Poll: The Major Venue You Are Most Looking Forward To?

The masses who watched Morning Drive saw the portion where we talked 2015 major venues and the oddity of three courses outside Augusta providing treeless golf.



Now this may seem trivial to some, but consider this: once the Masters is played at pine-lined Augusta National, the next three men’s majors will all be contested at “links style” layouts—and brace yourself for the overuse of that phrase in 2015. Only The Old Course at St. Andrews presents pure links golf.

The PGA Championship returns to Wisconsin after just a five-year absence from Whistling Straits, where the exposed layout sits high above Lake Michigan and more than any 2015 major venue, emphasizes an all-aerial target attack. The wild card in so many ways remains Chambers Bay, which celebrates its eighth birthday during U.S. Open week. Most of the field will not have played the course in competition unless they were in the 2010 U.S. Amateur, so expect to hear about more advance scouting trips than ever before. Though with the potential for the most radical day-to-day setup possibilities of any U.S. Open course, Chambers Bay figures to be the most confounding U.S. Open contestants and pundits have ever encountered.

This is all interesting because so many of today's Hogan's and Snead's love their "fits the eye" and "it's all right in front of you" designs. Translation: confining, tree-lined, underexposed inland courses. I'm not sure how much this will impact 2015 major championship handicapping, but I have to think this more exposed style of golf will not please players who find such open-air golf uncomfortable.

But who cares what the players like? I want to know which major venue you are most anticipating this year. As much as I love the Old Course and can't wait for The Open, it's hard not to be intrigued by the mysterious Chambers Bay or the antics Whistling Straits may produce...

What 2015 men's major venue are you most looking forward to?

Augusta National

Chambers Bay

The Old Course at St. Andrews

Whistling Straits

 

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Comments

[Center Cutc]

Augusta is just another tournament, albeit a shimmed-down invitational field on a tree lined course that favours drawers. It's lost it's way for me, wrap it up in as much hoopla as you like.

The Old Course...you just know a 61 or less is out there if it's fine weather. Great place, loads of fun, lot's of myth andlegend if you like that sort of thing, but no longer a championship course.

Chambers Bay - voted for this option - looking forward to see what USGA does after the Pinehurst experiment. Should be great.

Whistling Straits - hopefully will follow suit.

[Chico]

Voted for St Andrews because it's 45 mins from my house and I love going there! The only course on the Open rota which is even remotely difficult for these guys if there is no wind would be Carnoustie. Thankfully that only happens about 6 days a year so with any luck there will be a bit of wind and scores should be in the high 60s.

[Josh]

I thought the winner was simply called "The British Open Champion".

[LannyH]

I don't get the excitement about Chambers Bay. The highest compliment would be, "It's just like all those courses in Scotland!" Which would be like the R&A bragging about a British Open course being "just like Augusta," or "just like an American TPC course."

I don't have anything against the course, and with it being on the west coast we shouldn't have to watch the final groups playing in darkness, but "a links course in America" doesn't affect me one way or the other.

[Convert]

The major venue I most look forward to is the next one.

[gov. lepetomane]

I'm ok with calling the championship in the UK "The Open." And if the winner has traditionally been called "Champion Golfer of the World for the Year" I can go along with the tradition.
But golf is no longer played solely/predominantly in the UK as it was when the above terminology originated.
It's played over the world. If one is to actually be champion of the world, it would seem logical to open the possible venues for the world championship to more than the UK. Outside of the UK are many courses that would be appropriate for a "world championship."
Why eliminate them from the possibility of competition?

[ol Harv]

Amen Convert. I did vote for Chambers Bay as like GS said, it's the wildcard. I don't think enough has been made about how difficult it played during the US Am a few years ago. I hope the spectator issue doesn't take away from the golf course and I hope Mike Davis hasn't "tinkered" too much with it.

[Greg V]

I voted for the course that is considered The Home of Golf.

If the contestants get it in windless conditions and the average score is in the low 60's, then maybe the powers that be will act faster on rolling the ball back and changing the size of driver heads on steroids. For professional and elite amateurs.

And many of the rest of us may follow.

Throughout history, the great players didn't particularly like the Old Course at first, but came to respect it or love it later. With the possible exception of Sam Snead, which just proves the rule. The fact that it may be a pushover today doesn't mean that there is something wrong with the course; it's the implements they use to play it.

[Easingwold]

The Open for me, because it's the Old Course. For those of you who don't care about the history of the game, fair enough. Been there a dozen times, played it twice. The atmosphere, the feelings one gets walking the path of every great champion who ever played the game that even Augusta can't claim to have, playing the shots there that will stay with you as long as you breathe and play the game of golf. To stand behind the 18th green watching the golfers from all over the world, putting out on the 18th with joy on their faces. To walk in the town, enjoy a pint in the Jigger Inn, listening to stories how someone played the Road Hole.

Will play it again one day, I almost have no choice there, such is the allure of St. Andrews

[D. maculata]

Ditto, Easingwold!

[Ru Macdonald]

You get it Easingwold & D. maculata but having experienced St Anderws, you are the lucky ones. Nothing beats the public charm of the Old Course.

[GW]

Is this even a question?

Augusta, and it isn't close.

[Dave]

@gov

*British Open

[Jim S]

The US Amateur at Chambers Bay was great to watch--the players played the ground game to great effect by the last day, and watching them roll the ball through the knolls, hills, and dipsy-doos in and around the greens was genuinely interesting in a way that is so rare for golf on TV. They've simplified some of the green complexes since then (I think), but I'm hoping that the majority of the good stuff is there to give the pros a welcome workout.

[BDF]

I enjoy watching the Open, especially at St. Andrew's. And I believe, at the ceremony, the winner is announced as the winner of the gold medal, his score, and the Champion Golfer of the year...no mention of the World.

[PJ]

I'd vote for any course over a Pete Dye design to host a major.

[Claude]

It's interesting how few votes Whistling Straits got. I do remember it as an eyeful, not to mention an entertaining venue. But perhaps it hasn't recovered from its reputation as the place where "spectators stand in the bunkers."

I'm looking forward to Chambers Bay.

[Steve Elling]

Treeless?

Come on, Chambers Bay has one tree.

[Abu Dhabi Golfer]

The oddity of treeless golf?

That's ironic since the introduction of trees to golf was an oddity. Prior to the 1930s, almost all golf was treeless.

It was primarily the Augusta-ization of golf that led to the popularity of trees.

Treeless golf was just not something associated with seaside links courses. Many of the traditional American courses (Oakmont, Riviera, San Francisco GC, Chicago GC, etc) started out as barren moonscapes - and better for it. Trees were founnd around the boundary, but not on the actual courses.

[Chico]

@Easingwold. Yeah- spot on. Anytime you're looking for a partner at TOC just let me know!

[Easingwold]

Chico, you're on and it's my round at the bar

Cheers

[OWGR Fan]

@GregV .... how many CC's was Tigers Cobra driver in 1997 @ Augusta when he averaged over 320 off the tee using a steel shaft and a wound golf ball?

[Steve Elling]

After much thought, I have determined the key skillset that will be required of a player hoping to win at Chambers, St Andrews and Whistling Straits.

A dude who does not mind a complete lack of shade.

[Tighthead]

Chambers will certainly be the most novel. Masters is always mandatory viewing, TOC is always special, but Chambers has my interest. Part of that interest is a belief that the greens may be a disaster.

[Abu Dhabi Golfer]

@Steve Elling - that tree at Chambers you mentioned does provide shade - provided you are standing on the 15th green at about 7pm on a summer evening. And you need to stand still on a relatively narrow spot!

[Danny T]

Why does everyone keep saying the Open is at St. Andrews? THE OPEN is at Chambers Bay! What am I missing?

[Chico]

U.S!

[Hod]

The worst acronym perpetrated on this site is "TOC."

It reminds me of the time when The Players was called the TPC. Dan Jenkins derided that name by saying TPC sounded like something kids sniffed behind the 7-Eleven.

What next? TAGT for The Auld Grey Toon?

[BillV]

Buncha numbnutz Americans want Chambers over any Links? (and especially The Auld Sod)? I may have o go back to watching only UEFA soccer.

Golf is doomed.

[DT]

"Buncha numbnutz Americans want Chambers over any Links? (and especially The Auld Sod)? I may have o go back to watching only UEFA soccer."

Can you explain what this means? Very confusing?

[Ted Ray's Pipe]

What Easingwold said .....

[Bobbydback]

Some guys just were not meant to be on television.

[Ed]

as interesting as this question would be comparing the responses to a poll after the events are held.