(Editor’s note: AmateurGolf.com and Golfweek have teamed up to cover the amateur game from top to bottom. Check out the full list of USGA qualifying sites and dates for 2022.)
Winter presses on and golfers yearn for warmth. For competitive amateurs, a ray of light greets us in the form of the USGA’s release of the year’s qualifying sites. Strategy begins to be formulated, and sometimes it’s simple. Which qualifier is closest to my house? Where do I have the most course knowledge?
But for some, the list provides an opportunity for an experience. A scenic destination, a famous design, a championship host, or an exclusive club. This is the 2022 “Best Of” USGA Qualifying Sites.
Valley Club of Montecito
Santa Barbara, Calif. (U.S. Mid-Amateur)
Prior to Augusta National, Alister MacKenzie was at work crafting west coast gems. In 1928, the Scottish surgeon and British Military legend designed Valley Club – one of 10 California layouts to his name – and arguably his second-best in the state behind the esteemed Cypress Point.
Camargo Club
Cincinnati, Ohio (U.S. Amateur)
Seth Raynor and Charles Banks are best known for their stunning Fishers Island Club – the “Cypress Point of the East” on a small New York island just south of the Connecticut coast. A year after closing the book on Fishers Island, the eventual club pro and superintendent William Jackson unexpectedly wrapped up Camargo Club on his own after Raynor’s death at the age of 51. Consistently ranked in the upper half of Golf Digest’s Top-100, this private club on the east side of Cincinnati boasts nearly all of Raynor’s distinctive design elements.
Omaha Country Club
Omaha, Neb. (U.S. Open local)
Having hosted two of the most recent eight U.S. Senior Opens, won by Kenny Perry (2013) and Jim Furyk (2021), Omaha Country Club’s 1952 Perry Maxwell re-design was thoughtfully maintained while being renovated by Keith Foster in 2005. The course’s unforgiving, undulating terrain is likely its signature element, particularly displayed on the par-4/5 10th hole.
Druid Hills Golf Club
Atlanta, Ga. (U.S. Senior)
Since 1941, Druid Hills has hosted one of the most historic majors of amateur golf, the Dogwood Invitational, with past champions including PGA Tour winners Hudson Swafford, Webb Simpson and Brian Harman. The H.H Barker design from 1912 was carefully restored in 2003 when Bob Cupp directed the overhaul.