Play where the pros play on the PGA Tour

Three majors on public courses highlights the new 2020-21 PGA Tour schedule. The changes required by the pandemic have created a "Super Season" of 50 official events.
A VIP tees off the first hole of Memorial Park on opening day, Nov. 4, 2019.

The 2020-21 PGA Tour schedules kicks off this week with the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, Calif.

It's strange that golf fans don't even have an off-week to catch their collective breath before a new season arrives. Imagine how the players feel. No pros who competed at the Tour Championship in Atlanta will make the trek. They'll enjoy their bonus money at home, while a solid field, headlined by Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia, Matt Kuchar, Shane Lowry, Jim Furyk, Jimmy Walker, Jason Dufner, Brandt Snedeker, Charl Schwartzel, Keegan Bradley and two-time Safeway Open winner Brendan Steele, will tee it up in northern California.

The pandemic has significantly altered the upcoming 2020-21 schedule. You can look at the changes as a positive (we've got two majors this fall!) or a negative (I have to wait a year for that Ryder Cup?!). The PGA Tour is touting it as a "Super Season" with 50 official tournaments (51 total), the most since 1975. Three events postponed in 2020 – the U.S. Open, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and Masters Tournament – will be played in the fall portion of the 2020-21 season and then return in their traditional dates during the 2021 calendar year, along with 11 tournaments that were canceled and not rescheduled as a result of the pandemic. In addition, with the postponement of the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, the men’s Olympic Golf competition will take place July 26-August 1, 2021, as a standalone event for the first time.

What's exciting is 30 resort/public courses will be a part of the Tour's schedule, including three of the four majors, plus a Ryder Cup, which means you could have plenty of opportunities to play where the pros play. The 2021 PGA Championship returns to Kiawah Island, S.C., where Rory McIlroy won in 2012, and Torrey Pines South will get its first major since Tiger Woods won that epic playoff in 2008. The players will be very familiar with Torrey Pines by June, having played it in January for the Farmers Insurance Open. In July, Shane Lowry will finally get the chance to defend his claret jug at The Open Championship at Royal St. George's Golf Club, which was postponed from this past summer. The 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis., has been rescheduled for September 21-26, 2021.

Perhaps the most interesting twist is the two events that were scheduled to be in Asia have moved to the United States this fall: THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, annually played in Jeju Island, Korea, will be held Oct. 12-18 at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas as THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK. The following week, Japan’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will be played Oct. 19-25 at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., as the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD.

A number of these public and resort courses and destinations listed below are available in packages with Golf Advisor.

2020-21 PGA Tour venues featuring public/resort courses

Phil Mickelson tees off during the 2016 Safeway Open at Silverado.

1. Sept. 7-13, Safeway Open, North course at Silverado Resort and Spa, Napa, Calif.
2. Sept. 21-27, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Corales at the Puntacana Resort & Club, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
3. Oct. 12-18, The CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek, Shadow Creek, Las Vegas
4. Oct. 26-Nov. 1, Bermuda Championship, Port Royal Golf Club, Bermuda
5. Nov. 2-8, Houston Open, Memorial Park, Houston, Texas
6. Nov. 16-22, The RSM Classic, Seaside and Plantation courses at Sea Island Resort, St. Simons Island, Ga.
7. Dec. 30-Jan. 6, Mayakoba Golf Classic, El Camaleon Golf Club at Mayakoba Resort, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
8. Jan. 4-10, Sentry Tournament of Champions, Plantation course at Kapalua Resort, Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
9. Jan. 18-24, The American Express, Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA WEST and the private La Quinta Country Club, La Quinta, Calif.
10. Jan. 23-31, Farmers Insurance Open, North and South courses at Torrey Pines Golf Course, La Jolla, Calif.
11. Feb. 1-Feb. 7, Waste Management Phoenix Open, Stadium course at TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Ariz.
12. Feb. 8-14, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and the private Shore course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Pebble Beach, Calif.
13. Feb. 22-28, Puerto Rico Open, Grand Reserve Country Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
14. March 1-7, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Bay Hill Club and Lodge, Orlando, Fla.
15. March 8-14, The Players Championship, Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
16. March 15-21, The Honda Classic, Champion course at PGA National Resort & Spa, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
17. March 22-28, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Corales at the Puntacana Resort & Club, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
18. March 29-April 4, Valero Texas Open, AT&T Oaks course at TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
19. April 12-18, RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links at Sea Pines Resort, Hilton Head Island, S.C.
20. April 19-25, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, TPC Louisiana, New Orleans, La.
21. April 26-May 2, Valspar Championship, Copperhead course at Innisbrook, a Salamander Golf and Spa Resort, Palm Harbor, Fla.
22. May 17-23, PGA Championship, Ocean course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Kiawah Island, S.C.
23. June 14-20, U.S. Open, South course at Torrey Pines Golf Course, La Jolla, Calif.
24. July 5-11, John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Ill.
25. July 12-18, The Open Championship, Royal St. George's Golf Club, Sandwich, England
26. August 2-8, Barracuda Championship, Old Greenwood, Truckee, Calif.
27. September 22-27, 43rd Ryder Cup, Straits course at Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wis.

Have you played any of these Tour venues? Let us know about your experience in the comments below.

Jason Scott Deegan has reviewed and photographed more than 1,100 courses and written about golf destinations in 25 countries for some of the industry's biggest publications. His work has been honored by the Golf Writer's Association of America and the Michigan Press Association. Follow him on Instagram at @jasondeegangolfpass and Twitter at @WorldGolfer.
0 Comments
Now Reading
Play where the pros play on the PGA Tour