The 2017 PGA Championship venue at Quail Hollow in Charlotte does not make it to the list of PGA Championship Courses you can play. But there are so many others major venues you can get on to.
Quail Hollow has a famous and demanding final stretch of holes, The Green Mile, always giving the big tournaments that extra thrill of excitement. This year making the tournament an exciting conclusion to the major championship season securing 24 years old Justin Thomas his first major championship.
However, Golf Vacation Insider points out there is one slight bummer about Quail Hollow: Very few of us will have the opportunity to play the course, given the private nature of the club. The same goes for the 2018 venue, Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.
Not all PGA Championships are played on private clubs, though. As you will see on the list from Golf Vacation Insider below, the PGA Championship has been played, and will be played, on plenty of public courses in some of the best golf vacation destinations in America.
The three PGA Championships between 2019 and 2021 will all be played on public golf courses: Bethpage State Park, TPC Harding Park and Whistling Straits.
So why not go ahead and start planning the major venues golfing trip of your lifetime? Several of the tournaments have been played, and will be played in the future, on courses that are open to players like you and me.
The most expensive course to play on the list is Pebble Beach in California at $495, the most reasonable being Keller Golf Course in Minnesota (pictured above) and Cedar Crest Golf Course in Texas, both at $43.
The courses you can play
California
Course: Pebble Beach Golf Links
Location: Pebble Beach, CA
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1977
Architect: Jack Neville and Douglas Grant
Green Fee: $495
Course: TPC Harding Park
Location: San Francisco, CA
Will Host the PGA Championship in: 2020
Architect: Willie Watson and Sam Whiting
Green Fee: $177
Florida
Course: PGA National Resort & Spa (The Champion Course)
Location: Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1987
Architect: Jack Nicklaus
Green Fee: $347
Indiana
Course: French Lick Resort (Donald Ross Course)
Location: French Lick, IN
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1924
Architect: Donald Ross
Green Fee: $120
Minnesota
Course: Keller Golf Course
Location: Maplewood, MN
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1932 and 1954
Architect: Paul Coates; renovation by Richard Mandell
Green Fee: $43
North Carolina
Course: Tanglewood Park (Championship Course)
Location: Clemmons, NC
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1974
Architect: Robert Trent Jones, Sr.
Green Fee: $49
Course: Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (No. 2)
Location: Pinehurst, NC
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1936
Architect: Donald Ross
Green Fee: $410
New Jersey
Course: Seaview Resort (Bay and Pines Courses)
Location: Absecon, NJ
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1942
Architect: Donald Ross
Green Fee: $69-$119
New York
Course: Eisenhower Park (Red Course)
Location: East Meadow, NY
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1926
Architect: Devereux Emmet
Green Fee: $65
Course: Bethpage State Park (Black Course)
Location: Farmingdale, NY
Will Host the PGA Championship in: 2019 (and the Ryder Cup in 2024)
Architect: A.W. Tillinghast, Rees Jones
Green Fee: $65
Pennsylvania
Course: Shawnee Inn & Resort Golf Course
Location: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1938
Architect: A.W. Tillinghast
Green Fee: $65-$90
Course: Hershey Country Club (West Course)
Location: Hershey, PA
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1940
Architect: Maurice McCarthy
Green Fee: $140
South Carolina
Course: Kiawah Island Golf Resort (Ocean Course)
Location: Kiawah Island, SC
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 2012; will host in 2021
Architect: Pete Dye
Green Fee: $360
Texas
Course: Cedar Crest Golf Course
Location: Dallas, TX
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1927
Architect: A.W. Tillinghast
Green Fee: $43
Virginia
Course: Belmont Golf Course (formerly Hermitage GC)
Location: Richmond, VA
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 1949
Architect: A.W. Tillinghast (redesigned by Donald Ross)
Green Fee: $47
Wisconsin
Course: Whistling Straits (Straits Course)
Location: Haven, WI
Hosted the PGA Championship in: 2004, 2010, 2015 (will host 2020 Ryder Cup)
Architect: Pete Dye
Green Fee: $395
