Muirfield's design draws inspiration from Augusta National and Bobby Jones. And with Jack Nicklaus as course designer and tournament host, the Golden Bear's stamp is seen everywhere. The joke around here is that Muirfield is Jack's "other wife," and he even gave Barbara a necklace with the inscription "to my other gal" when the tournament was founded 43 years ago.
The terrain is dramatic and lush with rolling hillsides, snaking creeks, uneven fairways, and most shots playing downhill. A vast majority of holes feature doglegs and elevated tees or shots played into a valley. And numerous dogwood, beech, and hickory tree lines can thwart the longest hitters, leaving them with no clear shot to the green.
Water actively comes into play on nine holes, usually flanking the fairways and fronting the greens. Clusters of strategically placed and challenging bunkers threaten serious trouble off the tee and on approach. Greens are fast, small, and many are multi-tiered and set diagonally from the line of play requiring precise distance and location control. Muirfield’s greens are statistically some of the most difficult to hit on Tour, but when you do find the green you're going to be rewarded with great scoring opportunities.
Muirfield's par-3, 184 yard, 12th hole looks a lot like Augusta's No. 12, and its potential for disaster is similar. The tee shot is played entirely over water to a two-tiered green that’s protected by bunkers in the front right and back left.
The collection of par-5 holes at Muirfield are among the most demanding and unique anywhere. No. 5 is 527 yards long with a creek that cuts across the fairway at about 300 yards from the tee, and then bisects the remaining fairway all the way to the green. No. 7 is a 563 yard double-dogleg that’s reachable in two by only the longest hitters, and features a green protected on all sides by three bunkers and a ravine.
No. 11 is 567 yards long and the most difficult of the four. A creek meanders across the right-to-left sloping fairway near the landing zone, and then again in front of an elevated green that’s one of the smallest on the course. And although the 529 yard 15th hole gives up a lot of birdies, potential disaster awaits for players inclined to gamble with two deep bunkers flanking the green and a steep slope protecting the front.
The gauntlet of three finishing holes on Nos. 16, 17, and 18 are pivotal, and historically three of the most difficult holes on the course. No. 16 is a 201 yard, par-3 with a pond guarding the entire left side of the green, and bunkers protecting the front, right, and back. Miss this green and the ball will generally find either sand or water.
No. 17 is a 478 yard, par-4 with trees to the right that cause a blind approach from that area of the fairway. A long iron into the slightly elevated, small green isn’t uncommon when winds are blowing. Deep bunkers protect the right side and back left demanding the most precise second shot for any chance at birdie.
Finding the left side of the fairway on the 484 yard, dogleg-right, par-4 18th sets up the best angle into a large, uphill, two-tiered green. Drives hit too far left however can be blocked by a cluster of walnut trees, or worse, find the creek threading the tree line.
The heavily bunkered right side of the fairway can be just as dangerous. It’s a rugged hole demanding both power and precision.
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