U.S. OPEN A test of will to win Some players chasing history at Oakland Hills; U.S. OPEN HOLE-BY HOLE DESCRIPTION Hole-by-hole description of the South Course at Oakland Hills Country Club, site of the 96th U.S. Open, Thursday-next Sunday: No. 1, 433 yards, par 4: Elevated tee to a tight landing area framed by bunkers left and right. Green, with tongue to the back-right, is protected by a swale. Rough guarding entrance to the green has been cut back for the championship. No. 2, 523 yards, par 5: Birdie is possible on this dogleg left if the drive avoids fairway bunkers and sets up a long second shot to the green. Otherwise, players will lay up in front of the four bunkers protecting the front of the green and face a delicate pitch to a two-tiered green. Upper tier slopes away from the approach. No. 3, 194 yards, par 3: Usually demands a long iron into the prevailing wind. Two deep bunkers guard the left side. If pin is cut on the small plateau at back of green, par will be a good score. No. 4, 430 yards, par 4: Landing area just 24 yards wide. Tee shots hit right of the cluster of bunkers on the inside of the dogleg can catch the slope of the fairway and end up in either of two bunkers to right of landing area. A safe drive leaves an approach that plays shorter than the yardage, as green lies below the fairway. No. 5, 455 yards, par 4: Another tight driving hole with trees guarding left side of fairway and two bunkers guarding the right. Green is among the toughest on course. Entrance is protected by deep bunkers left and right while the green itself slopes down from back to front and has severe contours and crowns. Creek that crosses fairway shouldn't come into play. No. 6, 356 yards, par 4: Shortest par 4 on course. Many players will hit 3-wood from tee, taking bunkers to left of fairway out of play. Deepest green on course. Putting surface split into two tiers with higher portion demanding tough carry. No. 7, 405 yards, par 4: Dogleg right. Players may lay up from tee to avoid a trio of bunkers on left and lateral water hazard on right. Green slopes gently from back to front. Deep bunkers protect left side of green. No. 8, 440 yards, par 4: Toughest driving hole on front nine has pairs of bunkers pinching fairway on each side of landing area. Lip of first bunker on left is too high to allow anything but short-iron layup. Pitch out is only recovery possible from clump of trees farther to left. Uphill approach demands fairway wood or long iron to moderately contoured green guarded by bunkers left and right. No. 9, 220 yards, par 3: Requires long iron or fairway wood to large undulating green that runs on a diagonal from left to right. With its contours, small crown in middle-right and terrace running along the left of putting surface from front to back, some 3-putt bogeys likely. No. 10, 450 yards, par 4: Long iron or fairway wood from elevated tee will avoid three bunkers that line the landing area, plus the steep slope beyond the bunkers. Ball-catching gradient could easily roll into thick rough. Uphill second shot to green with a ridge running through the center. Deep bunker guards the right while the bunker left of green is relatively shallow. No. 11, 399 yards, par 4: Fairway left of bunkers guarding the crook of the slight dogleg right is ideal landing area for short-iron approach. Long, narrow green is flanked on each side by two deep bunkers. Club selection is crucial on approach because back tier of green is four feet higher than the front tier. No. 12, 560 yards, par 5: Tee on South Course's longest hole stands 40 feet above a wide landing area, with a cluster of bunkers left of fairway. Most players will leave their second shots short of a bunker some 70 yards left of the green and try to get up and down on a green that has a ridge running steeply from front-right to back-left. No. 13, 170 yards, par 3: Deep bowl in the front of the green places a premium on club selection to any pin position on the back half of green. Very difficult to keep shot from bunker behind green on the back terrace. No. 14, 471 yards, par 4: With no fairway bunkers and little movement, this dogleg right looks innocent. But trees line entire hole and second shot to small green can be tricky. No. 15, 400 yards, par 4: Some may gamble on this dogleg left, especially late in the championship, trying to cut through gap between bunker in heart of fairway, 240 yards out, and the trees on the inside of the dogleg. Those taking the safer route will face a middle iron to the green and a tougher line of approach. Saucer-shaped green features crowns and contours, and is flanked by bunkers, three to left and two to right. No. 16, 403 yards, par 4: Safest way to play Oakland Hills' signature hole, fronted by a pond, is to hit the fairway and leave a short iron to a wide, shallow green that has a ridge running from front to back. An approach hit long to take the water out of play will risk catching one of four bunkers. No. 17, 200 yards, par 3: Green sits some 30 feet above the tee and has a ridge running from front right to back-center and a small crown in the front left. Six bunkers protect the putting surface, demanding a high, accurate tee shot to what is normally a blind pin position. No. 18, 465 yards, par 4: Trouble runs from tee to green on one of the toughest finishing holes in golf. Out of bounds left, while three fairway bunkers guard the inside of the dogleg. Another bunker guards the outside of the turn. Long-iron second shot must hold a shallow green originally designed to hold short shots on what members play as a par-5. Anything hit to wrong side of a hump back on the green could result in three putts.

From: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Date: June 9, 1996| Author: RON SIRAK | Copyright information

The British Open is the oldest. The Masters, the only one played on the same course every year, produces the most drama. And the PGA springs from the beginnings of American professional golf.

But the U.S. Open demands a particular kind of champion. The most grueling of the four major championships, it is played on courses with tight fairways, ankle-deep rough and greens quickened to warp speed.

Except for an occasional hiccup four days of brilliant golf by an otherwise ordinar...

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