Donald Ross Memorial

Par 4 • 336 yards • A replica of Hole #4 | Plainfield Country Club; Plainfield, New Jersey | A delicate par 4 which gains its drama from the interesting and formidable contours in the tee shot landing area. Pine trees play a key role in forming a thick vertical on the left side of the hole forcing play toward the valley on the right. The small green is well bunkered and slopes to the back, making it difficult to hold the green on the second shot.

Par 3 • 196 yards • A replica of Hole #17 | Oakland Hills Country Club; Birmingham, Michigan | Oakland Hills Country Club is one of the country's best known courses and in on the rotation schedule of the USGA and PGA majors, including the 2004 Ryder Cup & 2008 PGA Championship. This par 3 is one of Oakland Hills' most difficult holes and one of the country's great short holes. The green is 30 feet above the tee, forcing the golfer to carry the tee shot over a crest to a semi-blind pin position. It is protected on all sides by heavy bunkering with only a narrow opening at the front. Pronounced slopes and green undulations make putting an adventure.

Par 4 • 434 yards • A replica of Hole #14 | Pinehurst Country Club, Pinehurst #2; Pinehurst, North Carolina | The hole is pure Rossian. The tee sits atop a high knoll. A bunker is located deceptively about 50 yards in front of the green, partially obscuring it. The green complex is perhaps the most dramatic of the entire Pinehurst course with a series of rolls and contours to be carefully reckoned with. While long, difficult and deceiving, it's not tricked up or artificial. A great natural hole where par is well deserved.

Par 5 • 617 yards • A replica of Hole #13 | Oak Hill Country Club, East Course; Rochester, New York | This famous Ross course has been the scene of titanic struggles since 1934. Early winners of major tournaments have included Leo Diegel, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. The green itself nestles in a bowl, creating an amphitheater for spectators. The landing zone for the drive is ample, but the narrow landing area for the second shot usually calls for a lay up, requiring a medium iron for the third shot. The green is not severely contoured, but has several difficult pin placements.

Par 4 • 402 yards • A replica of Hole #2 | Scioto Country Club; Columbus, Ohio | This famous Ross course is where Jack Nicklaus learned the game, where legendary Bobby Jones won the 1926 U.S. Open, and where the National Amateur, Senior U.S. Open and other memorable golfing wars have been fought. It doglegs slightly right to a turtleback fairway. Deep bunkers on the right force the golfer to the left on the drive.

Par 4 • 336 yards • A replica of Hole #18 | Inverness Club; Toledo, Ohio | The bunkering and the natural contours of the green make the hole much more difficult than the yardage indicates. In the third and fourth rounds of the 1979 U.S. Open, Bob Tway bogied the hole. Seven years later, tied with Greg Norman after 71 holes with the PGA Championship title on the line, Tway again found trouble here, bunkering his second shot. Norman's second hit the green and spun back into the fringe. Then came the historic shot that won the tournament, brought sweet revenge to Tway and was witnessed by millions of TV viewers. Tway's sand wedge shot went into the hole for birdie and the 1986 PGA Championship was history.

Par 3 • 181 yards • A replica of Hole #11 | Charlotte Country Club; Charlotte, North Carolina | Like most par 3s at Charlotte Country Club, the 11th is relatively short. This is the first hole on The Ross to use water as a design feature. The golfer must carry a small lake to reach the green. Several tees located at different elevations offer many different looks and lengths to this par 3 gem.

Par 5 • 497 yards • A replica of Hole #11 | Bob O'Link Golf Club; Highland Park, Illinois | One of its outstanding features is a beach bunker, a long grassless ribbon of sand which parallels the right side of the green and slopes sharply down to the edge of a lake. (Automatically add a stroke to your card if you fade into this hazard.) Sneaky long players can reach the green in two, but must avoid a cloverleaf bunker in front of the green and another at back. The two bunkers were not included in Ross' original design, being added later to make gamblers think twice before going at the green in two.

Par 4 • 422 yards • A replica of Hole #14 | Royal Dornoch Golf Club; Dornoch, Scotland | Designed by renowned Tom Morris, this hole from Royal Dornoch Golf Club adds a wonderful dimension to The Ross. It was where Ross learned his trade as a club maker and golf professional. And where under the tutelage of Morris and John Southerland, Ross developed many of his ideas about golf course architecture. Not as well known as other British courses which host the British Open, Royal Dornoch Golf Club is ranked by many experts as being among the ten greatest courses in the world.

Par 4 • 339 yards • A replica of Hole #13 | Salem Country Club; Peabody, Massachusetts | Typical of Ross, the green sits on a knoll — Ross' favorite type of green layout. It is small, severely undulating, well-bunkered and surrounded by heavy tree cover. Although short for a par 4, reaching and holding the green from the fairway valley calls for a near perfect second shot.

Par 3 • 159 yards • A replica of Hole #3 | Detroit Golf Club, North Course; Detroit, Michigan | This is a short hole that Ross created from fond memories of a similar par 3 at Royal Dornoch Golf Club and which Boyne has reproduced from the Detroit Golf Club. Built on relatively flat terrain, the hole is nonetheless dramatic and picturesque. The green is ample in size but is elevated about four feet above the fairway, falling off sharply on all sides. A large bunker protects the front of the green.

Par 5 • 510 yards • A replica of Hole #15 | Seminole Golf Club; North Palm Beach, Florida | This dramatic par 5 utilizes several Ross design strategies. The fairway is divided into two distinct landing areas which are separated by sand bunkers and pine trees (palm trees at Seminole). The gambler's way to go is to choose the right landing area between the bunkers and the large lake. The golfer then has a chance to reach the green with his second shot, but must carry the same lake again where it necks into the fairway. The safe play is to hit to the left from the tee, avoiding the bunkers and also avoiding the need to carry the water on the second or third shot.

Par 4 • 435 yards • A replica of Hole #2 | Pinehurst Country Club, Pinehurst #2; Pinehurst, North Carolina | Few holes are more demanding than this par 4. It's long by any standard. The terrain is relatively level, but the second shot calls for a strong carry aimed to the right side of the green. A safer play is a shot to the left, a typical Ross escape route which still makes par a possibility with a good chip and putt.

Par 4 • 377 yards • A replica of Hole #11 | Aronimink Golf Club; Newton Square, Pennsylvania | Aronimink Golf Club is a Ross gem long listed among "America's Top 100 Courses". It requires a long second to a small, well-contoured green sitting atop a knoll high above the fairway. Bunkers guard the side and back where a wandering approach is likely to kick into the sand or rough as Ross had craftily planned.

Par 5 • 568 yards • A replica of Hole #10 | Pinehurst Country Club, Pinehurst #2; Pinehurst, North Carolina | The tee shot landing zone is generously wide, supporting Ross' conviction that the longer the shot, the more margin for error the player should be allowed. The hole tightens for the second shot, however, right along with the player. A cross bunker guards a smaller landing area. The long, the skilled and the brave have the option of flying it, setting up a short third. Those of lesser skills should opt to aim to the right of the bunker, the prudent way to go. This option leaves a longer approach, but compensates by presenting an elevated view of the green.

Par 3 • 184 yards • A replica of Hole #8 | Wannamoisett Country Club; Rumford, Rhode Island | Wannamoisett's 8th hole was selected by Boyne for The Ross course. With bunkers located some 20 yards in front of the putting surface, it's a classic example of deception... a Ross trademark that has scalped many a great player in North East Amateurs and other tournaments.

Par 4 • 438 yards • A replica of Hole #16 | Oakland Hills Country Club, South Course; Birmingham, Michigan | The dogleg 16th hole is the most spectacular and most feared hole on the course. In the 1972 PGA Championship, Gary Player hit a nine iron from the rough over the willow trees to within four feet of the pin. This historic shot, which Player said was "one of the best shots of my career," led to victory two holes later.