Down To Two

Charles Blair Macdonald was a course-design genius, but you'd
never know it by playing Shinnecock Hills. Macdonald redesigned
Shinnecock in 1916--essentially building a new course--but in 1927
Suffolk County announced plans to extend Route 27 right through
the layout. William Flynn and Howard Toomey were brought in to do
a second redesign, in which they built 12 new holes (the current
back nine and the 4th through 6th on the front), changed the
bunkering on three more, and kept just the green on another,
leaving only the 13th and 14th from Macdonald's layout. They're
now the 3rd and 7th holes, respectively, and here's the skinny on
them.
--David Barrett

NO. 3
PAR-4
478 YARDS

BACKGROUND
Members still use the original Macdonald tee, but Open competitors
will play from a new box 25 yards farther back.

C.B. TOUCH
The dip in the front-middle of the green and the large bunker to
the right.

PLAYABILITY
Tough into the wind, but not too difficult with the prevailing
tailwind. Players should get home with a seven-iron or less.

OPEN MOMENT
Corey Pavin made a bogey here in the final round of 1995 to fall
five strokes back before rallying to victory.

AVERAGE SCORE
(Rank) in '95: 4.210 (T-9).

NO. 7
PAR-3
189 YARDS

BACKGROUND
"The 7th is not as exact a model of the Redan as the 4th at
National Golf Links," says course designer Tom Doak. "It's a
shorter shot, and there's not as much contour on the right side of
the green."

C.B. TOUCH
Nearly all his designs included a Redan hole, based on the 15th at
North Berwick, Scotland.

PLAYABILITY
It's not especially long, but it heads into the prevailing wind.
Players needed three-, four- or five-irons in past Opens. The green
is the most severely sloped on the course.

OPEN MOMENT
Ben Crenshaw made four straight birdies to take the lead in the
final round in 1986 before his charge fizzled with a bogey at the
7th.

AVERAGE SCORE
(Rank) in '95: 3.210 (T-9).

TWO COLOR PHOTOS: FRED VUICH (SHINNECOCK)