The SOCIETY #121

Five Historic PGA Championship Venues That Might Surprise You

The PGA Championship has long been viewed as the most itinerant of golf’s majors, moving across the country and often overshadowed by the deeply rooted identities of its counterparts. Yet hidden within its rotation is a remarkable truth: many of America’s most storied clubs, venues more commonly associated with other championships, have quietly hosted this major. Here are five that might surprise you.

Riviera Country Club

Often referred to as “Hogan’s Alley,” Riviera Country Club is synonymous with the Genesis Invitational and soon global competition as it prepares to host golf at the 2028 Summer Olympics. It will also take its turn as host of the U.S. Open. Yet Riviera’s place in PGA Championship history is often overlooked. It hosted the 1983 edition, won by Hal Sutton over Jack Nicklaus. A Golden Age gem by George C. Thomas Jr., Riviera’s strategic brilliance made it a fitting, if underappreciated, stage.

Oakmont Country Club

Mention Oakmont Country Club and the immediate association is the U.S. Open, its spiritual home. Designed by Henry Fownes, Oakmont has tested the world’s best more than any other U.S. Open venue. But it has also hosted multiple PGA Championships, including 1922, 1951, and 1978. Champions like Sam Snead and John Mahaffey conquered its infamous greens. That the PGA Championship once regularly visited Oakmont feels almost forgotten amid its U.S. Open legacy.

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Perched above the Pacific, Pebble Beach Golf Links is perhaps America’s most photographed course. It is inseparable from the U.S. Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, yet it also hosted the PGA Championship in 1977. That year, Lanny Wadkins defeated Gene Littler in a sudden-death playoff, one of the championship’s most dramatic finishes. For a venue so tied to coastal romance and U.S. Open lore, its PGA chapter remains surprisingly under-told.

Winged Foot Golf Club

The mere mention of Winged Foot Golf Club conjures images of narrow fairways and punishing rough, hallmarks of the U.S. Open. Designed by A. W. Tillinghast, Winged Foot has hosted multiple Opens, but it has also staged the PGA Championship, most notably in 1929 and 1949. In the latter, Sam Snead added another major to his tally. Winged Foot’s PGA history is often overshadowed by its reputation as a graveyard for Open hopefuls.

Pinehurst No. 2

Few courses are as architecturally distinct as Pinehurst No. 2, the masterpiece of Donald Ross. Known worldwide for its crowned “turtleback” greens and its role in multiple U.S. Open championships, Pinehurst No. 2 has also hosted the PGA Championship, most recently in 1936, when Denny Shute claimed victory. Its evolution through restoration has only reinforced its status as one of golf’s purest tests, regardless of the championship it hosts.

Final Thought

The PGA Championship’s nomadic nature has allowed it to touch nearly every corner of championship golf. In doing so, it has left behind a fascinating secondary history at venues more closely tied to other majors. These clubs may not be synonymous with the PGA Championship, but perhaps they should be.

This year the PGA Championship returns to Aronimink and the City of Brotherly Love and what I hope will be an amazing chapter in its wonderful history.

The SOCIETY OF GOLF HISTORANS TWITTER AUCTION

Today we kick off the last stage of our 3rd annual auction. We are auctioning off five more experiences and as a way of paying homage to the origins of our Society auction we are holding these four auctions on Twitter (X).

1. 21 Golf Club: The MacKenzie Course

2. Belleair Country Club

3. The Covey at Big Easy Ranch

4. Lookout Mountain

5. Mystery Course in Pennsylvania

THANK YOU!!!

Thanks to many of you our Society of Golf Historians Auction was a success. Your patronage has helped us raise enough money for Stephen Proctor to research his next book on Bernard Darwin. You have played a pivotal role in contributing to golf history.