Masters, Ryder Cup venues top list

Last updated: 4th March 2010

Augusta and Celtic Manor are the places to be according to two recent polls answered by Golf365 readers.

In the first we asked: "If you won a competition to play one of this year's Major venues, which would you pick?"

With a cracking line-up in 2010 we thought this could be close but there was a clear winner - Augusta National with a whopping 66% of the vote.

The rolling fairways, perfectly manicured greens and breathtaking backdrop of azaleas make Augusta one of the most breathtaking courses on the planet and the sheer familiarity - most golf fans would recognise every hole on the back nine - clearly helped its cause.

But its exclusivity - it's hard to even get a ticket to watch the action at Augusta, never mind play there - probably had a huge bearing too.

Whilst two in three readers voted for Augusta, there was still pretty decent support for St Andrews which polled 22%.

Despite the poll going up in the week of the PGA Tour event there, the spectacular coastal links at Pebble Beach managed just 9%.

Whistling Straits, the host of this summer's PGA Championship, took just 3% of the vote. One one level it was a surprise it got that much given the venues it was up against but on another it's a magnificent course in its own right and we were glad that some readers acknowledged it.

If you won a competition to play one of this year's Major venues, which would you pick?

Augusta 66%
Pebble Beach 9%
St Andrews 22%
Whistling Straits 3%

-----

Our latest poll concentrated on watching the game rather than playing it.

"As a spectator, where would you most like to be stood?" we asked, giving four options:

The 16th at Scottsdale, the 17th at Sawgrass, the 1st tee at Celtic Manor when the Ryder Cup tees off and the 1st tee when Tiger Woods makes his return.

Results were closer this time but in the end the lure of being there when the Ryder Cup gets underway was too hard to resist.

The 1st tee at Celtic Manor polled 44% and anyone who was at the K Club in 2006 most likely ticked this option as the atmosphere is simply incredible.

The curiosity of seeing what reception Tiger will get made a strong impact too and being there to witness Woods' first shot polled 28%.

The 17th at Sawgrass is one of the famous holes in golf as players try and avoid a watery grave and that garnered a respectable 19%.

But mixing it with the drunken rowdies at the 16th at Scottsdale seemed to put off most Golf365 readers and only 9% preferred the idea of joining in the beer-fuelled antics in Phoenix.

As a spectator, where would you most like to be stood?

The 16th at Scottsdale 9%
The 17th at Sawgrass 19%
The 1st tee at Celtic Manor when the Ryder Cup tees off 43%
The 1st tee when Tiger Woods makes his return 29%