A Q&A With Kerry Haigh on Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco

If there's anywhere in the country that will host as many elite golf championships as Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco will in the next decade, you'll be hard pressed to find it.

Since it opened last May, Fields Ranch's East and West courses will host 26 high-profile championships within its first 12 years of operations, including some major championships. The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship was held in 2023 on the East, and the KPMG Women's PGA Championship will be on the course in 2025. Two years later, the PGA Championship will make its debut on the East.

In between, there are a number of other elite championships being played, and late next month, 312 PGA of America Golf Professionals from around the country will tackle Fields Ranch East and West in the 2024 PGA Professional Championship, April 28-May 1. The top 20 players from that tournament will represent the PGA of America as the Corebridge Financial Team at May's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

To get a better sense of what Fields Ranch brings to the table as a championship host, we asked Kerry Haigh, the PGA of America Chief Championships Officer who's overseen set up for the Association's biggest events since 1989, about the property and its promise as a host.

Kerry Haigh: Any time we bring our Championships to a new venue, it is always exciting. After our first KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship last May, it made for a lot of discussion and interest. Once players have seen and start to learn how the golf course plays, we are anticipating it will create a very interesting yet exciting venue on which to host our championships.

The architects Gil Hanse and Beau Welling have included very challenging green complexes as well as multiple tee location options that will help us adjust the challenge of the course depending on the weather, wind and firmness.

Haigh: The fact that PGA Frisco is the Home of the PGA of America makes it a very special venue indeed. With our new home building overlooking the practice range, a 400-plus room Omni Resort & Hotel sitting 150 yards from the clubhouse, and a practice facility and retail area that provides fun and entertainment for everyone . . . it makes this place a truly unique and special host site for our championships. On the course side of things, the mixture of modern yet interesting architecture, rolling terrain and Texas winds should help create a very interesting test of golf for the best players in the world.

Haigh: Both the East Course (Gil Hanse/Jim Wagner) and the West Course (Beau Welling) have been designed to be both fun and challenging for every skill level of golfer. The green complexes are interesting and provide a great variety of both easier and more difficult hole locations. Plus, many of the holes providing numerous teeing ground options to vary how each individual hole plays depending on the weather, wind and skill level of the competitors playing the East and West.

In addition, the elevation changes and the relative lack of trees mean that players will really be affected by whatever the winds are doing on any particular day. While the landing areas are fairly generous, there is definitely a better or easier side of most fairways that make the approach shot easier or at least more appealing.

Haigh: Probably how it has been built to accommodate every skill level of golfer. There is a way for the beginner or skilled golfer to be able to gain enjoyment and pleasure from visiting anywhere around Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco, be it The Dance Floor putting green, The Swing short course, the new PGA Coaching Center presented by T-Mobile practice range or the wonderful East and West courses that offer a huge variety of options to play. Simply put, there's something for everyone here.