Golf

Ryder Cup: Hazeltine National course guide

The Minnesota layout has undergone significant changes for the clash between USA and Europe

A view of the 10th hole at the Hazeltine National Golf Club, the host venue for the 2016 Ryder Cup Matches. Photo: Getty Images
A view of the 10th hole at the Hazeltine National Golf Club, the host venue for the 2016 Ryder Cup Matches. Photo: Getty Images
Mon Sept 26 2016 - 15:19

Hazeltine National hosted the US Open in 1991 and 1970, when England’s Tony Jacklin triumphed, as well as the US PGA Championship in 2002 and 2009.

However, there have been major changes in layout for the 41st Ryder Cup, which will use holes one to four and 14-18 for the front nine, and then holes 10-13 and five to nine for the back nine.

1st, 442 yards, par 4: Driving area narrowed by bunkers and the green has two distinct tiers. Finding the right level, or even the putting surface at all, when coming out of the rough will be a real challenge.

2nd, 429 yards, par 4: A dogleg left where a bold drive around the corner can leave only a wedge. However, a bunker has been relocated to make it riskier and there are more imposing bunkers front left of the green.

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3rd, 633 yards, par 5: The drive must avoid the penal bunkers down the left and thick rough on the right. A safe second shot is played to a flat spot, but the more aggressive play is to hug the left side or risk ending up well below the green.

4th, 210 yards, par 3: Fuzzy Zoeller and John Inman both had aces here in the 1991 US Open. Surrounded by bunkers, the green features a back shelf and a relatively severe slope in front of it.

5th, 352 yards, par 4: Billy Casper called this one of the greatest short par fours in golf. A new cross bunker short of the green enhances the risk-reward character. The small green and some demanding pin placings can make birdies quite rare.

6th, 642 yards, par 5: In 2002 Tiger Woods made the first of four closing birdies here, at what was then the 15th, only to finish one behind Rich Beem. A new tee for 2009 added length and brought bunkers more into play on the drive and second shot.

7th, 402 yards, par 4: Johnny Miller described this as "probably the hardest four-par I ever played." The drive over Hazeltine Lake must also be kept short of the creek on the left. The elevated green is difficult to hold and the lake is on the right.

8th, 186 yards, par 3: The green is surrounded by bunkers and water and the green is one of the most difficult on the course, with narrow shelves on the right and at the back.

9th, 475 yards, par 4: A new tee forces players to fit their drives between the bunkers left and right. The green has three distinct tiers, so accuracy is at a premium, especially if the hole is cut in the narrow front part of the green.

10th, 452 yards, par 4: The perfect drive is to the corner of the dogleg. From there, the hole plunges down the hill toward Hazeltine Lake. Back-left hole locations are particularly difficult.

11th, 606 yards, par 5: This hole proved pivotal in the 2002 PGA. Beem eagled it with a long drive to the middle of the fairway and a second shot to eight feet. It was the only eagle there during the championship.

12th, 518 yards, par 4: Already one of the hardest holes, but a new tee for the 2009 US PGA added 50 yards. The tee shot is relatively wide open, but plays into the prevailing summer wind and the green is shallow.

13th, 248 yards, par 3: A pond on the left, trees on the right, bunkers front and right — and difficult hole locations. Yet in seven rounds Scotland's Richie Ramsay never made a bogey here in winning the 2006 US Amateur.

14th, 448 yards, par 4: The long hitters can try to fly the fairway bunkers, but the left rough there is the thickest on the course. The green is narrow with deep bunkers in front and to the sides.

15th, 405 yards, par 4: Of prime importance is avoiding the woods on both sides of the narrow fairway. The long green sits between bunkers on the right and a pond on the left.

16th, 572 yards, par 5: The shortest of the par fives even with 29 yards added in 2009. During the 2002 PGA most players went for the green in two, but with the pond on the left Justin Leonard laid up four times and made four birdies.

17th, 176 yards, par 3: The small green, encircled by water and sand, is anything but easy. Those who try to play it aggressively, especially when the hole is cut in the narrow front, are usually penalised.

18th, 432 yards, par 4: The fairway bunkers on both sides have been pushed closer to the green, making one of the toughest driving holes on the course even more difficult. Anything long or left could well lead to a bogey.