Holes 1-6 | 7-12 | 13-18

No.7  R FOUR  398 YARDS

This is the first sharp dogleg on the golf course. Because it turns so sharply to the right, the green is much closer as the crow flies than the hole's yardage suggests. The longest players, in other words, may be tempted to cut the corner and drive the green (or get close to it). The more conservative players will try to find the heart of the fairway beyond the cluster of bunkers to the right, some 275-280 yards out. That will leave only a short iron to the small, fast green.

No.8  R FOUR  485 YARDS

Pinehurst members and resort visitors play this hole as a par five, but the Open field will play it as a par four -- the longest par four on the course. The line to take off the tee is to the left of the first bunker in the right rough. A tee shot lost to the right could end up in the sandy waste area (which is not marked as a hazard), while one lost to the left will flirt with out of bounds. But whatever the strategy chosen on the tee, the approach is the key shot here (as is so often the case on No. 2). A steep slope on the left portion of the green will swallow up an approach that strays left, such as a long draw. The bunker to the front-right of the green should not come into play, however.

No.9  R THREE  179 YARDS

The second par three on the course signals our arrival at the turn. Most of the trouble here lies to the left of and behind the putting surface. Three deep bunkers flank the left, punishing the golfer who underclubs to any left-side hole location. And if the golfer overclubs? A steep slope and two more bunkers lie in wait. Precision is everything, in other words. Interestingly, this is the only hole on No. 2 where a player must fly his ball to the green. On all the other holes, Ross left an "entrance." There is a small entrance in the front of the ninth green, but it is too narrow to navigate safely.

No.10  R FIVE  610 YARDS

The longest hole on the course may be reachable for some players -- but they will be throwing caution to the wind in doing so. The key here is the second shot, and it is dictated by the cross bunker pushing out into the fairway about 110 yards from the green. Assuming a player drives safely -- left-center is position "A" -- then he must decide if the second shot will definitely clear the bunker. If not, then he should lay up, because the last thing he wants is a long bunker shot from deep sand (and all the bunkers have been deepened for the Open). Should he play well to the right of the bunker, then he may find the rough, and leave another tough approach.

No.11  R FOUR  453 YARDS

The hole location will dictate strategy on this slight dogleg-right. If it is cut on the right side of the green, then a drive to the left of the fairway takes the front-right bunker out of play. If it is cut to the left, then a drive to the right takes a pair of bunkers to the left side of the green out of play -- but also flirts with a large sandy area to the right of the fairway. Of course, with the fairway landing narrowed to only 30 yards, just hitting any part of the fairway could be viewed as adequate.

No.12  R FOUR  447 YARDS

While an accurate tee shot is important on every hole at Pinehurst, it is particularly crucial on the 12th hole. That's because it's almost impossible to hold this green with a shot hit from anywhere but the fairway. The culprit here is the deep swale that runs across the green from the left; it can kick what may seem like a workable approach off in any one of of several directions. That makes left-side hole locations the toughest. The hole will play easiest for a player who hits to a right-side hole location from the left of the fairway.

Holes 1-6 | 7-12 | 13-18