The Old Course at Saucon Valley CC, hole-by-hole
Saucon Valley’s Old Course, where this week’s U.S. Senior Open will be played, has a course rating of 74.9 and slope rating of 141. Here is a look at each hole, including name, par, yardage and description:
Hole No. 1: Saddleback, par 5, 555 yards; generous landing area for drives; narrowing fairway and three bunkers make it a challenge to go for the green in two.
2: Roadside, par 4, 472 yards; a 300-yard drive to the crest of the hill leaves a short iron to severely undulated green; this hole was the toughest in the two previous U.S. Senior Opens and the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.
3: Meadows, par 4, 374; dogleg left, second shot over Saucon Creek to a tilted green (back to front) that could bring balls back to the water after landing with too much spin; fairway rough is among the toughest on the course. 4: Knoll, par 3, 157 yards; slightly uphill; two-tiered green guarded front and left by bunkers; missing long, especially with a back-tier pin placement, brings double bogey into play.
5: Cathedral, par 4, 476 yards; bunkers are in play off the tee and on approach shots to the course’s longest green, which has a swale running through the middle.
6: Sahara, par 5, 558 yards; aptly named because of the number of bunkers in play from start to finish; a pot bunker in front makes it difficult to reach the green in two shots.
7: Plains, par 4, 456 yards; straightaway hole with most problems at the long green with a hog back running through it; threeputts in play if you find the wrong spot.
8: Evergreens, par 4, 426 yards; a dogleg left hole that is well guarded by bunkers and has a humpback that serves as a penalty for less than accurate approach shots.
9: Creek par 3, 210 yards; Saucon Creek and three bunkers bring in bogey or more; the green slopes hard from back left to front; pin placements can make par a really good score.
10: Buttonwood, par 4, 330 yards; what it lacks in length, it makes up for with seven deep bunkers guarding the fairway and a back left to front right sloped green.
11: Plateau, par 3, 183 yards; a big uphill hole with bunkers guarding a severely sloped green from back to front; reaching the green off the tee does not guarantee par; short is better than long; a back pin placement will make par difficult.
12: Surprise, par 5, 615 yards; the dogleg left hole has a hidden bunker on the left side of the fairway to those who try to cut the corner on the tee shot; the two-tiered green is guarded by three bunkers.
13: Narrows, par 4, 454 yards; first of two straightaway par-4s guarded by trees and Saucon Creek; no bunkers. 14: Willows, par 4, 422 yards; dogleg left hole that requires a well-placed tee shot to the right side of the fairway to have a good look at the green; Saucon Creek runs across the fairway 50 yards in front of the green.
15: Pond, par 4, 351 yards; a picturesque hole that can be sneaky dangerous; bunkers to the left of the fairway and deep rough to the right will make an uphill approach shot to a severely sloped (back to front) green that much more difficult to find.
16: Lookout, par 4, 382 yards; hitting the fairway a must on this uphill hole that is well guarded by bunkers slopes severely from back to front.
17: Turtle, par 3, 172 yards; six bunkers guard the tricky-to-read green; club selection key on the downhill tee shot.
18: Biarritz, par 4, 435 yards; originally a par-3 before a Perry Maxwell redesign, the dogleg left fairway is well guarded by bunkers and a deep swale in the front of the green makes an accurate approach shot a necessity for par.