Golf / US PGA Championship: Hole-by-hole guide to Bellerive course

1 Par 4, 434 yards: An extremely narrow, well-bunkered fairway will entice players to start their round with a one-iron or three-wood. The wide but shallow green has three bunkers guarding the front.

2 Par 4, 437 yards: A sharp dogleg left requiring a drive of 270 yards to get past tall trees on the left, which could produce a double bogey for anyone who strays into them. Proper drives will leave short-iron approaches to a triangular green pinched on the right by bunkers front and back.

3 Par 3, 165 yards: The shortest par three on the course makes up for its lack of length with water bordering the entire front half of the clover- shaped green.

4 Par 5, 556 yards: A lengthened former par four which is expected to yield birdies, especially to players whose shots from the elevated tee carry past two big bunkers which narrow the landing area. The big, elevated green is hittable in two, but its undulations could cause some three- putts.

5 Par 4, 453 yards: Any strokes gained on the fourth could be given back here. Long, uphill, and with perhaps the toughest green on the course. A putt from one side to the other may require a break of 20 to 25 feet.

6 Par 3, 195 yards: A treacherous par three with a huge green shaped like a fat 'S'. It is guarded by water along its right side and a huge sycamore tree overhanging the left.

7 Par 4, 381 yards: The easiest par four on the front nine is not totally defenceless. Two bunkers squeeze the fairway until it is just 15 yards wide at a point 265 yards from the tee. Carrying the bunkers leaves a short approach to a large green punctuated by hump running across the front.

8 Par 5, 581 yards: A long S- shaped par five, which will probably not often be reached in two. Even a well-placed drive will leave a long approach which must fade past trees and fly over bunkers.

9 Par 4, 426 yards: This plays up a steep hill and into the prevailing wind and is capped by a severely sloping green surrounded by sprawling bunkers.

10 Par 4, 485 yards: A good drive is the key to a difficult hole. The elevated green, originally designed as a par-five target, is surrounded by five bunkers and protected by a stream cutting across the fairway just in front.

11 Par 4, 373 yards: A giant sycamore tree overhanging the right side of the fairway and a big bunker on the left make this hole more difficult than it looks. The green, guarded by a pond in front and a stream to the right, is almost 45 yards deep.

12 Par 4, 404 yards: This 'breather' hole is short and relatively straight, offering a chance for big hitters to let rip. As the hole usually plays downwind, most players will be hitting short irons to a relatively receptive green.

13 Par 3, 179 yards: Club selection is vital. The long, sausage- shaped green is at a diagonal to the tee, with the left side much closer than the right, offering a wide variety in tee shots.

14 Par 4, 411 yards: This is the first of four consecutive holes running along a ridge and playing straight into the prevailing wind. The green appears to sit back in woods which obscure its left side from anywhere on the fairway but the far right.

15 Par 4, 456 yards: This requires a tee shot, probably against the wind, which must avoid deep woods on the left and out of bounds on the right. The long approach is to a shallow, well elevated green which slopes severely from back to front.

16 Par 3, 222 yards: A long par three with a very wide but shallow green, which sits on a plateau and is protected by three deep bunkers in front. The green is so wide that three- putts could abound.

17 Par 5, 536 yards: The hole has actually been shortened for the championship to tempt players to go for the green in two. However, thick trees on the left and a stream on the right await any errant drive and a big pond fronting the green will make many think twice about going for it.

18 Par 4, 454 yards: A solid, no- nonsense finishing hole. It starts with a drive through a narrow chute of trees (a la Augusta) and ends with a slippery green sloping from right to left and protected by three huge bunkers.