A Major Test

A hole-by-hole description of Sahalee Country Club, site of the 80th PGA Championship:

Sahalee, which draws its name from the Chinook phrase, “High Heavenly Ground,” is cut through a forest of cedar, hemlock and fir trees. Designed by Ted Robinson, it opened in 1969. Rees Jones modified the bunkers in 1995 to bring them closer to the green.

THE FRONT NINE

No. 1, 406 yards, par 4: Demands accuracy from the tee. Any drive to the right will be blocked by trees, and a bunker is on the left 250 yards out. Two bunkers protect the front of the green, which has a mound in the center left and another on the back right to make for some interesting hole locations.

No. 2, 507 yards, par 5: A dogleg left framed by trees on both sides. To reach in two requires an approach over a lake onto a green that slopes from left to right. A bunker is parallel to the left side of the green.

No. 3, 415 yards, par 4: Slightly uphill and bends to the right. Large fir trees guard both sides of the fairway, which widens in the landing area. A large tree 80 yards away shields the left side of the green, which is protected by a front bunker left and right.

No. 4, 386 yards, par 4: A tree in the right side of the fairway 225 yards out, and a bunker behind it, steer the drive to the left. Two-tiered green surrounded by three sand bunkers, and a grass bunker behind it.

No. 5, 195 yards, par 3: Tree-lined hole gives the impression of hitting out of a tunnel. A lake curves around the right side of the green with bunkers on the left and behind the green. Rees Jones added a pot bunker on the right side during his redesign.

No. 6, 480 yards, par 4: Plays as a par 5 for members. Three bunkers down the right side and one on the left. Drive must favor the left side because of a large tree 175 yards from the green. Approach must carry the bunker in the front of a two-tiered green.

No. 7, 421 yards, par 4: Straight and slightly downhill, with a tree on the right 150 yards from the tee and two trees on the left 275 yards out. Three bunkers surround the green, which is undulating around the edges.

No. 8, 444 yards, par 4: Dogleg right, with a forest to the right and three bunkers on the left side of a fairway that slopes to the left. Two bunkers guard the front of a green that rises from front to back. Anything above the hole leads to a difficult two-putt.

No. 9, 213 yards, par 3: Rhododendrons surround the back side of this undulating green that rises from front to back. A large lake with a railroad tie border curves around the left side of the green. Two bunkers guard the front, and the back drops off severely.

OUT: 3,467 yards, par 35.

THE BACK NINE

No. 10, 401 yards, par 4: Narrow tee lined with trees on both sides, but opens up about 235 yards off the tee. Approach drops significantly onto a flat green surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped lake, with a bunker front left and back right.

No. 11, 546 yards, par 5: Dogleg left with trees down the left. The green has a semicircle shelf on the back. Jack Nicklaus made an eagle during his course-record 67 by playing a fade over the trees and then a 2-iron through two trees 25 yards apart.

No. 12, 458 yards, par 4: Requires the most accurate tee shot. Fairway narrows at about 260 yards to two fairway bunkers. Tree on the right side of the fairway just beyond the bunker could block the approach shot right, and a tree 100 yards from the green could block a tee shot that strays left.

No. 13, 176 yards, par 3: Green, protected by two bunkers in the front and one in the back, slopes from front to back.

No. 14, 374 yards, par 4: Short but sharp dogleg left. Landing area surrounded by four bunkers about 225 yards from the tee. Second shot slightly downhill to a green protected by a large tree on the front right of the green and bunkers front left and back right.

No. 15, 417 yards, par 4: Elevated tee with trees lining both sides of the fairway from tee to green. Two trees toward the center of the fairway about 265 yards out narrow the landing area and look like a saddle. Any drive left or right is usually blocked by a tree. Slightly elevated green, guarded by two bunkers, has huge mound in the back center.

No. 16, 377 yards, par 4: Dogleg right requires a layup off the tee. Huge fir blocks right side of the fairway, and a bunker left demands accuracy. Approach must carry a large depression to a two-tiered green. Two large bunkers guard the right front and left side.

No. 17, 215 yards, par 3: Elevated tee looks down on a green with water in the front that wraps around the right side. Grass between green and the lake is cut short to collect balls that miss the green. Large bunker on the left side.

No. 18, 475 yards, par 4: Another par 5 for members, dogleg left slightly uphill from the tee. Too much of a draw could leave an approach shot that his blocked by large fir and cedar trees. Approach into a two-tiered green 120 feet long with three bunkers surrounding the green.

IN: 3,439 yards, par 35.

COURSE: 6,906 yards, Par 35