In At The Deep End - 10 Of The Hardest Opening Holes We've Played

Received wisdom says that a 1st hole that allows as many golfers as possible to get their rounds off to a stress-free start is a good thing. ‘Received wisdom' may say that, but our combined experience of 1,800+ different courses suggests that not all of them are listening!

In this article about some of the hardest opening holes that one or both of us has played in the UK&I, you'll notice just one par 5. The reason for this is that we think getting to the green in three on even a mid-length par 5 is easier for most golfers than finding the putting surface in regulation on a 450-yard par 4 or 230-yard par 3. Before we get going, you may also be interested in some of our pet peeves on a golf course, as discussed in this video!

Back to business, and we don't wish to provoke the ire of the golfing gods by suggesting all opening par 5s are easy, but do think that tough opening par 3s and 4s make for a much more challenging start and are more likely to lead to big numbers.

Of course, length isn't the only ingredient in difficulty and several holes featured here owe their toughness to factors other than a need for tour-level driving distance. For maximum effect, we have included the yardage off the very back tees here, but thankfully, other options are always available!

So, from a shortlist of several more than we can accommodate, here, in order of ascending length, is our selection of ten opening holes where par is cause for wild celebration. And, in the highly unlikely event of a birdie, you may even contemplate calling it a day and walking straight back in, for there will be no way to better that for the rest of the round...

The Shire, London - par 3, 175 yards

Rob: Seve Ballesteros was one of the greatest and most popular golfers of all time. His achievements on the course and the manner of their happening are the stuff of legend. Less well-known are his architectural endeavours, the only one of which in England is The Shire London.

This exciting course is one of the best golf courses in Hertfordshire and has six of each par. It opens with an extremely demanding short hole. Playing between 117 and 175 yards, the problem is not its length, but that you are playing to a shallow island green, and it's your first shot of the day! There is some bail-out room at the back, but anything short, left or right will leave an ugly mark on your card right at the start of your round.

Peacehaven - par 3, 200 yards

Jeremy: I'm a bit of a sucker for downland golf and in Sussex I have more than my fair share of it within an hour of home. I played most of these course for the first time many years ago, but one which had eluded me until 2017 was the nine-holer at Peacehaven, which is actually my nearest coastal town.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what is quite possibly the toughest opening hole in the county. Playing 200 yards across a wide gully (215 second time round when you're warmed up!) the green looks simply unhittable. And so it has proved. I've been back several times in varying winds, hitting anything from hybrid to driver, and have failed to once hit the target. One day maybe!

Winterfield - par 3, 228 yards

Rob: East Lothian is a golf-rich county where courses such as Winterfield frequently fly under the radar. This is a shame as, although it is short and covers a relatively compact area of undulating links, it is enormous fun. It is also not without challenge, and that is very much the case at the outrageously tough par-3 opening hole.

Whelkie Haugh is 228 yards from the back tee; the concession off the yellows is that it is only 224. And this is all carry! Most will play it, intentionally or not, as a par 4. The tee shot should find the vast, sunken meadow that separates tee and green, before a semi-blind chip up to the putting surface. This is one of those holes that alone warrants the green fee.

Glen - par 4, 332 yards

Jeremy: Staying on the East Lothian coast, you'd be forgiven for thinking what can be so tough about a 332-yarder? The start of dreams, surely? A simple par – or better – and on you go. Not so fast, for it is topography, not length, that is the confounding variable here. The drive isn't the issue here at Glen Golf Club – it's what you face on the approach that can put fear into the heart of any golfer, especially those who have spurned the opportunity for a decent warm-up (most of us, then).

From the flat ground at clubhouse level, you're required to play sharply up to a green cut into the slope with trouble all round. You may only have wedge in hand but that will be scant consolation as the pressing need for accuracy starts playing havoc with your mind.

Portmarnock - par 4, 417 yards

Rob: Renowned for its firm but fair golfing examination, it is the Red then Blue nines that make up the Championship course at Portmarnock Golf Club near Dublin. The 1st hole is a cracker where you drive from beside the stylish clubhouse and who knows how many unseen eyes peering out from inside.

Head towards, but not into, the three bunkers lining the left, to keep away from the water running the entire length of the right side. Another bunker awaits in the safe lay-up area short left, while two more guard the entrance to a long, sloping green. If the club is awarded an Open Championship, it will be fascinating to see who the first golfing superstar to find early trouble here is.

Silverdale - par 4, 402 yards

Rob: Many years ago, I read a review of a par 4 that was described as a double dogleg. This seemed incongruous to me. The idea of changing direction twice before your approach suggested par 5 all day long. However, there are many such holes, and they're not always the longest two-shotters.

Silverdale is a course that has expanded from 9 to 18 holes and while the opener here is only 402 yards, it fits the description because, for anyone who cannot reach in two, you need to play left, then right, then left again. The fairway you see from the elevated tee is actually that of the par-5 11th. You need to go way left of the trees, through the eye of a needle, before a down-and-up approach. Slightly mad but enormous fun.

Royal Birkdale - par 4, 443 yards

Rob: Renowned as one of the best and, yes, toughest starts to The Open, the 1st at Royal Birkdale is a par 4 whose challenge is defined by its pronounced dogleg nature. Working its way from right to left, you then almost play back to the right again to the green making it, too, a near double dogleg.

The bunker on the corner has recently been increased in size, while the two bunkers to the right of the green have been merged into one with greater runoffs. An already very tough hole is now even more demanding in time for this July's 154th Open Championship.

Prince's (Dunes) par 4, 458 yards

Jeremy: A long right-to-left dogleg with a huge bunker to carry down the left and a naughty central bunker 30 yards short of the green – plus the inevitable risk of some kind of sea breeze – pose enough of a challenge anyway. And then you get to the green!

It's too long to be classed an upturned saucer – more upturned oval platter – but it is hell-bent on repelling all but the straightest of approaches. Putter is the safest option once your ball has invariably rolled off one side or the other, but getting down in two is still far from easy. I have made par... but then I have played this Kent links many times over the years.

Saunton (East) - par 4, 473 yards

Jeremy: Unlike Prince's I've only played Saunton East in Devon twice. The real problem here is simply one of yardage relative to par. On the plus side, yes, it has an elevated tee, but into the wind that's no help as you then add the need to keep it down to the challenge of sheer length. Not easy. Of course, you can venture forward to the more manageable yellows at 387 yards if you have a choice, but where's the fun in that?

My abiding memory is of playing it into the wind on my first visit and labouring to a scrappy double, only to then hit a hybrid to 25ft on the downwind par-52nd and hole it for eagle. Level par after two with nothing even close to a par on the card.

Trump International Golf Links Scotland (Old) - par 5, 541 yards

Rob: The opportunity to correct a mistake may mean that not too many par-5 opening holes qualify as overly tough, but the Old course at Trump Aberdeen has a really strong such hole where you'll need your wits about you all the way to the green.

This Martin Hawtree design opened in 2012 and your first job here is finding the fairways on a stunning but extremely tough course where anything that misses almost certainly adds a shot to your score. A trio of bunkers guards the lay-up area on the 1st before you play up to a raised, contoured green that is full of challenge. Into a southerly, it will play way longer than 541 yards, but will set the tone perfectly for a demanding but thrilling round, where every hole is different.