This
hole couldn't be lengthened because the tee backs up to the infrastructure of
the club. So, while it's a fairly long hole for mere mortals playing from the
white tees (421 yards), it's not a demanding opener for the pros. The big hitters
can try to carry the trees from the elevated tee and hit a wedge into the green.
Others will play the safe route, staying left of the trees and hitting an 8-iron.
The green isn't particularly challenging on approach shots or putting.
2
- Yardage: 389 Par: 4
Most
players will hit a long iron or 3-wood off the tee to the narrow fairway and still
have only a wedge into the green, making this a birdie opportunity. The second
shot is up a steep hill. The hole locations will likely all be toward the front
of the green near the bunkers, so if a player becomes too greedy or is playing
from the rough, he could find the sand.
3
- Yardage: 205 Par: 3
Players
will hit a mid-iron to a shallow green.that sits on an angle. The toughest hole
location is back left, where the green falls away from the player and the ball
could easily bounce over the green in firm conditions. It's a tough up-and-down
from the rough behind the green.
4
- Yardage: 517 Par: 5
The
fairway bunker on the left is in play for the tee shot, but the cross bunker is
not a factor on the second even after a bad drive. Players will be tempted to
go for the green in two, especially if they can get home with an iron. But it
will be very difficult to hold the putting surface, since it's an uphill shot
to a green that slopes away and then down to a chipping area in the back. The
front bunker will catch short approaches. If they can resist the lure of a possible
eagle, the pros can make a birdie fairly easily by playing safely to the part
of the fairway that bends to the right of the green and pitching close.
5
- Yardage: 452 Par: 5
Players
will want to favor the right side of the fairway for a better approach; from the
left of the fairway you have to hit over the trees. The huge fairway bunker isn't
a major factor with the distance the players hit it off the tee these days, though
they could catch the far end of it if they push their drive. The approach to the
elevated green, with a 7-iron or less, will be difficult on a shot from the rough.
The bunker behind the green is a deep one.
6
- Yardage: 408 Par: 4
The
USGA has ensured that players will lay up off the tee by eliminating the fairway
where the hole turns downhill some 250 yards out. Without that rough, a player
could have hit a driver down to the bottom, leaving a sand wedge into the green,
if he dared thread the needle between two fairway bunkers or tried to blast over
the left one. Now it will be an iron off the tee and an 8-iron or so to a narrow
green that is closely flanked by sand.
7
- Yardage: 489 Par: 4
The
trees to the right keep players from cutting the corner, making the hole play
its full length and blocking them if they stray to the right. Players need to
fade the ball off the tee or possibly hit a 3-wood to avoid going through the
fairway into the left fairway bunker. It will be a tough par if a player doesn't
hit the fairway. The hole's most striking visual feature, a vast waste bunker,
doesn't come into play for the pros from the front tee. It's the only bunker on
the course that was left alone in the redesign.
8
- Yardage: 210 Par: 3
There's
some room to move the tee back, so the hole could play 230 yards to a back hole
location. The USGA says the hole will be toward the back all four days, close
to the bunkers but not the water. This green has more contour than most at Bethpage,
with a terrace in the back.
9
- Yardage: 418 Par: 4
Before
the most recent tee addition, pros were able to cut the corner of the dogleg and
hit a half wedge to the green. Now, not only will they not be able to cut the
corner, they will have to contend with an upslope in the landing area. If they
fail to carry it, they can roll back down toward the tee, leaving a blind shot
with a mid-iron. The fairway was moved to the right so players on that side will
have a view of the flagstick. Long hitters have an edge: They should carry the
hill and have a wedge to the green.
10
- Yardage: 492 Par: 4
The
tougher back nine begins with a brawny challenge. It's a demanding driving hole,
with bunkers on both sides outlined by fescue rough. With the length of the hole
and an elevated green with rough and bunkers in front, it will be hard -- if not
impossible -- to reach the green if you miss the fairway.
11
- Yardage: 435 Par: 4
With
bunkers on both sides, the drive is similar to the parallel 10th hole. Since they
head in opposite directions, the 11th will be into the wind if the 10th is downwind,
and vice versa. In normal conditions, the 11th is easier, because it's shorter
and the green is easier to hit. This is one of the few holes where Rees Jones
added a greenside bunker rather than just redesigning existing ones. Sloped from
back to front, the green is tougher to putt than most at Bethpage.
12
- Yardage: 499 Par: 4
Tom
Meeks, the USGA official in charge of course set-up, spent a day at the New York
State Open last summer, and he didn't like what he saw on this hole. Players were
hitting it farther around the corner than he thought they would, catching a downslope,
and hitting 7-irons into the green. He decided the tee should be extended back
10 yards, stretching it to 499. If the tee is set all the way back -- which Meeks
says isn't a certainty -- the carry over the fairway bunker is still not intimidating
for the pros at 243 yards, but they will have to aim farther to the right to catch
the angled fairway. This should keep them from having a short iron into the green.
The putting surface has some contour.
13
- Yardage: 554 Par: 5
If
they drive it in the fairway, many players will be able to go for the green in
two. The large fairway bunker to the left isn't in play for the pros. The next
bunker well short of the green isn't a big factor, either, but the angle of the
green makes it difficult to run a second shot onto the putting surface. Jones
considered adding greenside bunkers to the left in addition to reestablishing
the one to the right, but decided that rough would be just as much of a penalty.
14
- Yardage: 161 Par: 3
This
is a chance for a birdie before the tough finishing stretch. The green is fairly
shallow and it's a difficult recovery from either the deep bunker to the front
and right or down the slope behind the green. With a short iron, though, there
won't be many players missing the green. Lengthening the hole by moving the tee
back across a road was considered, but it would have required lowering the existing
tee, so the idea was rejected. The plan might be revived in the future.
15
- Yardage: 459 Par: 4
A
new tee was built about 15 yards farther back after the redesign, but the USGA
has elected not to use it for the Open. This is partly to aid gallery movement,
mostly because the hole is plenty tough anyway. The green is very elevated, with
the fairway ending some 40 yards short of the putting surface and bunkers built
into the hill. It's a difficult approach from the fairway, even with a mid-iron,
and an impossible one from the rough unless you catch a good lie. The green is
the most sloping one on the course, mostly back to front. The front part of the
putting surface is so severe that there are no hole locations there at U.S. Open
green speed. It's a tough up-and-down from any direction.
16
- Yardage: 479 Par: 4
The
tee shot is downhill, so the hole doesn't play as long as the scorecard indicates.
Players will have about a 7-iron into the green -- less for long hitters unless
they hit a 3-wood off the tee. The hole will be located close to the large bunker
on the right for at least three days, possibly all four. That's a tough spot because
the green slopes away from the player, making it a challenge to get close.
17
- Yardage: 207 Par: 3
This
is another par three with a shallow green, and it's well bunkered. The front middle
bunker has a high lip that hides the putting surface from the tee, guarding the
shallowest part of the oddly shaped green, the center (it's only 13 yards front
to back at that point). The new portion of the green on the right side adds another
difficult hole location.
18
- Yardage: 411 Par: 4
This
hole, originally a mere 370 yards to a bland green, has been totally redone. It's
still a fairly short par four by modern standards and not the brutish finishing
hole many expect at the U.S. Open, but Jones added some character and a touch
of difficulty. The most noticeable feature is the fairway bunkering, with 10 bunkers
pinching both sides of the fairway from the 260- to 315-yard mark from the tee
and the fairway narrowing to a small neck at about 290 yards. This takes the driver
out of play. The choices are to stay short of the bunkers entirely, leaving an
uphill, 170-yard shot to the green, or to challenge the first bunkers and shorten
the approach. The smaller green doesn't offer an easy target and the hole will
be located near the right bunker three days.
