Major player

It wasn’t as if Joey Hines awoke one morning and discovered his own white whale. That’s not how Hines decided to make it his quest to play every existing golf course that has hosted a major championship, not just in the United States but including Open Championship venues.

Like a lot of things, it just kind of happened.

One major-championship course became two and two became 10 and before long, he was closing in on 50. That’s when it got serious.

“When I look back on it, it defies logic. But it has been a major piece of my golf puzzle,” Hines said recently, just days before retiring as head pro at Cape Fear Country Club in North Carolina after 32 years there.

The number is 119. That’s how many major-championship courses are still around. And Hines has played every one of them.

There is a twist to that number. It will increase to 120 next summer when Los Angeles Country Club hosts its first U.S. Open.

Hines has been there, played that.

Los Angeles Country Club Bill Hornstein, USGA

So let’s get back to how this w...