Hazeltine National Golf Club Course Guide: Hole 1
The first hole at Hazeltine is a testing long par 4
A guide to the opening hole at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota ahead of the 41st Ryder Cup from 30th Sept - 2nd October
Hazeltine National Golf Club Course Guide: Hole 1
Hole 1 - Par 4 - 490 yards
Here is it, the opening hole of the Ryder Cup.
The first tee shot of a Ryder Cup is widely regarded as the most nerve-wracking experiences in a golfer's career and luckily for them at Hazeltine, this first tee shot doesn't exactly require your Sunday best.
Bunkers at 300 yards mean that a well-struck drive that's slightly offline will probably find the sand and they're the only real hazard standing in front of the players off the first tee.
Some may choose to lay up with a 3-wood which will leave something around 190-200 yards to the green.
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The putting surface is well guarded by bunkers and also slightly raised so it's the second shot that is the difficult one here.
The play here for most will be to try and make par which will be enough to win this hole in some matches, and if your opponent makes birdie then fair enough, it is a 490 yard par 4 after all.
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Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: Titleist TSi2
Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1
Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV
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