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

No.13  R FOUR  383 YARDS

This is a classic short par four. Although the fairway has been pinched in on both sides of the landing area for the Open, players should not have much trouble safely clearing the bunkers in the right rough and finding the short grass. But now the hard work begins, because the green sits 15-20 feet higher than the fairway. This makes club selection difficult. Ideally, a player should take one club more than normal, because an approach hit even slightly short could roll back down to the fairway. And that situation leaves the sort of tough chip that the entire field must master to play No. 2.

No.14  R FOUR  436 YARDS

There is nothing fancy about this hole. It's long and straight and requires a smart approach shot, probably hit with a middle iron. The green here is an excellent example of how the many swales that Ross built into the perimeters of his putting surfaces effectively shrink the size of the hittable area. In this case, the most dangerous swales are those behind the green, because the ball that is hit long could roll down a slope as much as 25 yards beyond the green. The two bunkers set 15-20 yards in front of the green on each side of the fairway often are said to deceive the golfer into thinking the green is right behind them. But with the Open field using precise yardages, that shouldn't happen. The bunkers instead will make life tough for anyone having to hit an approach out of the rough, or for those who cannot reach the green on the fly.

No.15  R THREE  202 YARDS

Two of the last four holes are difficult par threes, in this case, a 202-yard tee shot to one of the most severely crowned greens on the golf course. Although the bunker front-left is set so far away from the green that it shouldn't come into play, the two bunkers to the right of the green could cause major problems. If the hole is cut to the right or back-right, then players will have to hit precise fades to get close, and if it is cut left, then they will have to hit draws that start out at the bunkers. Neither is an easy proposition.

No.16  R FOUR  489 YARDS

Normally this hole plays as a par five of 509 yards, but the USGA has moved to a forward set of tees and has changed it to a par four (thus making an 18-hole par of 70). You'll notice that there is a pond just off the tee. It's the only water on the course, but will not come into play. Interestingly, it wasn't part of the original design; just a low-lying area that didn't drain properly. It made aesthetic sense to Donald Ross to make a pond out of it. The left-side fairway bunker won't come into play either, but what will are the two bunkers to the right of the landing area. The player who clears those -- and it should not be too taxing to do so -- may catch a downslope and leave himself only a middle-iron approach to the green.

No.17  R THREE  191 YARDS

Now to the final par three. This exacting one-shotter is guarded by five bunkers -- three in the front-right, one on the left, one in the back-right -- with swales pouring tee shots that are even slightly inaccurate into them. It's never a good idea to bogey the penultimate hole during a U.S. Open, especially when the tee shot will likely be hit with only a middle- to short-iron, so the smart play here may be to hit to the front-center of the green, two-putt for par -- and be content with it.

No.18  R FOUR  446 YARDS

We reach home with a superb par four that plays uphill and slightly left-to-right. Hitting the fairway shouldn't be a problem for the pros, but they will fare better if they can hit a specific side. That's because a hole cut in the right portion of the green is more "reachable" from the left -- although a deep swale creeping into the putting surface from the right can kick approach shots well beyond the green. A hole cut to the left sort of takes the swale out of play, but the only true way to reach that location comfortably is to drive down the right side, and that means a deep fairway bunker comes into play -- and no one can be sure of reaching the green from there. The back-left hole location is the traditional "Sunday" position on Pinehurst No. 2, which means the 1999 U.S. Open Championship should conclude on a thrilling note.

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