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Major championships on TV - your favorite venue?

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David_Elvins:
From a TV point of view most of the British Links courses look like dog tracks. Most casual observers think that the only reason golf is played at St Andrews is the history because the course looks so bad on TV (especially at the Open, with the lower sun and greener grass it looks better at the Dunhill Cup.)  And as for the States, most US Open courses (Shinnecock and Pebble Beach excepted) along with the traditional courses used for the PGA look the same with there narrow fairways, long rough and smallish round greens.

To me two course stand out as having bold strategic architectural features that stand out on TV -Augusta National and TPC Sawgrass (I know, not a major venue).  Pebble Beach also has many features, though not always architectural, that look great on TV.

Every other course that hosts majors is so far behind these courses that it is not funny. Is it time, in the TV age that we live in, to start considering a course's ability to look good on TV  when ranking courses? (after all, 10,000s times more people see the course on TV that actually play it.)

Mike_Cirba:
The Old Course.

Sorry for the pat answer, but one sees more unusual demands and shot requirements there than anywhere else.  Watching some players go left to the 5th fairway, while others challenge the bunkers and OB wall on holes like 14 is eminently interesting, even during lesser events like the Dunhill Cup.

Matt Kardash:
I'm looking forward to the visual splendor of 2004 where we get both Shinnecock Hills and Whistling Straits. If those aren't exciting to watch then i just don't know what is.

Steve_L.:
In reverse order - my favorite venues from past majors:

#5 - Augusta

#4 - Shinnecock

#3 - Oakmont

#2 - The Old Course

#1 - Pebble Beach

#1a - TPC Sawgrass - not a major but as good as it gets on TV

Buck Wolter:
I don't see how any British Open course can be a favorite for TV. Invariably because of the giant lift equipment they use, the wind and the rather brownish color it makes it damn near impossible to tell what's going on. You see a player hit a shot, the camera then picks it up 50% of the time as it dances in the frame and then perhaps you'll see it rolling on some brown grass or it may well be camouflaged. Say what you want about US conditioning but emerald green is a better background for TV. Can't the BBC figure out a better way to telecast golf.

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