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ON THE BEAT


Dreaming About the Majors T


BY ALAN SHIPNUCK


he Walker Cup is barely on the radar screen of the casual golf fan but the recent announce- ment of its upcoming venues sent a jolt of


excitement through my world. In 2021, the Cup will be played at Seminole Golf Club, and then four years later Cypress Point Club will host.These two citadels of the game have long been aggressively private, and golf fans all over the world will at long last be able to enjoy the courses in glorious high definition, or in person if tickets can be snagged. The Walker Cup is a particularly good fit for these proud old courses because both are way too short by modern standards, but in the Cup’s match play format protecting par is not a goal, and the memberships of Cypress and Seminole will be spared the daily 59- watch that would occur with medal play. All the excitement around Cypress Point’s and


Seminole’s upcoming spotlight has me musing about which other courses I’d love to see host big-time golf events. Despite Martha Burk’s assertion to the contrary,


12 WINTER 2017 | WWW.NCGA.ORG


the Masters can’t be contested anywhere besides Augusta National, but every other important event is a moveable feast. With Cypress and Seminole getting back in the game, it’s clearly time for that bastion of exclusivity to host the U.S. Open: yes, Pine Valley, we’re looking at you. The concentual best golf course in the world has no houses, roads, or other considerations that would prevent it from being supersized to accom- modate the modern game. The all-male membership is politically incorrect but Pine Valley is so good, and is draped in so much mystique that the blowback would be worth it.


Another new Open venue I would like to see is Sand


Hills, the neo-classic in the wilds of Nebraska. It is a vast canvas that could accommodate some necessary


The historic National Golf Links of America, Southampton, New York, hosted the 2015 Walker Cup Match, won by the U.S. team featuring two players from Northern California, Bryson DeChambeau and Maverick McNealy.


USGA/JOHN MUMMERT


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