US Women’s Open “rota”

[Bill Shamleffer]

Perhaps give up on The Country Club, Merion, & Olympic for the US Open, but have regular visits to these courses for the US Women’s Open.


I believe these three courses are more interesting for the current women’s pro game as opposed to the current men’s game.



Also, if USGA is going to be making Pinehurst a 2nd home, would Pinehurst #4 be a good course for a US Women’s Open?

[Joe Bausch]

Well, I know a course that should be a regular for the Women's US Open:  Lancaster CC.


The tourney in 2015 was a huge success, IMHO, and they will be on display again in 2024.

[Tim Leahy]

As beautiful as Olympic is can you imagine a Women's Open at Cypress Point?

[Rory Connaughton]

A rota would definitely create a sense of anticipation for return visits. Watching generation after generation of the greats play Oakmont, Pebble, Shinnecock, MGC etc., only enhances the Men's Open.




The  now earlier dates create an opportunity in that there are markets with great golf where the event will draw serious crowds because it won't get washed out in baseball/NBA Playoffs/Stanley Cup etc.

[Carl Rogers]

I wonder why Pine Needles has not been a staple for the Women's Open.
Their game needs a consistent course identity.  Peggy Kirk Bell.

[David_Tepper]

Tim L. -

We can only imagine a Women's Open. It will never happen. Maybe a Curtis Cup. Maybe a Women's Mid or Senior Amateur. Maybe not.

DT

[Phil Burr]

I love the idea of a rota but don’t want it to see it composed of US Open hand-me-downs.  I’d like to see Country Club, Merion etc. used for Ryder/Walker type events as I think they’d make wonderful match play hosts.  For me the Ryder Cup is nearing time for a reboot.  I have one thought when I look at the next four US venues (Straits, Bethpage, Hazeltine, Olympic).  That thought is...zzzzzzzz.  The upcoming European choices in Italy and Ireland don’t stir my blood either.  The USGA has been on a roll with its Walker courses over the last 50 years, with only Ocean Forest striking a discordant note.  Let’s see the PGA follow with the Ryder.


As for a Women’s Open rota, I think Lancaster was and will continue to an inspired choice.  Prairie Dunes and Cherry Hills were also great.  I’d like to se the USGA look to “mid-major” venues such as Waverley, St. Louis CC, Davenport or Cedar Rapids, Baltimore CC, Milwaukee and a wiling Chicago club (neither Olympia Fields nor Medinah, please).  I also remember I really enjoyed when they went to Indianwood in ‘89 and ‘94.

[David_Tepper]

When posting these suggestions and speculations, we should always remember that the biggest part of the equation is whether or not these clubs would really be interested in the engaging in the huge effort and sacrifice (and occasional financial expense) that is required to organize and host one of these events.

[Phil Burr]

My rota might also include Country Club (OH), Plainfield and Quaker Ridge.  Valley Club would be an ideal site in SoCal if they’d accept it.

[Phil Burr]

David, your point is well taken.  I express merely a wish list from a fan’s perspective.  I’ve posted before on this site that I would not choose to belong to a club that routinely gives up significant amounts of prime golf weather and course conditions to host a high-profile event for a privileged few.

[Mike_Trenham]

My rota might also include Country Club (OH), Plainfield and Quaker Ridge.  Valley Club would be an ideal site in SoCal if they’d accept it.

No range at Quaker Ridge.


Phil otherwise I like your position statement on where they should play the Women’s US Open.


Add to the list


Colleton River Club - Dye
Jupiter Hills
True Blue (USGA owes the Grand Strand for all they do for promoting the game).

[David_Tepper]

Phil -


The other consideration is whether or not these clubs have the physical space to host all the infrastructure needed to host one of these events. If you are thinking about TV coverage and more than a handful of spectators, you are going to need parking spaces, porta-potties, refreshment stands, grandstands, scoring tents, scoreboards, etc., etc.


And having a driving range that is at least 275 yards long is not a bad idea either!


DT

[Wayne_Kozun]

I wonder why Pine Needles has not been a staple for the Women's Open.
Their game needs a consistent course identity.  Peggy Kirk Bell.

I would argue that it has been a staple.  They hosted in 1996, 2001 and 2007.  That's more than any other site in the last 30 years.  And they are hosting again next year. It is 15 years between 2007 and 2022 but that is a pretty frequent rotation for the US Open, is it not?

[Wayne_Kozun]

The  now earlier dates create an opportunity in that there are markets with great golf where the event will draw serious crowds because it won't get washed out in baseball/NBA Playoffs/Stanley Cup etc.

What do you mean by this Rory?  Since it is now played at the beginning of June it will always be in conflict with NBA and NHL playoffs.   At least in future years those playoffs will be farther along and have fewer series going on by the time we get to the first week of June. There is also a conflict with the Belmont Stakes which interrupted Saturday coverage on NBC this year.
Wouldn't a better date be in July before the Open Championship when the PGA Tour won't have a higher profile event?

[Rory Connaughton]

Wayne,


  I'm sorry for not being clear. I may have had a thought in between sentences that did not get expressed.


I was referring to on site attendance during championship week. It seems that the event does best from an attendance perspective in markets that have reasonable populations and where it is not competing against local major professional sports for attendance. Ex: Colorado Springs, Bethlehem PA, Pinehurst, Lancaster.


By moving to the first week of June you have an even better opportunity to drive attendance in secondary markets than you do in July (IMHO) because people haven't left town for vacation en masse.


I think Television will be an ongoing challenge. Ratings have declined over the last decade. I suspect, however, that viewers will be most likely to tune in when they see large energized crowds of the type seen in many of the secondary markets.


Create a rota with the occasional A list course in an A list market as well and, combined with the other elements I mentioned, you create some familiarity for the casual viewer and maybe you not only see positive attendance numbers but also the beginning of an improvement in the ratings.


Of course, this is but one theory 
 

[Wayne_Kozun]

That makes sense now - to stick to somewhat smaller markets.  How much has the ratings decline been in this event compared to pretty much every other sporting event on TV?  Isn't everything down.
Of course, the other thing that could be working against the ratings is the Asian dominance as Asians have won nine of the last eleven events compared to two by Americans.  That shouldn't have hurt the event this year as it looked like Lexi was going to run away with it and she was in it until the 18th hole.  And there were other compelling stories this year like Mega Ganne but she faded quickly on Sunday.

[Carl Rogers]

I wonder why Pine Needles has not been a staple for the Women's Open.
Their game needs a consistent course identity.  Peggy Kirk Bell.

I would argue that it has been a staple.  They hosted in 1996, 2001 and 2007.  That's more than any other site in the last 30 years.  And they are hosting again next year. It is 15 years between 2007 and 2022 but that is a pretty frequent rotation for the US Open, is it not?

I stand corrected.  I think it is good site.

[JohnVDB]

I wonder why Pine Needles has not been a staple for the Women's Open.
Their game needs a consistent course identity.  Peggy Kirk Bell.

I would argue that it has been a staple.  They hosted in 1996, 2001 and 2007.  That's more than any other site in the last 30 years.  And they are hosting again next year. It is 15 years between 2007 and 2022 but that is a pretty frequent rotation for the US Open, is it not?

And they had the Senior Women’s Open in between.

[Joel_Stewart]

2021: THE OLYMPIC CLUB (LAKE COURSE) - SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - JUNE 3-6



2022: PINE NEEDLES LODGE & GOLF CLUB - SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. - JUNE 2-5



2023: PEBBLE BEACH (CALIF.) GOLF LINKS - JUNE 1-4



2024: LANCASTER (PA.) COUNTRY CLUB - MAY 30-JUNE 2



2025: ERIN HILLS - ERIN, WIS. - MAY 29-JUNE 1


I'm told they will be announcing the 2026 site in two weeks and it will be going to a course on the west coast that has never hosted a US open.

[Peter Flory]

I don't really like the idea of a rota for the women for practical purposes.


It seems like a lot of these great courses might agree to host for the good of the game periodically, rather than on a regular basis.  For instance, I could see courses like Cypress, Chicago Golf, or Merion agreeing to do it once with a maybe for the future. 


Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm assuming that a women's US Open isn't very profitable for the host club and that if it is, it doesn't make up for the hassle and the lost time for the members.  Most of these great clubs don't need the money anyway.  So don't ask for so much that they reject it completely. 

[Carl Rogers]

I don't really like the idea of a rota for the women for practical purposes.

.......

IMO the Women's game needs courses that give their game an identity.  The rota does that.

[David_Tepper]

Chicago GC hosted the Women's Senior Open a few years ago. Having just witnessed the USWO at Olympic on site, I think the USWO is much too big an event for clubs like Chicago GC  and Cypress.

[Tim Leahy]

2021: THE OLYMPIC CLUB (LAKE COURSE) - SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - JUNE 3-6



2022: PINE NEEDLES LODGE & GOLF CLUB - SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. - JUNE 2-5



2023: PEBBLE BEACH (CALIF.) GOLF LINKS - JUNE 1-4



2024: LANCASTER (PA.) COUNTRY CLUB - MAY 30-JUNE 2



2025: ERIN HILLS - ERIN, WIS. - MAY 29-JUNE 1


I'm told they will be announcing the 2026 site in two weeks and it will be going to a course on the west coast that has never hosted a US open.

Bel-Air CC?
Rustic Canyon?

[Adam Lawrence]

I love the idea of a rota but don’t want it to see it composed of US Open hand-me-downs.  I’d like to see Country Club, Merion etc. used for Ryder/Walker type events as I think they’d make wonderful match play hosts.  For me the Ryder Cup is nearing time for a reboot.  I have one thought when I look at the next four US venues (Straits, Bethpage, Hazeltine, Olympic).  That thought is...zzzzzzzz.  The upcoming European choices in Italy and Ireland don’t stir my blood either.  The USGA has been on a roll with its Walker courses over the last 50 years, with only Ocean Forest striking a discordant note.  Let’s see the PGA follow with the Ryder.

I don't know about the USPGA, but it's important to remember that, from a European perspective, the Ryder Cup is above all else a cash cow. It's now owned, from a European perspective, by a consortium of the European Tour (60 per cent), the British PGA (20 per cent) and the PGAs of Europe (20 per cent). The second and third of those have no income source that can even begin to touch the RC, and the Tour has no interest in promoting great golf courses. So even apart from the issue of holding the crowds that now attend an RC, the only places it is ever going to go over here are those that are prepared to sign up for a quite enormous hosting package.

[Jeff Schley]

2021: THE OLYMPIC CLUB (LAKE COURSE) - SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - JUNE 3-6



2022: PINE NEEDLES LODGE & GOLF CLUB - SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. - JUNE 2-5



2023: PEBBLE BEACH (CALIF.) GOLF LINKS - JUNE 1-4



2024: LANCASTER (PA.) COUNTRY CLUB - MAY 30-JUNE 2



2025: ERIN HILLS - ERIN, WIS. - MAY 29-JUNE 1


I'm told they will be announcing the 2026 site in two weeks and it will be going to a course on the west coast that has never hosted a US open.

Bel-Air CC?
Rustic Canyon?

Valley Club, MPCC or hmmm Shadow Creek?
EDIT: What about Meadow Club?  Is it even long enough for a Women's major?