Ryder Cup Courses Open to the Public
Golfers love playing the courses where the pros have teed it up.
Sept. 28, 2012— -- intro: Golfers love playing the courses where the pros have teed it up, particularly those courses that have hosted the sport's biggest events. The Ryder Cup tees off today outside Chicago at Medinah Country Club, a private course. But a select few Ryder Cup matches have been at courses open to the public over the years. Here are five Ryder Cup courses anyone can play.
quicklist: 1category: title: Pinehurst No. 2 at Pinehurst Resort (1951)url: http://www.pinehurst.com/nc-golf-courses.phptext: Pinehurst No. 2 is the most famous of the eight courses at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C. It hosted the Ryder Cup in 1951, but its legacy as a championship course runs far deeper. Opened in 1907, No. 2 has been the site of more single golf championships than any course in America. In 2014 it will be the first to serve as host to the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open Championships in consecutive weeks.
Winner: Team U.S.A.
Cost: Fall Rates at the Pinehurst Resort start from $248 per night which includes a round of golf and overnight accommodations. Play on No. 2 comes at a surcharge.
media: 17343102
quicklist: 2category: title: Greenbrier Course at The Greenbrier (1979)url: http://www.greenbrier.com/text: The Greenbrier Course at The Greenbrier in West Virginia's claim to fame is that it's the only course in the world to have hosted the Ryder Cup (1979) and the The Solheim Cup (1994). The Greenbrier is one of three championship courses at the resort. The course was first constructed in 1924, but was redesigned by golf legend Jack Nicklaus in 1977.
Winner: Team U.S.A.
Cost: The Bed and Breakfast golf package starts at $525 per night and includes accommodations, breakfast and a round of golf per adult per night on the Greenbrier or Meadows course.
media: 17348406
quicklist: 3category: title: Champion course at PGA National (1983)url: http://www.pgaresort.com/yourplay_course.aspxtext: PGA National Resort and Spa in South Florida has hosted many golf legends. In addition to hosting nearly two decades of PGA Seniors' Championships and the PGA Championship, it's Champion course hosted the Ryder Cup in 1983. It now hosts the Honda Classic each March. Redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in 1990, one of its most famous features in the three-hole 'Bear Trap" said to be one of the toughest stretches in golf.
Winner: Team U.S.A.
Cost: The Fall Escape and Play package is priced from $239 per person, per night and includes accommodations, breakfast and daily unlimited play on most courses. There is, however, a surcharge to play on the Champion course.
media: 17348480
quicklist: 4category: title: Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort (1991)url: http://www.kiawahresort.com/
text: Built in 1991 by Pete Dye, it was the host of the Ryder Cup the same year. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina is named for it's design: it has 10 holes right along the Atlantic with the other 8 running parallel to those and a view of the ocean from all 18. The course was featured in Matt Damon and Will Smith's 2000 movie 'The Legend of Bagger Vance.' It's regularly named one of the best public courses in the United States.
Winner: Team U.S.A.
Cost: The resort offers many golf-themed packages, but the Ryder Cup Anniversary Package is designed for 16 friends. Priced at about $1,000 per person, it includes three nights accommodations in villas or private homes; three rounds of golf, one on the Ocean Course; breakfast each morning; team shirts and hats; and a one-hour opening / closing reception with complimentary beer and wine.
media: 17348418
quicklist: 5category: title: Straits Course at Whistling Straits (2020)url: http://www.americanclubresort.com/golf/ws/ws_index.htmltext: Get ready to have ultimate bragging rights by booking your tee time at the Straits Course at Whistling Straits before it hosts the Ryder Cup in 2020. It also hosted the PGA Championship in 2010 and will do so again in 2015. The Pete Dye-designed course in Kohler, Wis., is walking only, links style course along two miles of Lake Michigan shoreline.
Winner: TBD
Cost: Autumn packages are prices from $527 including one night accommodations at The American Club and two rounds of golf.
media: 17348441
Related Stories
ABC News Live