Getty Image / Bruce Bennett
The U.S. Open is widely considered to be the toughest and truest test of golf. This year it will be held at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Long Island, one of the oldest and most prestigious golf courses not just in America but in the world. As we approach the 126th U.S. Open, it seemed prudent to rank every hole on the course (based on handicap) from easiest to toughest, to get a full preview of Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in all its glory.
Shinnecock Hills GC is nearly unanimously ranked among the top 5 courses in the entire world and top 3 in America. As an ultra-elite private course, one that most of us will never have the chance to play, seeing it front and center for the U.S. Open is truly special.
Ranking All 18 Holes At Shinnecock Hills From Easiest To Hardest
To start, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club was designed by the legendary C. B. MacDonald (1901), one of the most famous golf course architects in history. It has undergone updates and renovations throughout the years, most recently from Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2013. The course plays 6,940 yards from the Red tees but at the 2018 U.S. Open, the last time it hosted a Men’s U.S. Open, Shinnecock measured 7,440 yards from the pros tees.
Shinnecock Hills GC is a par-70 course with only two par-5s, neither of which is an easy birdie opportunity. At the 2018 U.S. Open, the five toughest holes were No.3 (+0.67), No. 14 (+0.64), No. 2 (+0.5), No. 12 (+0.45), and No. 10 (+0.43). These slightly differ from the handicap ratings of the holes on the scorecards as the pro tees are pushed back a total of around 500 yards from the member’s red tees. Now let’s get to the rankings!
18: No. 17, ‘Eden’
Going by handicap rating on the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club scorecard, the easiest hole on the course is No. 17, named ‘Eden.’ It is a 173-yard par-3 which gives the U.S. Open golfers a chance at birdie before the final hole on the course.
Where players can get themselves into trouble is by a powerful crosswind from the left that factors into the slope of the green. Bailing out to the right leaves players hitting a particularly tricky bunker shot.
17: No. 2, ‘Plateau’
No. 2 ‘Plateau’ is the 17th rated hole on the course and will play at 252 yards for the pros in the 2026 U.S. Open compared to 221-yards for the members playing the red tees. It is the longest par-3 on the course and the way the tee box sets up it can play anywhere from 200 to 260+ yards depending on where they set the tee boxes so definitely anticipate the distances changing on this hole each day.
The front of the green offers a relatively friendly opening slot for the players to land their shots and have a look at the pin. But if they move the tee boxes back to 260yds one day then this is going to be an absolute beast of a hole.
16: No. 11, Par-3, 150-yards, ‘Hill Head’
After back-to-back onslaughts of two of the toughest holes on the Shinnecock Hills property, golfers will arrive at the comparatively easy par-3 No. 11, ‘Hill Head.’ It plays 150-yards for the members and 157-yards for the pros and in the wind this short hole is an absolute nightmare for golfers.
The tiny green makes it a particularly difficult shot and there’s nothing really behind the green for the players to orient themselves by so the flag stick plays tricks on them in years past according to the USGA’s preview of the hole.
15: No. 7, ‘Redan’
Hole No. 7, ‘Redan,’ is a par-3 which is one of the most iconic representations of a Redan design. It plays 189-yards from the red tees and the pros will face it at roughly that same distance, give or take a few yards.
The original ‘Redan’ design can be found at North Berwick Golf Club in Scotland (No. 15) and it is one of the most copied golf hole templates in the world, with v-shaped fortress protecting a narrow green that is diagonally angled and protected by a bunker. This C.B. MacDonald hole is truly stunning.
14: No. 15, ‘Sebonac’
Hole No. 15, ‘Sebonac’ is the 14th toughest hole at Shinnecock Hills which would be easy anywhere else but all 18 holes at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club are a true test of golf. For the members, this is a 402-yard par-4 and for the U.S. Open it will play just a smidge longer at 409-yards.
The smart play here is just past 250-yards with a short iron into the green. Wind here is typically left to right, and can blow hard at times, and the green is surrounded by bunkers on about 60% of the sides.
13: No. 8, ‘Lowlands’
The 8th hole, ‘Lowland,’ is the 13th toughest hole at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. This par-4 plays 359-yards from the red tees and it will be stretched out to 440 yards for the pros.
In order to secure the best angle of approach into the green, golfer need to bomb it over a group of menacing bunkers on the left and flirt with disaster there. Then there are more bunkers up by the green requiring another precise shot.
12: No. 13, ‘Road Side’
The par-4 No. 13, ‘Road Side,’ is short by Shinnecock’s standards, 372-yards from the red tees and 371-yards for the pros. The green has a false front and right greenside bunker protecting it.
As far as the grass goes, the grounds crew keeps this one lightning fast so players have difficulty getting the ball to stop no matter where it lands.
11: No. 1, ‘Westward Ho’
The first hole on the course, ‘Westward Ho,’ will play at 394-yards for the pros, just three yards longer than the member’s red tees. It is the 11th rated hole on the score card and the tee box truly showcases how beautiful the property is.
Players step up to the first tee box and are treated to a sweeping view of the hole. The fairway gets narrow right around the 300-yard mark so most TOUR players will need to either hit it accurately or shave a little off and not pull driver from the bag. Going long over the green isn’t certain death but it’s not far from it with a steep run and multiple bunkers.
10: No. 18, ‘Home’
The final hole on the course, No. 18 ‘Home,’ is the 10th toughest hole at Shinnecock Hills so while it’s by no means the most difficult it is no slouch. It is an uphill finishing hole in true northeast fashion and players hit facing toward the stunning Stanford White–designed clubhouse which lays claim to being the first proper clubhouse in America.
No. 18 will play 490 yards for the U.S. Open. Usually it plays 426-yards for the members. There is a lot of movement in this green from back to front so players will need to stick it firm.
9: No. 5, ‘Montauk’
The first of two par-5’s on the course, No. 5 ‘Montauk’ is the 9th toughest hole on the course (for the members). At the U.S. Open, it will play 592-yards compared to the typical 529-yards off the red tees.
This is a reachable par-5 for most of the players in the field. Off the tee, the right side of the fairway ends at 315-yards so players will need to bomb it up the left and then hit to an elevated green with one of the toughest bunkers on the course guarding the right. This is the ultimate risk-reward hole at Shinnecock Hills.
8: No. 16, ‘Shinnecock’
The second of two par-5s at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is No. 16 ‘Shinnecock.’ From the red tees it is 520-yards but for the U.S. Open this hole will play every bit of 600-yards.
An elevated approach can yield late-round birdies which can be stacked with the relatively easy 17th hole. A lot of golfers get home in three shots here and hit their third from around 100 yards out to leave themselves a clean look at the pin. The green is narrow and the approach shot is key if they hope to take advantage of just one of two par-5s on the course.
7: No. 4, ‘Pump House’
‘Pump House’ is hole No. 4 at Shinnecock Hills GC and my favorite name of any hole on the course by a mile. I’m extremely anti-those hats with huge lettering but I’d consider wearing a ‘PUMP HOUSE’ hat from Shinnecock.
For the U.S. Open, this par-4 No. 4 will play 476 yards right into the wind. Players are wise to play from the right side of the fairway despite everything their eyes telling them which says the left is friendly. Then they’re hitting into an elevated green with all sorts of action.
6: No. 14, ‘Thom’s Elbow’
‘Thom’s Elbow’ is the sixth most difficult hole at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. This longer par-4 plays 447-yards for the members but gets tuned up to 520-yards this year for the pros. It is one of the signature holes at Shinnecock Hills due to the series of bunkers that reward players for flirting with disaster by playing close to them but risk going into the sand.
Elevation is a factor here as players are hitting considerably down from the tee box to the green, they then play just a tad bit back uphill to the green which has a runoff behind it so going long spells trouble.
5: No. 9, ‘Ben Nevis’
I personally love it when I get a little relief at the turn or before the clubhouse, an easier hole to put me in a good mood before the shift. But that isn’t the case at Shinnecock Hills where the par-4 9th hole, ‘Ben Nevis,’ is the 5th toughest hole on the course.
No. 9 plays 411-yards for the members and 482-yards for the pros at the U.S. Open. The green sits so high up here that players on the tee can only see a tiny upper sliver of the green which has an extremely back right to front left slope making stopping the ball on the putting surface extremely difficult, especially for any golfer unfortunate enough to find the rough.
4: No. 10, ‘Eastward Ho’
After the brutal 9th hole (5th toughest), things don’t get any easier as No. 10 ‘Eastward Ho’ is the 4th most difficult hole at Shinnecock Hills and sets the stage for a challenging second nine.
Eastward Ho will play 415 yards for the pros. That should be easy for them, right?! Wrong. Players hit a blind tee shot and don’t see their ball land. The approach is staring at a false front that draws tons of balls toward it and the back of the green slopes away. This is one of the holes the golfers will try and commit to memory during practice rounds in order to get comfortable off the tee.
3: No. 3, ‘Peconic’
The par-4 hole No. 3, ‘Peconic,’ will play at 501 yards for the U.S. Open (447-yards for the members). 501-yards for a par-4 is a beast of a hole but these are all long hitters and have those numbers. That is, unless the wind becomes a major factor…
The fairway itself offers plenty of room to land the ball but if players go right the fairway slopes into a bunker. Wind is a major factor on this hole. And there are extreme slopes on the No. 3 green making landing the ball softly crucial except they’ll be hitting from 200ish yards out, possibly even from the bunker, making birdies here extremely hard to come by.
2: No. 12, ‘Tuckahoe’
Right back into the fray after the par-3 11th is the second toughest hole at Shinnecock Hills, No. 12 ‘Tuckahoe.’ This 469-yard par-4 can get hammered by the wind. The undulating green has multiple severe ridges making it difficult to keep a ball in one place.
At the 2018 U.S. Open, this hole played nearly half a stroke over par and was the 4th toughest hole overall for the pros. So it is quite menacing for the members and pros alike.
1: No. 6, ‘Pond’
The 6th hole at Shinnecock Hills, ‘Pond,’ is the toughest hole on the course for the members and #1 on the handicap sheet. It plays 456-yards from the red tees but for the U.S. Open it will play 495 yards.
This par-4 requires precise shots from start to finish. Golfers must carry it 245-yards off the tee and play it up the right side if they want a shot at the green. The left side of the green is flanked by a massive bunker. This is the only hole on the course with a penalty area, an eponymous ‘pond,’ but the pros shouldn’t worry about it too much. Instead they should focus on the brutal green and dialing in their yardages.