10 Golf Courses That Should Host a Major Championship

If you're a golf fan, you're familiar with what's called the "rota." It's the list of courses that churn out major championships like the University of Miami churns out NFL prospects.

You can probably name several of the staple courses in the rota off the top of your head: Pebble Beach, Oakmont, Winged Foot, St. Andrews, Medinah, Southern Hills, Pinehurst... and the list goes on. A major championship is played at these courses about once every 10 years.

But, there are so many other courses which deserve to host one of golf's grandest events. Yet, they never have, and probably never will. Here are the top 10 courses that should host a major championship:

Shadow Creek Golf Course-- Las Vegas, NV

Not only is Shadow Creek downright cool, featuring a par-3 situated on a waterfall and several holes winding around clear blue lakes, but its location just outside downtown Las Vegas couldn't be better. The tournament would attract plenty of tourists looking to mix in a little golf with their gambling and intoxication, plus the local golf scene in Vegas is quite strong.

The bad news: Shadow Creek isn't really built to accommodate spectators. It was designed more as a haven for degenerate gamblers to get their mind off of blackjack strategies for a while, so it features lots of expensive landscaping and unnecessary bodies of water (a calming sight after you've lost $25,000 at a baccarat table, I'd imagine).

By the way, I have a nagging curiosity: if John Daly were exempt to a major played at Shadow Creek, is there any chance he'd make his tee time? Or, would he skip the tournament for a few extra hours drinking at the Palms? Perhaps long John would be motivated to play after spending 15 hours at the $500 slots. Wouldn't it be fun to find out?

Peachtree Golf Club-- Atlanta, GA

While Jim Nantz brings us all to the point of tears with his soft lucid poems about the beauty of Augusta National, another Bobby Jones masterpiece sits just a few miles away in Atlanta. Peachtree features a Southern plantation-type design just like Augusta National, and is every bit as gorgeous.

However, there is already a major championship played in Georgia (it's called the Masters in case you haven't heard of it). And, with the Tour Championship being held at East Lake in Georgia (another Bobby Jones design), I doubt that Georgians would be granted a third marquee event.

Sand Hills Golf Club-- Mullen, NE

It’s hard for a newer course to earn a major championship, especially one guarded by its members. Sand Hills, a Crenshaw design, is consistently ranked #1 on lists of the best new courses in America. Yet, it’s a course that the casual golfer probably has never even heard of.

For a course to reach “classic” status, it has to host major events. And, it would be nice to highlight new, unplayed courses like Sand Hills instead of old relics all the time. Remember the amazing success that Whistling Straits had for the 2004 PGA Championship? Remember how Bethpage Black went from just a good municipal course to a world-class venue overnight due to the 2002 US Open?

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