Shoal Creek

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Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club, located in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, is an invitation-only private golf club which opened in 1976. The course was designed by professional golfer Jack Nicklaus and is rated as the top golf course in the state[1]. In fact, Shoal Creek has consistently listed as one of America's top courses, most recently being ranked #61 in Golf Digest's 100 Greatest Golf Courses and #66 in Golf Week's Top 100 Modern Courses.

1 Tournaments
2 Controversy
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Tournaments

Shoal Creek has played host to numerous PGA, USGA, and NCAA events, including many tour championships like the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championship, the 1986 U.S. Amateur Championship, and the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. In addition, the course has been the site of USGA qualifiers for the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur as well as the Southern Golf Association Championship. Other tournaments hosted there include the 1978 Southeastern Conference Championship, the 1992-1996 Jerry Pate Intercollegiate Tournament, the 1992 Women's Alabama Golf Association Junior Championship, the 2001 Birmingham Golf Association Junior Championship, and its own Shoal Creek Senior Invitational since 1998.

[edit] Controversy

Up until 1990, there were no African-American members of the club. Pressure from various groups prior to the 1990 PGA Championship led the club to integrate just nine days before the tournament. This happened in spite of founder Hall Thompson, who said "This is our home, and we pick and choose who we want. We have the right to associate or not associate with whomever we choose."