The toughest first holes in golf, ranked

Hitting over the ocean to a fairway set diagonally and guarded by pot bunkers, this links on Scotland’s east coast opens with equal touches of beauty and difficulty.

Not dissimilar to Oakland Hills’ starter, this straightaway par 4 doesn’t intimidate with OB or water but still demands two pure strikes to avoid the gnarly rough and cross bunkers.

Gil Hanse’s restoration might have increased the size of the fairways, bunkers and greens, but don’t be fooled, The Monster lives. Navigate the pinching bunkers, pitched fairway and wavy putting surface at this long par 4 and you’ll appreciate Donald Ross’ genius.

Take away the OB stakes just steps off each side of the fairway and this mid-length par 4 is a benign opener. But those white soldiers are there, as Rory McIlroy (who was laying two off the first tee in the 2019 Open) can attest.

Thread your tee shot through the narrow corridor and you’re left with a lengthy approach to an elevated green guarded in front by a lake. Pete Dye watches down with a smirk.

A scoreable par 5 for members, the 520-yard dogleg right becomes a mammoth par 4 during championship play. Before you step into 4-iron or fairway wood approach with the ball below your feet, take in the views of the Golden Gate bridge.

While most courses ask for a full-send driver off the first, Lytham—which last hosted The Open in 2012—demands a flighted mid-iron on the par-3 opener. The trees next to the tee box hide the prevailing wind and seven pot bunkers punish left, right and short misses.

In the final round of the 2020 U.S. Open, contender Harris English lost his ball in the rough just yards off the fairway. Welcome to Winged Foot. If you somehow find the sliver of fairway, knock it on the green in two at the par 4 and maybe you can escape with bogey. Maybe.

TV struggles to show the beefy carry required just to crest the top of the hill, yet Tea Olive’s length isn’t the main challenge. The uncomfortable bend to the right, the deep fairway bunker and one of the most dramatic greens on the course all make it one of the toughest holes at the Masters.

There is no let up on this 490-yard par-4 which plays as one of the toughest holes during U.S. Opens. Miss the narrow fairway left in one of the cavernous bunkers and you’re pitching out. Even the world’s best are often forced to land their approaches short of the front-to-back sloped green to have any hope of stopping the ball.