DoglegDogleg may be the most commonly used feature among the arsenal of tricks that architects use to add interest to a golf hole. Doglegs can be used to put premium on driving accuracy by forcing the players to challenge the corner (usually heavily defended) to get a better attacking angle to the green or cut off a great deal of required distance. Doglegs can also be used to put additional pressure on approach shots by requiring difficult carries or shot shaping around vertical hazards (usually trees).
Many architects use doglegs to fight against ever increasing driving distance by forcing players to shape their drives or risk running out of fairways.
Unfortunately, it is so often used in such bland or pointless ways that most golfers don’t even recognize the strategic elements that doglegs provide. Most just assume that the hole is crooked just to fit within the angled space of the available land.
Which is too bad, because doglegs, when properly designed, are exciting and exhilarating. They exercise the mind in a way that a normal straight hole cannot. A golfer should celebrate whenever a crooked path is laid ahead.
Changes for the US OpenThe biggest change made is that #13 is now a very long par 4, instead of a reacheable par 5. There was really no way to add additional distance to this hole to reach the required length (600 yards) for a proper US Open par 5. This, in practice, is not a huge change as the strategy on how to play this hole has not changed.
To accommodate the new par 4 status, the green was modified to better accept long approaches. The front slope (L) coming down from the left has been softened and internal contour was modified to keep the long approaches on the green. The large collection area on the left of the green (N, behind the slope) has been reduced.
Tee Shot
This is officially the widest landing zone for US Open. At 105 yards, one would think it would be almost impossible for a US Open participant to miss this fairway. However, if there was a Vegas bet on the percentage of drives that hit the fairway, I would bet the under. In fact, I may bet the house.
The tee is oriented to point towards the left edge of the fairway where you will run out of room at about 300 yards. The wide section of the fairway is obscured by a tall dune peak (D). To hit the ideal part of the landing zone (C), you must challenge the dune.
The fairway has a left to right slope, kicking most drives towards the hole. There is a ridge that runs lengthwise that bisects the fairway into two areas; the high side (B) and the low side (C). An ideal drive will land near the ridge, which will guide the ball towards the fairway bunker (G). If you are not careful and overcook your fade, you can easily end up in the bunker.
If you hook your ball more than you intended, there is a good chance that your drive will run out of fairway and end up in the rough (A). This will be doubly so if USGA moves up the tee a little to encourage more players to go for the open neck (H).
If the tee is moved up, a long hitter may think about trying to cut the corner even more and aim for the fairway bunker (instead of going for the neck). If you can land around where the hazard are begins (E), you may end up with a flat lie on firm sand with only about 160 yards left to go. As long as you avoid the wrong side of the dune (F), this is a viable strategy – Damn the 105 yard wide fairway!
Approach ShotIf missed the fairway long (A), you are looking at a 220+ yard shot out of thick rough. You need to be realistic about your chance of hitting the green from here. The smart play is to layup short of the large bunker guarding the green (Q).
If you are going for the green (from rough of fairway), your number one goal is to hit it long enough to avoid the front bunker (Q). It is deep, it is nasty, and green is so deep that it will require some very good distance control coming out of the bunker. You do not want to be in hit. Missing the green to the right (K) or long (O) is a far better outcome.
If you are on the high side of the fairway, you are looking at a very long approach of 200 to 240 yards. To hold the green from here, you will have to kill your speed by hitting the upslope on the left (I). Bouncing short of the green here will kill some speed and the slope coming down from the left will guide your approach towards the green. However, if this shot is not precise, it will either end up in the slopes (M) or lose too much momentum and get sucked back to the bunker (Q). Hitting a high fade that lands somewhere in the front of the green will probably run through the green and end up in the collection area to the right. Hitting this green from so far will not be easy.
If you stopped just short of the fairway bunker (C), you have the best chance to hold the green. First, you should have 200 or less yards to the green and you have a more favorable angle to the green where you may be able to use the slope on the left as a backstop or land short of the green (J) and let the ball run up. This is where you want to be hitting your approach shots.
If you hit a bomb and somehow end up in the neck (H), congratulations as any high hit mid-iron (or less) should be able to hold the green easily.
Around the Green
Your biggest problem around the green will be from the greenside bunker just short of the green (Q). The putting surface is about 15 feet above you and is completely blind. The green complex is about 40 yards deep, so you could be aiming anywhere from 30 to 70 yards out of this bunker. This is going to be a very , very difficult bunker shot.
If you get stuck in the left slopes, you don’t have it much better. If the pin in in the front half, you have absolutely no chance of aiming at the pin as everything runs away from you and you will not be able to hold the green. It is better to aim for the back half so that you can putt on your next shot. There is an option to use the little bowl in the left (N) to direct your ball back to the middle of the green. But that will take a great deal of imagination.
Many will be looking up from the collection area on the right (K). From here, you have a lot of different options. If the pin is far away, a high wedge will be a popular choice. You will also see many bump and run as slope to the green is not too severe. If the pin is in the front and close, using a putter would be a good choice.
Putting
The green is like a very mild Biarritz; the front and back half of the green is separated by a very shallow dip in the middle of the green.
The most difficult pin position on the green is middle of the back plateau (4). There is a small flat area above all other features. Putting to this spot from the middle will be scary as a long miss will end up in the collection area in the back off the green.
The front left pin (1) will be almost impossible as you cannot hold a long approach here and you will be putting back from somewhere middle of the green. There is a severe break caused by the slope coming down and anything past the hole will go down the false front to the greenside bunker.
The front right (2) will be easier in comparison as you have a flatter lie. But the subtle slope coming back from the collection area will compete against the slope coming down from the left and many will feature a double break.
The middle right will be the easiest pin here and most approaches will end up in the back half of the green and most of the internal contours on this green is on the left side.
This is the kind of a hole where you should expect a bogey and smile and walk off quickly when you get a par.