1 450-yard par 4: A slight dogleg, the fairway is laid on what was once a horse racetrack, which explains the slight cant from right to left. Two bunkers down the left, present a carry of 275 yards and can be taken on only by the long hitters. The green, protected by bunkers right and left, is open to the front, allowing an approach to run up onto the putting surface.

2 190-yard par 3: Normally a short, uphill par four, it is shortened to a par three for the Ryder Cup, through the use of a forward tee. It means that a small green, usually a target for small irons, must now be held with medium to long irons. Distance control is crucial if pine trees to the rear are to be avoided.

3 451-yard par 4: One of the most beautiful holes in all of golf, it presents a downhill teeshot to a serpentine, contoured fairway, which twists around a steep, rocky ledge on the right. Long hitters will be tempted to smash a driver over the ledge - a carry of 300 yards. The pond behind the green was used by ice figure-skater Tenley Albright to prepare for the 1956 Olympics in which he won a gold medal.

4 335-yard par 4: During his upgrading of the course in 1985, Rees Jones transformed this little dogleg into a charming, short par four. It will be considered driveable, especially in the four-ball matches, though the green is very well protected with bunkers. The more prudent approach would be to take a two iron off the tee, leaving a wedge approach of about 100 yards.

5 435-yard par 4: From a blind drive, the player progresses to a relatively flat, links-style fairway. The objective must be to avoid the right rough, so as to achieve the maximum spin on a short-iron approach to a tight target. Ben Crenshaw ordered softer sand for the bunkers around the green so as to make recoveryshots more hazardous.

6 310-yard par 4: A classic risk/reward hole which presents several options. Clearly reachable, especially downwind, the green is surrounded by bunkers and rough, including a new, pot bunker ordered by Crenshaw. Players who elect to lay up, must be careful to avoid a run of three bunkers guarding the right side of the fairway.

7 197-yard par 3: Innocent-looking from the tee, its problems are presented largely by a two-tiered green. It is protected on the left by a bunker and on the right by a hill, making bump and run recovery shots difficult. This is the only surviving hole from the original, Willie Campbell nine-hole layout of 1893.

8 378-yard par 4: During the third round of the 1988 US Open, Paul Azinger hit his approach to within 12 feet of the hole to have a makeable putt for birdie. Four putts later, he walked off the green shellshocked by a double-bogey. Off the tee, players finding the left side of the fairway will have to contend with a huge oak-tree which looms over the putting surface as a threat to wayward approach shots.

9 513-yard par 5: A tricky par five, known locally as Himalayas, this should become a splendid matchplay hole. A rocky ledge on the right, juts out into the fairway, creating an obstacle to challenge the longer hitters. Bushes and brush, growing freely on the far side of the ledge, have been cleared away for the Ryder Cup so as to encourage players to go for the green in two. But when the target is reached, a severe left-to-right tilt must be negotiated.

10 447-yard par 4: A new tee on this slight dogleg right, demands driver from all but the longest hitters, if the player is to get a view of the green. The small green, sloping severely from back to front, places a premium on keeping the approach shot below the hole, especially in pursuit of a birdie.

11 450-yard par 4: A totally blind tee-shot leads to a generous fairway sweeping from right to left. Not usually part of the main course, it has been borrowed from the adjoining Primrose Nine.

12 486-yard par 4: This is the last leg of a three-hole stretch which Crenshaw describes as "The Wall", because of its difficulty. Though the approach is uphill and blind, it is widely acknowledged as a great shotmaker's hole. Low-ball hitters will be at a distinct disadvantage, given that the second shot has to be high enough to clear a 40-foot hill, yet long enough to carry all the way to the green.

13 436-yard par 4: From the elevated tee, the most distinguishing feature of the hole is a large, reachable pond on the right. And a mound short of the pond can produce damaging deflections. One of the most beautiful holes on the course, it was the turning point in the play-off for the 1988 US Open, when Curtis Strange holed a 30-foot birdie putt for a three-stroke advantage over Nick Faldo.

14 534-yard par 5: During the 1968 US Junior Amateur, 16-year-old Eddie Pearce carded two eagles and three birdies at this hole. From the tee, it sets up well for the long, right to left hitter, who will reach the green with a long-iron second shot. Missing the green on the left, however, could pose a particularly tricky recovery from trees.

15 432-yard par 4: At 295 yards from yet another elevated tee, a service road traverses the fairway. In the 1963 US Open, Sam Snead's drive came to rest in the middle of the road from where he hit a short iron, causing sparks to fly "everywhere." The ball ended three feet from the hole and Snead made the birdie. The road is normally bordered by rough, which has been removed for this week.

16 186-yard par 3: Years ago, local caddies carved their initials into the massive beech tree on the right of the fairway and as the tree has grown, the oldest carvings have been raised up to 20 feet. Longer than it looks, the hole has a well-bunkered green and is beautifully framed by mature trees.

17 370-yard par 4: Three-wood or two-iron shots are likely to be the choice off this tee. Main problem is presented by two bunkers placed strategically on the apex of the dogleg left. In his upgrading of 1985, Jones seriously increased the difficulty of the two-tiered green, especially when the flag is on the upper level.

18 436-yard par 4: This is the only hole to have been used in every championship at The Country Club since 1902. The fairway is still as flat as the polo field it once was, but it now has a cluster of bunkers on the left. Most recently, an ancient elm to the right of the green was cut down. The putting surface is like a bowl, sloping towards the right, front corner.