U.S. Ladies’s Open: 5 holes that can resolve winner in Lancaster

A couple of weeks in the past, on the U.S. Ladies’s Open media day at Lancaster Nation Membership, I requested a veteran caddie concerning the defining stretch of this legendary William Flynn design.

“Holes 8 by 11,” he responded with out hesitation.

“They’re an absolute bear. Whoever performs them in even par or higher in the course of the open could have a fantastic shot at successful.”

These 4 holes will tremendously affect the 2024 U.S. Ladies’s Open, which is about to have the biggest purse in ladies’s golf historical past, due to Ally Monetary.

However the ultimate gap at Lancaster Nation Membership, a beastly par-4 that makes its means again to the clubhouse, may even assist resolve the champion in Central Pennsylvania.

So, with out additional ado, listed here are 5 difficult holes that can decide the 2024 U.S. Ladies’s Open:

Gap 8 – Par 3, 199 Yards

Russell Kirk/USGA

In 2015, when Lancaster Nation Membership final hosted the U.S. Ladies’s Open, solely 39.7% of the sector hit the inexperienced in regulation, the bottom of any gap.

A beast of a par-3, the eighth may very properly be probably the most difficult gap on the course.

“Exterior of the eighth gap at Oakmont, this can be probably the most troublesome par-3 within the state of Pennsylvania,” the caddy mentioned.

“It’s like a par-4.”

Certainly, when standing on the tee, the participant can barely see the placing floor, one of many smallest on the course. It slopes dramatically from again to entrance and left to proper, leaving solely a handful of potential pin positions.

However, anybody who finds the inexperienced will take into account themselves fortunate. Anybody who doesn’t will wrestle to stand up and down, particularly in case you miss left.

Gap 9 – Par 4, 418 Yards

Russell Kirk/USGA

A beautiful par-4 that heads again in the direction of the clubhouse, the ninth performs into the prevailing wind, making a troublesome gap much more difficult.

It produced probably the most bogeys in the course of the 2015 championship, however the fairway has been widened since then. In a transfer of architectural brilliance, the 2nd and ninth holes now share a fairway, giving gamers on each holes a broader goal whereas additionally creating an enthralling aesthetic.

Nonetheless, this gap produces loads of issues. Any tee shot that misses proper will both discover the sand entice or, worse, thick tough. Regardless, timber will block out any hope of reaching the inexperienced.

If you happen to discover the golf green, the second shot requires an extended iron into an elevated inexperienced. The placing floor slopes from again to entrance, however a big swath funnels off the precise greenside bunker. This gap not often yields any birdies.

Gap 10 – Par 4, 444 Yards

USGA/Russell Kirk

The grueling stretch at Lancaster continues with the par-4 tenth.

However in contrast to the ninth, the tee shot at 10 performs downhill.

A pace slot alongside the precise facet of the golf green will result in longer drives, however watch out for the 2 sand traps on the nook of this light dogleg proper. But, something pulled will discover a number of the thick, gnarly tough that traces Lancaster’s snake-like fairways.

The second shot performs uphill right into a inexperienced that slopes severely from again to entrance, as distance management is paramount. Not solely do it’s important to keep away from going above the opening, however you can’t miss brief, both. A false entrance will ship any ball again down the slope and into an space the place an up-and-down is subsequent to unimaginable.

Gap 11 – Par 4, 417 Yards

Russell Kirk/USGA

Much like the tenth gap, the tee shot at 11 performs downhill earlier than an uphill method.

The green bends ever so barely from left to proper on this straightaway beast, making the brief grass more difficult to search out. Massive misses to the precise and left will current loads of issues, due to timber and lengthy grass, respectively. However a fairway bunker on the left facet of the golf green will certainly have loads of exercise.

Gamers should pull out one other lengthy iron into this troublesome inexperienced, which slopes severely from proper to left. A run-off space additionally encompasses this placing floor, following together with its incline. Along with working from proper to left, this inexperienced runs from back-to-front, particularly on the entrance half of this inexperienced—a typical ingredient of a Flynn design.

When a participant walks off this inexperienced, you’ll hear them exhale a large sigh of aid, as they now have Lancaster’s grueling stretch within the rearview mirror.

Gap 18 – Par 4, 437 Yards

Russell Kirk/USGA

The second-longest par-4 on the course, the 18th has the widest fairway of any gap at Lancaster. Greater than 80% of the sector hit this fairway in 2015; related outcomes ought to observe this week.

But, the tee shot on this troublesome nearer isn’t the issue. The whole lot else is.

The inexperienced sits about 20 yards uphill, and the opening additionally heads into the prevailing wind, turning a 175-yard shot into one which performs 200 or extra.

Just like the tenth gap, Flynn employed a false entrance on the 18th, which correlates with the opening’s pure topography—one other distinct characteristic of Flynn designs.

The ultimate gap at Lancaster additionally has the biggest placing floor on the course, measuring greater than 11,000 ft in sq. footage. However gamers nonetheless wrestle to search out this inexperienced in regulation. The false entrance enormously diminishes the precise dimension of this inexperienced, whereas the again left portion of this placing floor runs off to the again.

Something lengthy will current a difficult up-and-down, however so, too, will any miss brief.

Therefore, accuracy and distance management at 18 are paramount, however these attributes are required on any gap at Lancaster Nation Membership, which is able to function a phenomenal but difficult U.S. Open check as soon as once more.

Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By. Remember to take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.