Ryder Cup: A hole-by-hole guide to the Hazeltine National Golf Club course

Tiger Woods tees off on the eighth hole during the first round of the 91st PGA Championship at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota., Thursday, August 13, 2009. Charlie Riedel / AP PhShow more

CHASKA, UNITED STATES // A hole-by-hole look at Hazeltine National Golf Club, the 7.628-yard layout where the Ryder Cup matches will be contested September 30-October 2:

1. 442 yards, par 4 Fairway bunkers pinch the landing area. Holding the green will be tough from the rough, wind direction and speed deciding how best to handle a bunker-flanked tiered green.

2. 429 yards, par 4 Dogleg left brings early birdie hopes. A drive around the corner can set up a wedge to the green or find a left-side bunker or rough and spell trouble. Bunkers were added on the right side to test even the safer shots and imposing bunkers lurk front and left of the green.

3. 633 yards, par 5 Avoid bunkers left and rough right off the tee, then approach short or risk ending up well below the large green in rough.

4. 210 yards, par 3 Fuzzy Zoeller and John Inman each aced the hole in the 1991 US Open. A bunker-surrounded green has a back shelf nearly impossible to hold and the front has a flat area. Between is a slope that can set up bogeys even if you find the green.

5. 352 yards, par 4 A new cross bunker short of the green adds to the risk-reward aspect of the hole. Accuracy is vital. Birdies are rare.

6. 642 yards, par 5 In the 2002 PGA Championship, Tiger Woods began a run of four closing birdies at this hole when it played as the 15th, only to lose by a shot. A new tree has made the bunker-filled hole longer and brought more sand into play.

7. 402 yards, par 4 Curled around, and with a drive over, Hazeltine Lake, the hole also has a creek left of the fairway and right rough with a narrow elevated green that will be hard to hold.

8. 186 yards, par 3 Hole locations to the narrow shelves right and rear of the green with a front left bowl and bunkers awaiting errant tee shots.

9. 475 yards, par 4 New tee area has added length and brought fairway-flanking bunkers into play. Three-tiered green tricky, especially if hole located on narrow front area.

10. 452 yards, par 4 Dogleg left with bunkers at the bend set up a downhill second shot toward Hazeltine Lake. A ridge bisects the green and pins left and back bring the lake into play and going over the ridge will be tough.

11. 606 yards, par 5 Long dogleg right. A new bunker fronting the green for those who come up short. Rich Beem had the only eagle on the hole at the 2002 PGA Championship on his way to his lone major title.

12. 518 yards, par 4 A new tee added 50 yards to a formidable hole. Tee shots into prevailing wind and a shallow and firm green featuring a slick front roll away. It's a flat green with subtle breaks.

13. 248 yards, par 3 Pond on the left. Trees and bunkers on the right. More sand in front. A formidable test.

14. 448 yards, par 4 Dogleg right has a new tee with almost 50 more yards. Long hitters can hope to clear fairway bunkers but the course's thickest rough lurks left. A narrow green has deep bunkers in front and at the sides.

15. 405 yards, par 4 Woods flank a narrow fairway that bends left. A long green sits between bunkers on the right and a pond on the left.

16. 572 yards, par 5 Dogleg right on the shortest par-5 hole on the course. New Bunkers have been added left of the landing area to offer a greater challenge off the tee. Players went for the green in two when the hole was 30 yards shorter. Now the danger is greater from a pond left and a green that can be hard to hold when the tailwinds rise.

17. 176 yards, par 3 Par is a good score on a hole featuring a small green, a pond to the right and bunkers left. Pin positions in the narrow front area offer special danger for those desperate to win the hole.

18. 432 yards, par 4 Any match getting here should offer some thrills. A narrow fairway is bunker flanked and approaches are uphill to a raised green. Anything long or left to escape bunkers, especially with pins in a depression in the back right, offers trouble beyond the putting surface.

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