Hosting Golf’s Majors Can Reap Millions—in Dollars and Headaches
The talk of last week’s U.S. Open was Los Angeles Country Club, a secretive enclave within L.A.’s city limits that had never hosted a major in its 126-year history. After a weather-induced Thursday rout that led to not one but two players breaking the Open’s single-round scoring record, the jewel that is the North Course showed its championship pedigree, leaving only one question: What took so long?
The two traveling majors—the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship—operated independent of one another, but they take a similar approach to finding fields of play. “We don’t recruit clubs,” said Kerry Haigh, the chief championships officer for the PGA of America, which administers three majors—the PGA Championship, the Women’s PGA Championship and the Senior PGA. “They have to decide it’s something they want to do.”
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L.A.C.C. was never willing—besides a few amateur events—until the course was refurbished in 2010 and the membership decided it was time to show it off. The considerations in making such a decision include disruption, expense, damage and, of course, money. How much?
For a men’s U.S. Open or PGA Championships a club could earn a club anywhere from $3 million to $10 million or more. A 2021 story on Golf.com reported that over the previous decade profits for U.S. Open hosts ranged from $3.9 million for Erin Hills at the low end to a high of $9.3 million at Oakmont.
“We do pay a fee,” said Haigh, speaking only for his organization. “It varies widely, because it’s tied to on-site sales. They’re very complex deals. Sometimes there’s a minimum guarantee with payments above and beyond if the event hits certain targets.”
The potential includes revenue from hospitality suites, ticket sales and merchandise, which encompasses the right for the club to sell branded items before and after but not during the event. “The most important thing is the quality of the course,” Haigh said. “After that, we look at logistics and the potential of the market.”
That’s why New York area courses like Bethpage, Shinnecock and Winged Foot have seen regular action and the industry was excited about the return to L.A., which hasn’t hosted a major in 28 years.
Haigh spoke from Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey, where he was prepping the famed Lower Course for the Women’s PGA Championship, which starts on Thursday. It’s the 12th major the club has hosted, starting in 1903 and including seven U.S. Opens, two Women’s U.S. Opens, and two PGA Championships. The Women’s PGA arose as part of a deal to also host the men’s version of the event, which will come to the club in 2029.
“For a smaller event, like this week, we look at it as a break-even venture, at best,” Matt Wirths, Baltusrol’s president, said on a call.. “That includes the typical revenue lost while the course was unavailable to members, such as guest fees and food and beverage.”
For national championships that draw even smaller crowds, like the U.S. Amateur (four times) and the U.S. Women’s Amateur (two times), the club loses money—as much as $500,000 to $1 million, although Wirths says sometimes the club can reduce the hit through sponsorships or volunteer participation.
“Hosting championships has never been considered part of the economic plan at Baltusrol, and that’s true at most of the clubs that take on these events,” Wirths said. “When you become a member at our club, you understand this is what we do and who we are. At times it can be inconvenient, but it’s something we’re proud to do and part of our mission to give back and help grow the game.”
Haigh says the PGA Championship can cost the organization anywhere from $5 million to $50 million and a third of a year to pull off. Construction starts a few months of in advance of the event, the course is closed to play for roughly two or three weeks, and clean-up afterwards can take another month.
“We have a limited golf window in this part of the country, and you’re taking out some prime days,” Wirths said. The aftermath often includes re-sodding the ground under merchandise and hospitality tents, removing access roads and repairing the damage done by as many as 100,000 golf fans tramping around the grounds. He adds: “The PGA has an understanding of what the needs will be, and they budget those costs into the contract.”
For the women’s PGA, the impact will be smaller, with shorter construction times, less damage and shorter loss of access to the course.
On the flipside, clubs get the reputational boost of having a major-worthy course. For public access facilities that host majors, such as Erin Hills, Whistling Straits, Pebble Beach and Pinehurst, the event can attract customers and justify higher greens fees.
For private clubs, it’s more a matter of pride and promotion. “It’s not about attracting members—we have a waiting list—and we don’t leverage it with our members for dues,” Wirths said. “We do it as a way to take part in history and help the game.”
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