Not all resort golf is created equal. Some of it involves the greatest players in the world, going toe-to-toe in big-time competitions. Here are 23 resorts from our Top 100 Resorts list that double as stages for Tour events.
Pebble Beach Resorts, Pebble Beach, CA
What old-timers remember as the Clambake long ago became the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a signature event on the PGA Tour’s West Coast swing. We might also mention that Pebble has hosted six majors — five U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship.
The American Club, Kohler, WI
Whistling straight. That’s how Vijay Singh hit it on his way to winning the 2004 PGA Championship, an event that has since been held twice more at Whistling Straits. The summer of 2020 will bring more pyrotechnics, when the Ryder Cup plays out on Pete Dye’s intimidating design.
Sea Island Resort, Sea Island, GA
A host of PGA Tour pros reside on Sea Island. The island, in turn, hosts a PGA Tour event — the RSM Classic, with longtime local Davis Love III serving as chairman and, um, tournament host.
Albany, The Bahamas
Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Justin Timberlake are among the investors (and home-owners) at this exclusive tropical retreat. But only Tiger hosts a tournament here: the Hero World Challenge, an event he has won five times.
The Ritz-Carlton at Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ
Prior to moving to San Francisco, and then to Austin, where it is still held, the WGC-Accenture Match Play enjoyed a five-year run at Dove Mountain, a Jack Nicklaus design that ranked at the time as the longest venue in Tour history, stretching 7,849 yards from the tips.
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Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Big Island, HI
If you’re a stalwart on golf’s 50-and-over circuit, getting lei’d is one way to get relaxed. It happens every year at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, the PGA Tour Champions event that takes place at this Big Island paradise.
The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Maui, HI
In February 2019, the Plantation Course closed for a multi-million renovation project. It reopens in November, just in time to get primped and ready for its annual role as host of the PGA Tour Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, NC
An online blurb can’t possibly do justice to the tournament history of Pinehurst No. 2. So please accept this as a partial summary: the classic Donald Ross design has been the stage for three U.S. Opens; a U.S. Senior Open; a U.S. Women’s Open; a PGA Championship; a Ryder Cup; and more memories than we could ever mention here.
Erin Hills, Erin, WI
You can count on one hand the number of resort courses that have hosted a U.S. Open. That the others are Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines and Pinehurst puts Erin Hills in very lofty company.
Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort and Spa, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Whether or not you think it should be known as “the fifth major,” there’s no disputing two key points: TPC Sawgrass is a killer golf course, and every year, at the Players Championship, it draws the PGA Tour’s strongest field.
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The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, WV
The course is called Old White, and its venerable alright. Its origins date to 1914. CB MacDonald and Seth Raynor did the work, and it held up beautifully for a century-plus until a catastrophic storm left the grounds in ruins. A major restoration project got Old White looking like its old self again, but with a new role. The course now plays host to the Greenbrier Classic, an annual PGA Tour event.
The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, CO
Donald Ross and Robert Trent Jones Jr. pulled off a tag-team effort on the Broadmoor’s vaunted East Course, with Jones designing holes 7-14 and Ross handling the rest. Their collaboration gave rise to a venue that has hosted the U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Open, among other prestigious events.
Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Kiawah Island, SC
Never mind that it was featured in The Legend of Bagger Vance. The Ocean Course at Kiawah has enjoyed much bigger star turns, including when it hosted the 2012 PGA Championship and an epic 1991 Ryder Cup.
Rosewood Cordevalle, San Martin, CA
Set in the scrub-oak studded foothills at the southern edge of the Silicon Valley, this rollicking Robert Trent Jones Jr. course has hosted such blue-chip events as the Frys.com Open and the U.S. Women’s Open.
Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, NY
One way to take the measure of a golf course is take stock of the players who have won there. In the case of the Tom Fazio-designed Atunyote Course, one of three layouts at Turning Stone, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar all claimed Tour titles on it. ‘Nuff said.
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Trump National Doral, Doral, FL
For 55 years, the Blue Monster played host to the PGA Tour. And it’s better today than it was back then, thanks to a 2014 renovation by the architect Gil Hanse, who made the course an even more forbidding beast.
Sea Pines Resort, Hilton Head, SC
The lighthouse behind the 18th green at Harbour Town is one of golf’s most recognizable landmarks. It doesn’t hurt that it gets a lot of TV time every year when the RBC Heritage comes around.
TPC Four Seasons, Las Colinas, Irving, TX
In 2017, the event relocated to Trinity Forest. But there’s no forgetting that for 35 years, the AT&T Byron Nelson was contested right here, on the Cottonwood Course.
Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, MO
With an arsenal of courses designed by major names, the Ozarks design has emerged as a golf mecca. It has also become a regular stop on the PGA Tour Champions, which swings through every year for the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf.
Walt Disney Resort and Spa, Orlando, FL
Nothing Mickey Mouse about the golf here. The resort has four championship courses, three of which have hosted PGA Tour events.
Rosewood Mayakoba Classic, Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, Mexico
Matt Kuchar may never fully live down the stingy tip he gave his fill-in caddie at the last Mayakoba Classic. But the El Camaleon course has more than lived up as a venue for the annual PGA Tour event.
Innisbrook, A Salamander Resort, Palm Harbor, FL
It happens every year, as sure as the Tour starting its Florida swing. The Valspar Championship returns to the Copperhead Course here, and the world’s best players respond with raves.
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