A reminder, this is the only major that allows the devices.
The PGA of America announced back in 2021 that it would allow the use of distance-measuring devices in its three professional major championships – PGA Championship, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship – starting that year.
The devices made their first appearance at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course in South Carolina.
“We’re always interested in methods that may help improve the flow of play during our Championships,” said Jim Richerson, then the president of the PGA of America. “The use of distance-measuring devices is already common within the game and is now a part of the Rules of Golf. Players and caddies have long used them during practice rounds to gather relevant yardages.”
The PGA of America became the first major body to allow the devices in all its premier professional events. There had been speculation for years that such devices might help speed play, as players and caddies don’t have to walk off yardages to sprinkler heads and other fixed positions.
The United States Golf Association’s Rules of Golf have allowed the use of laser rangefinders and GPS devices in casual play and tournaments since 2006, but a local rule allowed a tournament committee to ban such devices. At elite professional levels of play, the devices still have not been embraced for competition rounds, though they have been allowed in the U.S. Amateur since 2014. They are still not allowed during competition rounds at PGA Tour events or at the U.S. Open and British Opens.
In keeping with Rule 4.3a (1), the devices allowed can report only on distance and direction. Devices that calculate elevation changes or wind speeds, or that suggest a club for a player as well as other data, will not be allowed.
Wyndham Clark checks the distance to the 11th hole during the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Clare Grant/Louisville Courier Journal)
The devices aren’t new for the pros, many of whom already use laser rangefinders and GPS in practice rounds.
Many laser rangefinders provide information on elevation changes and “plays-like” distances. Most of those devices come with a switch to turn off such information, but many elite players opt for devices that do not provide elevation and other data as a precaution against forgetting to turn off those functions.
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, site of Phil Mickelson’s win in 2021, will host a third men’s major.
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, will be the host of another major.
The venue, site of then-50-year-old Phil Mickelson’s PGA Championship triumph in 2021 to become the oldest player to win a men’s major, will again host the PGA Championship in 2031.
The PGA of America also announced Wednesday that the 2029 Girls and Boys Junior PGA Championships will be at the Ocean Course.
The 113th PGA Championship is scheduled for May 2031. It will be the third time the Wanamaker Trophy is up for grabs along South Carolina’s coast. The Ocean Course previously hosted the 2012 (won by Rory McIlroy) and 2021 PGA Championships. It’s the ninth course to host three or more PGA Championships.
Other significant events at the Ocean Course include the 1991 Ryder Cup won by the American side, the 2005 PGA Professional Championship (Mike Small) and the 2007 Senior PGA Championship (Denis Watson).
Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course in South Carolina (Courtesy Kiawah Island Golf Resort)
“We are ecstatic to bring the Junior PGA Championships and PGA Championship to the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in 2029 and 2031,” said PGA of America President John Lindert, who is PGA director of golf at the Country Club of Lansing in Michigan. “Past PGA Championships at Kiawah Island have provided no shortage of memorable moments and historic performances, all taking place along a breathtaking coastal setting. The Ocean Course’s challenging layout and rich history make it an ideal destination for our championships.”
The Ocean Course was designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1991, shortly before the Ryder Cup. At the suggestion of his wife, Alice, he engineered fairways and greens closer to the tops of the dunes alongside the Atlantic Ocean instead of on lower grades, as is common on many traditional links layouts. This increases exposure to frequent winds while providing incredible views from just about any vantage.
From Hawaii to Florida, we offer the Golfweek’s Best ranking of top resort courses in the U.S.
Welcome to Golfweek’s Best 2024 list of top resort golf courses in the United States.
The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged to produce a final, cumulative rating. Then each course is ranked against other courses in the region.
This list focuses on the golf courses themselves, not the resorts as a whole or other amenities. Each golf course included is listed with its average rating from 1 to 10, its location, architect(s) and the year it opened.
Check out Golfweek’s top 100 U.S. public-access golf courses in 2023.
Welcome to the Golfweek’s Best 2023 list of the Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play in the U.S. Each year, we publish many lists, with this selection of public-access layouts among the premium offerings.
The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce these rankings. The top handful of courses in the world have an average rating of above 9, while many excellent layouts fall into the high-6 to 8 range.
All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort, or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.
Each course is listed with its 2022 ranking in parenthesis in the title line, its average rating next to the name, the location, the year it opened and the designers.
KEY: (m) modern, built in 1960 or after; (c) classic, built before 1960. For courses with a number preceding the (m) or (c), that is where the course ranks on Golfweek’s Best lists for top 200 modern or classic courses in the U.S.
A score of 5 under wasn’t enough for the Texas twosome to advance in South Carolina.
The most high-profile pairing in U.S. Amateur Four-Ball history is heading home early.
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, now the lead NFL analyst for CBS, and his partner, 6-foot-10 University of Texas freshman Tommy Morrison, failed to qualify for match play after the duo finished three shots outside the 8-under cut.
Romo and Morrison were in prime position to advance at the 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Kiawah Island Club after a 4-under 67 at Cassique on Saturday, but a 1-under 70 on Sunday at the River Course wasn’t enough.
“It was great,” said Romo after his first USGA championship experience. “The USGA put on an incredible tournament. The course setup was amazing and just the way they go about the process, it’s just a special championship to be part of. It was rewarding.”
“This week was a great way for us to extend our friendship. I think we got closer after this week,” added Morrison. “Four-ball is a perfect format for that. We had a lot of fun, and I look forward to more events with Tony.”
Tony Romo smiles as he walks down the third hole fairway during the first round of the 2023 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Kiawah Island Club (Cassique) in Kiawah Island, S.C. on Saturday, May 20, 2023. (Chris Keane/USGA)
Tony and Tommy met at a golf club when the Morrisons moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area back in 2019. The pair connected and started playing golf together and immediately hit it off. Over the years the two athletes have grown to cherish their unique relationship.
“I think ever since we met, I don’t want to speak for Tony, but I think we got off to a good start and became friends quickly,” said Morrison. “I mean, only age difference is I probably have to warm up my body a little bit less than he does.”
The 25-year age gap between Romo (43) and Morrison (18) was tied for the fourth largest gap in the field.
Morrison now heads to Arizona for the NCAA Div. I Men’s Golf Championship, which begins on Friday at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, while Romo will go back to his offseason from calling NFL games for CBS.
The U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship and U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball were played for the first time in 2015 and were the first additions to the USGA competition roster since the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur was added in 1987.
Ten teams were in a playoff for the final two spots in match play at this year’s Four-Ball, and after the Monday morning playoff the first round of match play will begin, followed by the second and quarterfinal rounds on May 23. The semifinal matches will be played the morning of May 24, with the championship match slated for later that afternoon. Sampsonyunhe Zheng and Aaron Du claimed a share of stroke-play medalist honors with 2022 semifinalists Carter Loflin and Wells Williams.
Which layouts top the public-access and private course rankings in South Carolina?
South Carolina is one of the most popular golf destinations in the country, with top layouts stacked alongs the Atlantic coast. From major-championship sites to PGA Tour venues to elite private clubs, the Palmetto State’s golf offerings are a gift that just keeps giving. Keep scrolling to see the best of them.
Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with that of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.
(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960 (c): Classic course, built before 1960
Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses.
Golfweek’s experts have ranked the Top 200 courses built since 1960, such as Bandon Dunes, Whistling Straights, TPC Sawgrass, Kiawah and more.
Welcome to the Golfweek’s Best 2022 list of the Top 200 Modern Courses built in or after 1960 in the United States.
Each year we publish many lists, with this Top 200 Modern Courses list among the premium offerings. Also extremely popular and significant are the lists for Top 200 Classic Courses, the Best Courses You Can Play State by State and Best Private Courses State by State.
The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce these rankings. The top handful of courses in the world have an average rating of above 9, while many excellent layouts fall into the high-6 to the 8 range.
To ensure these lists are up-to-date, Golfweek’s Best in recent years has altered how the individual ratings are compiled into the rankings. Only ratings from rounds played in the past 10 years are included in the compilations. This helps ensure that any course in the rankings still measures up.
Courses also must have a minimum of 25 votes to qualify for the Top 200 Modern or the Top 200 Classic. Other Golfweek’s Best lists, such as Best Courses You Can Play or Best Private, do not require as many votes. This makes it possible that a course can show up on other lists but not on the premium Top 200 lists.
Each course is listed with its average rating next to the name, the location, the year it opened and the designers. The list also notes in parenthesis next to the name of each course where that course ranked in 2021. Also included with many courses are links to recent stories about that layout.
After the designers are several designations that note what type of facility it is:
• p: private
• d: daily fee
• r: resort course
• t: tour course
• u: university
• m: municipal
• re: real estate
• c: casino
* Indicates new to or returning to this list.
Editor’s note: The 2022 Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses list for the top 200 layouts built before 1960 in the U.S. will be posted Wednesday, May 25. The Best Courses You Can Play lists and the Best Private Courses lists will follow over the next two weeks.
Seemingly out of left field, ‘ol Lefty just may have one more major in him.
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Jordan Spieth sounded as if he was channeling “the most interesting man in the world,” in those old Dos Equis commercials when he said, “I don’t watch golf, but I promise you I’m going to turn it on to watch him today.”
“Yeah, it’s Phil, right,” he added. “It’s theatre.”
Mickelson, dressed in all black like another ageless wonder, Gary Player, and sporting his now familiar Highway Patrolman shades, put on a world-class performance Saturday, threatening to run away with the 103rd PGA Championship before a few stumbles.
He closed with five pars to shoot 2-under 70 and take a one-stroke lead over Brooks Koepka at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
After sharing the 36-hole lead, the 50-year-old Mickelson charged ahead with four birdies in his first seven holes.
In much more docile conditions at the Pete Dye layout, he looked like the golfer who has won 44 PGA Tour titles and five majors rather than the one that hasn’t lifted a trophy in more than two years or recorded a top-20 finish this year other than against the round bellies at the PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic.
Phil Mickelson reacts after his putt on the eighth green during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports
Phil the Thrill dazzled, sending the announced attendance of 10,000 per day – the crowds are at least triple that – into a delirious frenzy. Throaty cheers of “Let’s go Phil,” filled the air making it sound if not like 1999 then at least a pre-COVID world with Mickelson dispensing thumbs up to his fans as if giving out candy on Halloween.
By the time he canned a 7-foot birdie putt at 10 to reach double-digits under par, his lead had swelled to five strokes and Phil’s faithful were ready to crown him champion.
“I felt I had a very clear picture on every shot,” Mickelson said of his torrid start.
But if we’ve learned anything about Mickelson over the years, it is that he never makes it easy.
As Spieth pointed out, Mickelson always provides theater and his five-stroke lead faded away as Mickelson hit into a fairway bunker at 12, took his medicine and made bogey, then snap-hooked his tee shot into the drink at 13, had to re-tee and made double bogey. Meanwhile, Louis Oosthuizen made birdies at Nos. 11 and 12, and salvaged a bogey after driving into the water at 13, too. He shot 72 to trail by two and could’ve been even closer if he had made a few putts, including missing a gimme for birdie at 7 and taking three putts from 21 feet at No. 17.
“I think we all got lucky that he came backwards to the field,” Oosthuizen said of Mickelson.
Phil Mickelson reacts after a putt on seventh green during the third round of the PGA Championship at Louis Oosthuizen looks on. Photo by David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports
The other beneficiary of Mickelson’s nervy back nine was Koepka. As Mickelson sprayed a drive right at the par-5 16th that stopped in a sandy area under a golf cart, Koepka was up ahead on the green converting his third birdie of the inward nine.
“Objects in mirror are closer than they appear,” an overserved fan said. “BK, baby!”
They were knotted at 7 under until Koepka missed a 7-foot par putt at 18.
“That was the worst putting performance I think I’ve ever had in my career,” he said. “Can’t get much worse.”
But Koepka, who could win his third PGA title on Sunday and match Mickelson with five majors at age 31 – before Mickelson had won any – played himself into the final group on Sunday, bum knee and all.
“I’m right where I want to be, and we’ll see how tomorrow goes,” Koepka said.
So is Mickelson, who is the fourth player to hold the 54-hole lead or co-lead in a major at age 50 or older since 1934, and would become the oldest player to win a men’s major championship. A sixth major would tie him with Nick Faldo and Lee Trevino.
Fellow 50-something Steve Stricker, who threatened to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this year, isn’t surprised to see Mickelson atop the leaderboard. They teamed up in a practice round earlier this week against Zach Johnson and Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris. When Mickelson and Stricker jumped to a 3-up lead after three holes, Mickelson turned to his partner and said loud enough for his opponents to hear, “You know, Strick, I thought we’d be more up at this point.”
“And we were 3-up after 3. Typical Phil,” Stricker said. “He still has a tremendous amount of desire to compete at this level, and that’s why he’s doing it and that’s why he’s playing well.”
Mickelson will need every bit of that moxie and Phil swagger and the guile and experience built up from a lifetime of competing for trophies big and small if he is to win his first major since 2013 and hoist the Wanamaker Trophy 16 years after he did so at Baltusrol. Spieth, for one, likes Mickelson’s chances, saying, “he’s got four good rounds in him at any course,” especially given the change in wind direction expected to wreak havoc on Sunday.
“I would actually point out that tomorrow’s wind direction is very suitable for a lefty on that into-the-wind nine holes when you get it in off the left with a lot of trouble on the right side, he can start it off left and hold the wind or even draw it back into those pins,” Spieth said.
And just like that, seemingly out of left field, ‘ol Lefty just may have one more major in him.
In the battle between the longest hitter on Tour and the longest course in major championship history, round 1 went to the Ocean Course.
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – In the battle between the longest hitter on the PGA Tour and the longest course in major championship history, round 1 went to the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
Bryson DeChambeau returned an even-par 72 on Thursday (leading one of the judges to score it a draw), but he looked bruised and battered afterwards and admitted as much.
“The wind just kicked my butt,” he said. “Just grinding out there, it takes a lot out of you.”
As a matter of fact, he struggled to remember many of the finer details of his up-and-down round, which began with two birdies in his first three holes, starting at No. 11, playing downwind before a sloppy 3-putt bogey at 13 and a string of four bogeys in a row when the wind flipped into his face. As he tried to remember where he had taken three putts – was it 12 or was it 13? It was 13! – an exasperated DeChambeau gave up and said, “I’m all out of sorts. It’s a lot of wind out there and heat.”
In actuality, it was just a typical windy day at Kiawah, but for DeChambeau, who turns hitting every shot into a math equation, the wind put him through an assortment of mental exercises.
“This golf course takes it out of you. This is the most difficult golf course that I’ve played on Tour, and that is a straight-up fact for me,” he said. “That requires a lot of energy.”
Eventually, DeChambeau was told that if he looked behind him he could see his hole-by-hole scorecard in lights and that allowed him to gather himself and continue discussing his misadventures on his first nine holes where he was in danger of falling out of contention at the year’s second major on Thursday.
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“Three-putted 13, then 14 kind of came about from just not making a good first shot. 15, hit two good shots, just misaligned the drive on 15, hit it too far left, didn’t get it up and down. 16, misjudged the wind on the first shot, and there you go,” he said. “It’s a quick four bogeys and off and running after a good start.”
But DeChambeau played steady from there, making birdies on both of the par 5s (Nos. 2 and 7) and traded a bogey at No. 3 with a birdie at No. 8 when he drained a 20-foot birdie putt.
“For the most part, I stuck my head up high and kept it high and was able to finish strong on the front nine,” he said. “Played really well.”
That might be a stretch. His putter was cold (-1.385 SG: Putting), his driver was crooked (8 of 14 fairways) and his iron game was stymied by a breath of wind by Kiawah standards (11 of 18 greens in regulation). He’s going to have to do better at flighting his irons if he’s going to mount a charge for the title. As DeChambeau’s third shot from 97 yards got caught blowing in the wind, he seemed mystified.
“Oh my goodness,” he muttered as it hit short of the green and bounced into a deep bunker left of the green that led to a bogey on a par 5. Still, returning a score at level par is nothing to sniff at on a day when only four players broke 70 in the early wave.
“Getting to 4-over is really nothing out here either. It’s diabolical,” DeChambeau said. “You’ve got to be on point every single hole.”
Watching DeChambeau battle on Thursday was a reminder that golf is hard, even when you can hit it a country mile.
Bryson DeChambeau called Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course “a beast” and he’ll try to unleash ‘The Kraken,’ his name for his driver, to slay it.
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Incredible Bulk meets the longest course in major championship history.
“This golf course is a beast,” said Bryson DeChambeau. “Hopefully I can unleash the beast.”
Pete Dye’s Ocean Course masterpiece at Kiawah Island Golf Resort measures in at 7,846 yards and when the wind blows, look out.
“It is probably one of the hardest golf courses I’ve ever played,” DeChambeau said.
The reigning U.S. Open champion is set to make his fifth appearance in the PGA Championship this week, and finished T-4 last year at TPC Harding Park, which at the time was his best finish at a major. During his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, DeChambeau expressed plenty of respect for a course that has forced him to take some head covers off for approaches to greens and, heavens to Betsy, a tee shot at a par 3.
“I have not had hybrids or 4-irons into par-3s since I’ve gotten longer,” he said. “That’s a new one.”
But if anyone can take advantage of his prodigious length this week, it could be DeChambeau, who leads the PGA Tour in driving distance at 322 yards. ESPN’s Andy North marveled at DeChambeau’s bold attempt to drive the par-5 sixth green at Bay Hill in March during the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“No one else can hit it the places he can hit it right now,” said North, a two-time U.S. Open champion during his playing days. “Anybody watched Bay Hill, the couple of tee shots he hit at Bay Hill were the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, our lines were 50 yards to the right of that, and it was still scary.”
Scary is to hear DeChambeau talk about throttling back and still belting a drive of 385 yards last week at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He abandoned his 4.5-degree Cobra driver in favor of a model that has three degrees more loft, a different face design and different weight. It more closely resembles a Cobra driver he used back in 2018 when he said he was driving it on a string until he broke the face.
“It’s not fully maxed out with everything, and there are reasons for that,” he explained. “You can’t let it loose out here. There’s certain golf courses like last week (at TPC Craig Ranch near Dallas) I could kind of let it loose a little bit, but even at that I was still trying to control ball flight. I’m still trying to gain speed. It’s not like I’m not. It’s just I’m trying to find more efficient ways to do it.”
For the first time since undergoing his physical transformation, DeChambeau has hit a wall in his pursuit of speed.
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“I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, but it doesn’t produce swing speed, which is really interesting, so how to increase swing speed like you’re working out is something that nobody has ever really figured out,” he explained. “When quarantine came about I had time to physically transform everything. I took a couple weeks off of even playing golf or touching a golf club and literally changed my body. I don’t have that time now.”
And so while he continues down rabbit holes in search of answers on how to gain more distance, he’s content that his power game is an advantage at the Ocean Course – “If you don’t hit it long, it’s going to be a tough week,” he said – but it might not be his biggest one.
“If I can hit it straight this week in this wind and control the golf ball and control the flight of it, that’ll be my biggest advantage,” he said.
That may be a big ‘if.’ DeChambeau’s high ball flight isn’t ideal for Kiawah, where the fickle wind causes indecision in club selection and execution. DeChambeau, the Tour’s most analytical golfer, has been known to simulate the dew on a golf ball to try to understand how it affected spin rates on wedge shots. To no surprise, he was up to his usual tricks in trying to prep for wind conditions at the PGA.
“Man, you guys are going to eat this one up, but the laminar flow of the wind and how it works,” he said. “A lot of it is going to be dependent on luck this week. I will say that. When it’s dependent on luck you have to be patient.”
It should be great theater to see whether the World No. 5 can blast drivers and find the short grass and flight his irons into the wind and maintain his composure at what he calls one of the toughest courses he’s ever played. But he said he’s up to the challenge and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I would say a few weeks a year is OK. That’s for sure,” he said. “This is one of those weeks.”
