U.S. Open at Shinnecock: A hole-by-hole breakdown of the challenging course

No. 1: Westward Ho, Par 4, 394 yards

The course starts facing due west. Ben Crenshaw, on a pilgrimage to Shinnecock as a PGA Tour rookie in 1973, was told afterward his 65 was a course record. He didn’t accept it because he had hit two balls off the first tee.

No. 2: Plateau, Par 3, 252 yards

The longest par 3 on the course, finishing with a green atop a plateau that is only partially visible from the tee. Considered a “punch in the nose” from architect William Flynn after a fairly easy first hole.

No. 3: Peconic, Par 4, 501 yards

Winds off Peconic Bay can affect every shot. The bones of this hole were built in 1916 by famed architect (and Shinnecock member) C.B. Macdonald, whose signature creation is the National Golf Links of America, also located in Southampton. The 10th hole of that course is on the other side of the trees here.

No. 4: Pump House, Par 4, 476 yards

A slight dogleg right curves around the service building for which it is named. Like many other Shinnecock greens, it slopes off to the side — every side.

No. 5: Montauk, Par 5, 592 yards

A bank on the fairway's left side provides a slot for second shots to roll onto the green. But a shot too far risks a steep, slick drop.

No. 6: Pond, Par 4, 495 yards

Although the course’s only water hazard rarely comes into play for tour pros, this is ranked as the No. 1 handicap hole for members, meaning it is considered the toughest. The rough here cost golfers an average of .638 shots in the final round of 2004, the highest such figure for any hole.

No. 7: Redan, Par 3, 187 yards

Inspired by the famous Redan hole at North Berwick, Scotland, this was the epicenter of controversy on Sunday in the 2004 Open. The severely sloped green was extremely parched, making it extremely difficult to keep a ball from sliding off. U.S. Golf Association officials to take the drastic step of watering during the round.

No. 8: Lowlands, Par 4, 440 yards

It’s not all hills at Shinnecock Hills. Here, the challenge is getting over and around 12 bunkers and holding the sloped green.

No. 9: Ben Nevis, Par 4, 482 yards

Named for Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland, given the green’s vertical reach. When Flynn redesigned Shinnecock Hills to make way for Sunrise Highway in 1928, he kept only three holes from the original course: Nos. 3, 7 and this one. It had been the 18th before the nines were reversed in 1934.

No. 10: Eastward Ho, Par 4, 415 yards

The back nine begins in the opposite direction from the front. Pros choose either to bomb their tee shots to the bottom of the fairway and face a steep uphill pitch or lay up at the top of the fairway and have a clear look at the green.

No. 11: Hill Head, Par 3, 157 yards

Shinnecock’s shortest hole and potentially its most damaging. Brooks Koepka made bogey here in the final round eight years ago and was happy he did — hitting his tee shot over the green, pitching long into a front bunker, then getting up and down. Some say it’s where he won the 2018 U.S. Open.

No. 12: Tuckahoe, Par 4, 469 yards

On a hole that crosses Tuckahoe Road, Scott Simpson, the reigning NCAA champion and a future U.S. Open winner, closed out Lindy Miller, 7 and 6, during the 1977 Walker Cup Match. It marked Shinnecock’s return to the world stage.

No. 13: Road Side, Par 4, 371 yards

The very public Tuckahoe Road goes through this one, too (although it is closed to traffic during the tournament). The course’s shortest par 4 has an elevated tee, sloped green and a steep drop off the back. 1986 champion Raymond Floyd grabbed a share of the lead with a 1-iron off the tee, 6-iron off the fairway and birdie putt.

No. 14: Thom’s Elbow, Par 4, 520 yards

Scotsman Charlie Thom was the Shinnecock Hills pro for nearly 60 years and lived in a cottage near the tee of this long dogleg. During the 1986 Saturday round here, Greg Norman confronted a spectator who chided him for “choking.” He had lost his lead in the third round.

No. 15: Sebonac, Par 4, 409 yards

The dramatically elevated back tee offers a stunning view, showing Southampton’s bayfront Sebonac region and the clubhouse at Sebonack Golf Club to the north.

No. 16: Shinnecock, Par 5, 614 yards

The course’s signature hole and arguably its most beautiful, it twists through fescue toward the clubhouse. Despite heading into the prevailing wind, the last par 5 is the final good chance for a birdie. Phil Mickelson made one and briefly grabbed the lead and momentum in 2004.

No. 17: Eden, Par 3, 176 yards

With a sloped green and severe bunkers, this is reminiscent of No. 11 at St. Andrews on the Eden River. In his first swing after a two-hour thunderstorm delay in the 2004 first round, amateur Spencer Levin connected solidly with his 8-iron and made a hole-in-one.

No. 18: Home, Par 4, 490 yards

Classic closing hole, challenging, right-to-left, uphill. Made famous by Corey Pavin’s climactic 4-wood shot in 1995. Still, no one has made a birdie here to win the U.S. Open (Pavin made par).