Courses Quiz: How Many Iconic Major Courses Can You Name?

How many do you know?

How Many Iconic Major Courses Can You Name?
Ian Clark
By Ian Clark
published

Test your knowledge, how many of these courses can you identify

Courses Quiz: How Many Iconic Major Course Can You Name?

Take on the quiz above or you can see all the questions and options below - the answers are at the bottom of the post.

Question 1

  1. This is a Pete and Alice Dye designed golf course that opened in 1998
  2. It has hosted 3 USPGA Championships and one US Senior Open
  3. Two of the 3 USPGA Championships hosted here have been decided by play-offs

Answer Options

A. Kiawah Island B. Whistling Straits. C. Torrey Pines

Question 2

1 Lorena Ochoa won the Womens British Open here in 2017

2 The course record of 61 here is held by Ross Fisher

3 The Beardies, The Coffins and The Principal’s Nose are all bunkers on this course

Answer Options

A. Turnberry B. Carnoustie C. St. Andrews

Question 3

1 Situated on the East Coast of The US, this course was established in 1891

2 It has played host to 5 US Open Championships

3 The US won the Walker Cup here in 1977

Answer Options

A. Shinnecock Hills B. Oakmont C. Bethpage

Question 4

1 This course has hosted the Open Championship 8 times

2 Tommy Fleetwood holds the course record of 63 here

3 This course played host to the 2016 Senior Open Championship

Answer Options

A. Carnoustie B. Royal Lytham C. Royal Birkdale

Question 5

1 Established in 1903, this course is located in Pennsylvania

2 It has hosted 9 US Open Championships

3 Paula Creamer won the US Women’s Open here in 2010

Answer Options

A. Merion B. Winged Foot C. Oakmont

Question 6

1 Established in 1974, this course was designed by Pete & Alice Dye

2 It has hosted one men’s major Championship

3 There are four other golf courses at this venue, called Turtle Point, Osprey Point, Oak Point & Cougar Point.

Answer Options

A. Kiawah Island B. Erin Hills C. Torrey Pines

Question 7

This venue has hosted the Open Championship 11 times.

The course was orginaly designed by George Lowe and then redesigned by Harry Colt in 1919.

It has hosted five Women’s British Opens.

Answer Options

A. Royal Birkdale B. Royal St George’s C. Royal Lytham & St Annes

Question 8

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr, this venue was opened in 2007

It has hosted one men’s major

Before being transformed into a golf course, the land was previously a sand and gravel quarry

Answer Options

A. Erin Hills B. Chambers Bay C. Crooked Stick

Question 9

This venue has hosted nine Open Championships in total

Arthur Havers was the first Open winner here in 1923

This course is scheduled to host the Open again in 2024

Answer Options

A. Muirfield B. Hoylake C. Royal Troon

Question 10

This golf course was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1907

It has hosted three US Opens and one USPGA

Michelle Wie won the US Women’s Open here in 2014

Answer Options

A. Merion B. Pinehurst C. Medinah

Question 11

Established in 1887, this venue has hosted 14 Open Championships

The first Open winner here was JH Taylor in 1894

Other Open Champions here include: Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen and Greg Norman.

Answer Options

A, Royal St. George’s B. Turnberry C. Royal Birkdale

Question 12

Established in 1919, this venue is located in California

It is scheduled to host the 2023 US Women’s Open and the 2027 US Open

Lanny Wadkins won the US PGA Championship here in 1997

Answer Options

A. Pebble Beach B. Torrey Pines C. Olympic Club

Answers Below

Question 1

B: Whistling Straits

Built on the banks of Lake Michigan, the last major winner here was Jason Day in 2015. It is also due to host this years 2020 Ryder Cup.

Question 2

C: St Andrews

The Home Of Golf has hosted more Open Championships than any other venue (29 in total) with Zach Johnson the most recent winner in 2005.

Question 3

A: Shinnecock Hills

A 90-minute drive from New York, Shinnecock Hills was the venue for Brooks Koepka’s 2018 US Open victory. A sixth US Open is scheduled here for 2026.

Question 4

A: Carnoustie

Famed for it’s ferocious finishing stretch, Carnoustie was the scene of Jean Van De Velde’s incredible collapse in the 1999 Open Championship. The last winner of the Claret Jug here was Francesco Molinari in 2018.

Question 5

C: Oakmont

Renowned for having one of the world’s most famous collection of bunkers, called the Church Pews that lie between the 3rd and 4th holes, the last US Open at Oakmont was won by Dustin Johnson in 2016.

Question 6

A: Kiawah Island

The venue in South Carolina hosted the USPGA Championship in 2012, won by Rory McIlroy and is set to stage the same event in 2021.

Question 7

C: Royal Lytham & St Annes

Situated on the Lancashire coast in the North East of England, the last Open winner here was Ernie Els in 2012. Georgia Hall won the Women’s British Open at Lytham in 2018.

Question 8

B: Chambers Bay

Hosted the 2015 US Open, won by Jordan Spieth. It also hosted the 2010 US Amateur Championship which was won by Peter Uilhein.

Question 9

C: Royal Troon

The venue for the 2016 Open Championship won by Henrik Stenson – it is well known for having the shortest and certainly one of the most dangerous holes on the Open rota, The Postage Stamp.

Question 10

B: Pinehurst. One of the most iconic golf courses in the US, the last US Open winner to prevail at Pinehurst No.2 was Martin Kaymer in 2014.

Question 11

A: Royal St George’s

Also known as Sandwich due to its location near the town of the same name on the Kent coast, the last winner at Royal St George’s was Darren Clarke. It will host the next Open Championship in July 2021.

Question 12

A. Pebble Beach. One of the world’s most well known golf courses, Pebble Beach has hosted 6 US Open Championships including the 2019 tournament, won by Gary Woodland.

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Ian Clark
Ian Clark
Top 50 Coach

Location: World of Golf


Ian has over 20 years of experience and he has now opened his own academy at the World of Golf facility in London. The Advanced Fellow of the PGA has made it a lifetime vocation to learn from the best instructors, and has studied personally under the likes of Jim Flick, Mike Bender, Lynn Blake, Jim McLean, Chuck Cook and Martin Hall.


Most common advice:

The student must use feedback, no guessing. I encourage all my students to use the camera on their phone to video a swing in practice, I give clear instructions as to how to do this so they get the correct angles, I want to see aim sticks on the ground for aim and ball position. I have a quote that I rely to students which is ‘they must become extraordinary at the ordinary things’, the ordinary things being aim, ball position and grip.


Most common problem:

Time management. Lots of people are time poor, so when they have time to practise I like to make sure it is structured, so I have 20, 30, 45 and 60-minute practice schedules that I will give to my students, so they can use what time they have correctly. The schedules will include some random and block practice, some drills, as well as some skill transfer material to help them take it onto the course.


Teaching philosophy:

Being a TrackMan user, I work a lot off ball flight. I will ask the player what they want the ball flight to look like and make sure we have enough pieces in their swing to do that. For example if the player wants to hit a draw, but has a fade set-up, then we need to put more draw pieces into the set-up. I like to have the player know enough about their motion that they can do some self correcting if it starts to go wrong.


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