A warm greeting to the round, this gentle right-to-left dogleg offers an introduction to the gentle rolling fairways that distinguish the Old Course. A fairway bunker on the right provides a good target, with the tee shot safely to the left of the bunker. The fairway is open for your second shot. Bunkers guard the front left and right side of the green, which is generous, but subtle.
Usually downwind, the demand on accuracy off the tee becomes more evident here as the fairway bunkers have been moved closer to the fairway creating one of the more narrow landing areas of the par-4s. The second shot is to a green that is slightly elevated, with a bunker tucked to the right. This is a challenging hole and par is a good score here.
With a lake on the left and two new bunkers to the right, the prevailing left-to-right crosswind makes this a frightening shot from the back tee, it's merely intimidating from the regular tee. The green is receptive and straightforward, but when there is a strong breeze, it takes courage to aim a tee shot at the water to let the wind carry it back.
Tight and taunting from the tee, this 90-degree dogleg right demands a straight drive through an intimidating chute of pines. The wind is usually an ally on the tee shot, giving one more confidence to reach for the "target pines" about 260 yards out. The fairway opens up to a generous landing zone at the corner, setting up a second shot that typically plays in to the wind and must avoid the large bunker that governs the left side of the broad green and the two smaller bunkers on the right.
A tip of a bunker on the left side of the fairway is a warning sign on this demanding dogleg left. There is a second bunker just beyond the first, invisible from the tee that also creeps into the landing area. The second shot is downhill to a green that is reachable in a classic "risk and reward" sense. Water curls along the right bank of a green that is wide, but not deep, built to receive a short iron. A bunker is on the left, and two new reverse bunkers border the back center and right of the green.
Another tight chute of trees pinches the launching pad, but a driver is needed to get into position on this dogleg left. There is a fairway bunker on the left that defines the target line. The approach is normally downwind, with a bunker on the front-right of an accessible green. A pin placement back right of the green is an invitation to challenge the bunker.
Everything depends on the wind on this wide-open hole which points toward the Pacific. It can be tame or tenacious. The tee shot may be a smooth iron, or every ounce of a driver, sent to a slightly elevated green that is large enough to handle either type of trajectory. One bunker is positioned on the left, with grass mounds on the right, leaving enough room for a run-up shot.
Picturesque and perilous, this gentle, but long dogleg left is considered the toughest hole on the front side. Two bunkers are stationed on the left side of the fairway to discourage taking a big bite out of the corner. The approach is downhill but directly into the wind, which makes judging the distance difficult and brings the bunkers on the front left and right into play. In fairness, there is room to bailout on the right.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel stands as a regal backdrop to the closing hole on the front loop, and while the drive doesn't need to be long, it must be straight to avoid out of bounds left and right. The fairway is open and inviting, with only one bunker on the left. Once you leave the tee, the ocean comes into view, which is reward enough for finding the fairway. The green appears small but it is liberal and there is plenty of mounding around it to keep the approach shot from diverting too far beyond the target.
A pond serenely separates the tee area, making this a true three-shot hole from the tips of this dogleg right. The fairway bunker on the left is the first real danger in negotiating the corner, but the new bunker 130 yards short of the green along the right tree line forces a choice between laying back, or cutting loose with the second shot. The deep green is edged by front and back bunkers on the right, but there is room to run up the approach.
The revised design of the Old Course comes more into play with the chain of lakes that are linked up the left side of the fairway, which provides mounding and a forgiving right-to-left slope from tee to green. Usually downwind, which helps set up a shorter approach, the hole presents a new bunker on the front left that joins a bigger bunker on the right to a green that can be as troublesome as it is unassuming.
A hole only the hearty can handle, but all can appreciate. Wind from the left usually needs to be factored into a slight dogleg right, with a lake defending the right side of the fairway. A bunker on the left of the green creates an illusion of the approach being shorter than it really is. Mounding on the front right cleverly cuts off sight to that side of the green.
The natural wetlands accent the hole, which is often watched over by ducks and the occasional geese that inhabit the horseshoe lake between the tee and green. Grassy mounds provide a natural enclosure behind the elevated tee. This is a challenging par-3 with little room for error. The bunker on the right is a better place to be than the water.
A tight chute at the tee opens up at the corner of this clever dogleg right, with two bunkers on the right shielding the shortcut. The green runs left-to-right and is shallow, but wide. There is only the slightest of openings up front, with a daunting bunker on the left and smaller bunkers at the front middle and right.
A sweeping dogleg left, the tee shot is downhill but must cut into the wind to reach the heart of a fairway. Along the side of the hole lies the chain of lakes that were introduced on the 11th hole, pushing up against the landing areas. Shots have to be low and straight, with the fairway narrowing as it runs to the green. There are no fairway bunkers, just a jail of cypress that lock up any shots too far right.
This is both "The Beauty and The Beast", a daring downhill that presents one of the most memorable - and potentially menacing - second shots on the Old Course. There is a riparian area in front of the green that doubles as a water hazard cutting across the fairway, and presenting the opportunity to make a heroic approach. The green is wide, but not deep, cut into the hillside that serves as an ideal backdrop.
The Pacific Ocean bursts into full view on this visually stunning hole. Its perfection lies in its simplicity, with a large bunker on the left peering over at two smaller ones on the right. The wind can whip through pretty hard from the right, making this hole play longer than the yardage. The salt air only adds to the experience.
A magnificent finishing hole, the coastal vista from the tee faces south. To the right there is only the ocean crashing a hundred feet below against the rocky, rugged cliffs. In the distance to the left is the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, a timeless sentinel next to the green. From the tee, the breeze blowing from the right may help keep shots from straying too close to the cliffs, which border the entire hole. The beach is a lateral hazard, but is best left unexplored. There is a new bunker on the front left of the green, which is nestled between the cliffs and the hillside that climbs toward the first level of ocean-view rooms.