GLENEAGLES – PGA CENTENARY COURSE – HOLE-BY-HOLE WITH ANDREW JOWLETT, HEAD PROFESSIONAL

1st Broken Brae 426 yards                         

A relatively benign par four but then that might be slightly different when you’ve got 45,000 people screaming your name at the start of a Ryder Cup match.   It’s all about the position of the tee shot and at 426-yards, it is not overly long so a lot of the guys could be hitting fairway or rescue clubs to leave the ball on the top level of the fairway.  Depending on where they put the flag, it is a pretty well protected green with a deep bunker front right and a run-off back left and these were introduced two years ago as part of the design changes.

It’s a hole you can attack and a good chance to make birdie and maybe go 1up on your opponent.

2^nd – Wester Greenswells – Par 5 – 516 yards

A good dog-leg right-to-left hole with a bunker left-side at the corner of the dog-leg but most of the guys will play right of that.  The green is reachable in two but like anything in Scotland that will depend on the weather and wind conditions so guys will go in with either long irons or fairway woods.

There is water front left of the green and bunkers also front left and right with a grass run-off at the back of the green.

It’s a good two-tier green with a back left pin position requiring a very accurate shot.   A definite birdie chance and during previous championships we’ve seen a few eagles, as well.   So in match-play there is a safety net in playing this hole to gather a little bit back.

3^rd – Schiehallian – Par 4 – 431 yards.

This is one of the highest points of the course with an elevated tee and quite a demanding uphill tee shot though not overly demanding in length but needing to avoid the two bunkers down the right side at all costs.

The rough is very punishing if you miss the fairway and a fair chance you may have to wedge out.

Then you have an uphill second shot where you can’t see the bottom of the pin and hitting to a well-guarded green and then  hitting in with a mid or short iron, so another good chance for a birdie.

4^th – Gowden Beastie – Par 3 – 239 yards

First of the par threes but, as it previous championships, very rarely will they play this hole off the back tees at 239 yards given its uphill and into the prevailing winds, so it will be more like off the 211 yards mark.

It will be a ‘longish’ iron and you won’t be getting away with hitting anything too ‘mid’ in there.

There’s now a big cavernous bunker that has replaced a waste bunker but then it’s a huge target green-wise from front to back and about 35-yards in length.  The left side of this two-tier green is well protected by the bunker.

It’s a hole that will make the players work and it’s very much a critical hole that could easily start to set the tone of a Ryder Cup match.

5^th – Crookit Cratur – Par 4 – 461 yards.

This is the signature hole on the front nine sitting in a more mature part of the golf course, and one Jack Nicklaus’ consistent traits in his designs in that he makes you have to shape the ball, and in this case right-to-left off the tee.

The players will be hitting 3-wood and get the ball working down that right to left path.  There’s a big overhanging tree down the left side, so the key is to get the ball down tight to that tree as it then shortens the hole whereas the right side is the safer side.

The green is very well guarded with marshland short and right and a bunker left and right.   So if the pin is back right then it will mean a right-to-left tee shot and then a left-to-right second shot.   If it’s back left then it could be a draw shot and second draw to the green.

6^th – Mickle Skelp – Par 3 – 201 yards.

This is a really well-framed hole with trees down the right and water in front.

It was one of the greens altered two years ago as it used to have a severe ridge in the middle, so while it still has a slight rise it has been flattened dramatically to offer more flexibility in pin positions whereas before you really only had one pin position.

There is quite a cavernous bunker down the left side and if the wind gusts, as it can there, then it will catch you out but if a player is well on his game and can feel he can ‘flight’ the ball then it offers a good chance for birdie.

7^th – Larch Gaat – Par 4 – 468 yards

This was one of the first redesigns as it used to be a straight away par four that played over a hump to a blind green but it is now a slight dog-leg left-to-right almost to an ‘infinity’ green as the hole falls off almost into the landscape.

Position off the tee is key but then some guys might decide to hit 3-wood at the left-hand bunker at the corner of the dog-leg and keep out of the way of the right bunker.  However in match-play format you might get players being more aggressive and hitting over the right-hand bunker.  If so, that would see them going into the green with a wedge.

The green is well-guarded with run offs including some really penal rough if you miss it left while there is a big bank on the right.

I wouldn’t say an easy birdie chance but again a pretty testing and reasonably strong par four.

8^th – Siddin’ Braws – Par 4 – 419 yards.

A great match-play hole.   A strong dog-left with bunkers all the way down the left side of the fairway and with most taking on the bunkers.

Depending on the wind direction you can really aggressive if it’s off the right and take on the green but then it is late September in Scotland so you might get all that run down to the green.

But then it’s a strategic hole and you might get others who play short and right to the fat part of the fairway.

9^th – Crook O’Moss – Par 5 – 618 yards.

A strong par five with a new tee constructed three years ago that extended the hole to 618 yards but the biggest change two years ago was removing a long waste bunker that ran parallel with the water right up to the green.  That was replaced with pot bunkers put in across the fairway while the water edged in a bit more.

It is a quite a demanding tee shot with a bunker right and two bunkers left.  Many will aim at the two bunkers and ‘slide’ it to the middle of the fairway.

From that point is might be a slight downhill second shot with the opportunity, if you fade the ball, to go for the green or it is into the wind there’s the pot bunkers you have to avoid so it’s down to position where to lay up.

However it the organisers feel that at 618-yards into the wind, and it’s not going to offer maybe the excitement they are after, then they may move the tee up to the 564-yards mark but it will still be on the brink in having to hit two good golf shots. So there is options to move the tees around.

So it’s now a great hole and now sits better with the whole of Gleneagles as it’s got a greater synergy to Scottish golf whereas before having a waste bunker that didn’t quite fit the course.

Out – 3517 yards

10^th – Sleekit Hawe – Par 3 – 208 yards.

The inward nine gets underway with a really good par three playing downhill to a two-tier green with bunkers front left and front right and a grass swale back left.

It’s all about ball flight and spin control for the Ryder Cup players.  If it is gusting then they will play that knock-down three-quarter shot to take a bit of spin off the ball.

It’s a hole they can attack with a mid to long iron as it offers a good birdie chance.

11^th – Laich Burn – Par 4 – 350 yards

Not a long hole but very much a strategic left-to-right dog-leg uphill hole.  Predominantly you would hit a rescue club or long iron to leave yourself a short club in.  There is a little burn in front of the green and slope off the green so any second shot miss hit or spinning dramatically will spin into the water.

Where the burn is negates anyone going for the green in one and I’ve not seen anyone in championship play go for the green in one but then the likes of Bubba Watson or Rory McIlroy may want to have a bit of fun in the practice rounds.

So it’s all about what club you feel comfortable, whether it’s a wedge or 9-iron, for that important second shot.

12^th – Carn Mairg – Par 4 – 445 yards

This used to be a relatively short par five but now a stronger straight away par four.  There is bunkers down the right side and exceptional penal rough on the left side.  So it’s all about hitting it down on the right traps and turning the ball back to the fairway.

There is a redeveloped green complex has a bunker front left and a two-tiered green with some grass run offs, so it’s all about yardage control with your second shot.

The 12^th and 13^th holes are a little more open than other parts of the course so wind gusts could catch some out and that information gathering from you and your caddy is going to be vital for being on the money and dialling in for that second shot.

13^th – Wimplin Wynd – Par 4 – 481 yards.

This is the strongest par four on the course.  The new design has been in play for two years and basically a pretty hard dog-leg right-to-left hole with thick rough down the left and bunkers down the right.

You should be looking to turn the ball off the bunkers but that will leave you facing a pretty strong and aggressive second shot.

Again a little bit of an infinity green tough it is raised front to back but then it drops off to giving a view into the horizon.

So it’s not an easy hole by any stretch of the imagination and like the 5^th hole, if you make par here then you should generally happy.

14^th – Nebit Knowe – Par 4 – 320 yards.

Now we’re getting to the critical part of the home stretch and being slightly biased we have a great closing five holes for either stroke-play or match-play format.

It’s a driveable par four and usually into the slightly prevailing win.  It used to be a par three and we’ve kept the par three green and the recent changes include taking out the back bunkers and making them into green run-offs.

There is bunkers on the front part of the green so you need to flight it in there, as well.

But then for the guys who decide to go for it, it’s not an easy green to get your ball to sit.   So you maybe will have to flight it slightly higher and softer than normal so when it lands it you do have an eagle putt attempt. So it’s not smack driver and make the green.

Though if you want bump and run it with a putter, and like Martin Kaymer did at Pinehurst, then there is that option.

But it is one of those ‘must’ match-play holes that will really get the excitement going and the hole has a nice little amphitheatre and gladiator feel to it too, so the crowd will certainly be entertained.

15^th – Ochil Sicht – Par 4 – 463 yards

This hole is downhill dog-leg left-to-right but left is basically ‘no go’ where there is big banking and deep rough, and a water hazard if you go dramatically left.

There is a little bunker on the right side at the corner of the dog-leg and even though it measures 463-yards some guys will use fairway wood to shape it off that corner.

You are then hitting your approach shot to the longest and narrowest green on the golf course with the protection of some bunkers on the right side.

It is almost a three tier green that is raised at the front and drops down in the middle and is raised again at the back.

So it’s all about second shot control as the wind can whip across there and you have to be playing it from the fairway.

16^th – Lochlan Loup – Par 5 – 543 yards

A great golf hole with water involved that makes it exciting.  The first bunker doesn’t come into play other than being quite a good aiming point.   Anything down the left side will run out a bit more for you and give you more yardage whereas the right side there’s big bunkers you have to avoid.

When Tommy Fleetwood won last year’s Johnnie Walker he made an eagle three by hitting a towering rescue club to a left-side pin.

The water doesn’t really come into play as it’s more there as a mental aspect for the amateur players.

If it is into the wind then the hole is a tough two-shots to a pretty undulating green, and there’s sections on the green that can catch players out.

If you one or two down in your match it is a hole where you can get aggressive and maybe pick up a hole on your opponent but it also can be a match winning hole and you can score anything from a three to a six.

17^th – Ca’Canny – Par 3 – 194 yards

This is a classic par three that will attract a large crowd.   The wind tends to gust around this part of the course and where you’re on the tee having to deal with the pressure of shaping your shot into a great green and with plenty of pin positions.

It’s a two tier green with a little shelf that runs from around mid-right to back right.  If you get on the wrong level that will make putting tough.

So they can tuck the pin away here in some pretty nasty spots and depending on how evil the organisers want to get.

And the great viewing point allows you can sit around the 17 green and you’re 50 yards from the 10^th green and you’ve got the 11^th tee and the 18^th tee.

18^th – Dun Roamin’ – Par 5 – 513 yards

Definitely the most dramatic of all the changes.  It would be fair to say the previous 18^th  had a terrible atmosphere and didn’t give the course the finish it deserved.

You’ve now got a full stadium hole where the crowd can line it from basically tee up to and around the green.

There will be a phenomenal atmosphere if any of the matches come down to this last hole as it is a great example of a risk and reward par five.

It’s not overly long at 513 yards that plays uphill with a bit of a dog-leg left-to-right and trying to avoid a bunker down the right side, so try to tuck it in as close to there as you can.

The approach shot can be anything from a rescue club to a long iron to a magnificent three tiered green.

It needs to be an exceptionally accurate shot because if you play two great shots there is the opportunity to end the match with an eagle.   But if you are slightly off it will be an amazing test of your short game.

Hopefully, the Europeans will not need to play the 18^th but if the final putt to win the Ryder Cup comes down to the final green on the Sunday then what a theatre the 18^th green will provide.

Out – 3779 yards

Total yardage – 7296 yards