz courses (Royal New Kent and Storehouse), a Pete Dye course (The River Course at Kingsmill Resort) that's hosted professional tournaments for over 20 years and R.T. Jones' Golden Horseshoe in Colonial Williamsburg.
Carl Rogers' home course, The Riverfront in Suffolk, was built in Suffolk by not-yet-famous Tom Doak very early in his career. My hometown of Virginia Beach boasts two Golden Age classics in The Princess Anne Country Club (Willie Park Jr.) and Cavalier Golf and Yacht Club (Charles Banks). In it's current iteration, the Cavalier can trace its lineage back from Lester George to original architect Charles Banks, and by extension its design influencers include Seth Raynor and C.B. Macdonald. Template holes include instantly recognizable examples of Biarritz, Short and Redan holes.
Really though, most of the golf courses in the region are average at best. On the positive side, green fees on the public access courses are reasonable and you can play all year if you're willing to sweat in the summer and shiver a little in the winter.