Designed to present a challenge for even the most experienced golfer, Earth’s natural features will provide differing angles and tough perspectives from each tee. Trees and bunkers will guide the player along the course’s length, while at the same time protecting the ideal line. The meandering, occasionally daunting, water features will be an ever-present factor when lining up shots, forcing a careful drive and constant consideration of ball carry. Earth culminates with holes 15, 16, 17 and 18, described by creator Greg Norman as some of the most challenging in golf. Measuring a collective 1,702 yards, they will offer a “Golden Mile of Golf” to decide the winner of The Championship.
“I think the entire course has a great balance, but the finish will really stand out. I expect it will be considered one of the most challenging and exciting miles of golf, in terms of risk and reward. The final four [holes] will comprise a short par four, a long par four, a great par three and a medium-to-long par five, so a lot of things can happen on the home stretch. There could be a two- or three-shot swing which will cater to the best players—and of course, will be a defining moment for spectators and the television audience alike.”
—Greg Norman
Hole 1 | Par 4 | 454 yards
A downhill dogleg right tee shot on a left-to-right sloping fairway. The green angles away to the right with mounding that supports the front left and promotes shots aimed left on the pin. Bunkers lower right and short with the lows and the green surface sitting on an extended ridge. A fair starting hole but challenging to get the mind working from the get-go.
Hole 2 | Par 5 | 583 yards
An uphill drive through a valley fairway with bunkering guiding through the landing area. Short tee shots collect down to the right of the fairway and force a carry over more bunkering to the second landing area. The left side feeds down towards the green area but is heavily protected by bunkering and a deep low short of the green. Going at the green in two is made harder by the perched green surface and the protection offered by the bunkering, but the rewards will tempt many.
Hole 3 | Par 4 | 452 yards
An uphill tee shot across the landing area rewarding big hitters with extra run down towards the green. An undulating fairway all the way through the green with mounding 40 yards short and a low left of bunkering. A gently-rolling green that falls off left and short right.
Hole 4 | Par 3 | 245 yards
A long downhill par three back into the prevailing wind. Pin placements are protected through the line of play by a strong mound on the left of the green surface. Small, but deep, bunkering short and long right add difficulty; a long-left area collects over-hit balls. Club selection is imperative for successful placement on the green.
Hole 5 | Par 4 | 407 yards
A dogleg right that climbs back up the hill through a valley. Shots played left short of the turning bunkers will force a carry over the greenside bunkers, so the best play is up the right side. After the landing area, the fairway really starts to rise, climbing five metres to the green surface. Anything short will roll back off the putting surface and make chipping difficult.
Hole 6 | Par 3 | 186 yards
The first of the water holes, a full carry par three playing into and across the wind. Bunkers protect the bail-out area to the right meaning the only line is straight at the green. Anything short and left lands in water, right and long means chipping or playing out of a bunker towards the water.
Hole 7 | Par 5 | 572 yards
Uphill all the way to the green, this dogleg right has a creek or falaj all the way up the right side. Bunkers, which are short of the landing area and long left, narrow the driving zone, and the second shot into the green is long, with the falaj bending into the fairway under the green surface. Bunkers left and right and a green that climbs over a ridge and tilts back down the other side to a low behind make this a very challenging hole.
Hole 8 | Par 4 | 461 yards
A dogleg left back down the hill, the drive crosses the corner of another falaj, which continues down the left side, before crossing in front of the green. Bunkers line the left side although the fairway slopes slightly from right to left and guides the ball back towards the centre. The best line for approach is as close to the falaj as possible, to avoid a carry across water and two strong bunkers in front of the green. A mound in the back left of the green separates two small lows that make chipping back towards the creek difficult if you miss left.
Hole 9 | Par 4 | 499 yards
A strong par four uphill from the landing area on towards the clubhouse. The drive is open and free of bunkering short of the landing area, inviting the big hitters. The second shot has bunkers left, right and in the centre just short of the green. A ridge strengthens the right side short of the green and pushes shots back towards the putting surface off the slope as well as from behind. This hole could make the nine, but has enough bite that it could ruin it as well!
Hole 10 | Par 4 | 437 yards
A downhill tee shot to an undulating fairway with bunkering left and a rewarding low for the bigger drive. Depending on the pin position, either side of the fairway has its merits due to a massive bunker tucked into and under the green. Lows left and short make the approach a real target shot and a juicy start to the back nine.
Hole 11 | Par 4 | 401 yards
A dogleg left with bunkers turning after the landing zone, the best play is high on the left side to avoid playing over the waste area and giving a better angle into the left-to-right green. The green itself sits along a ridge and falls away on both sides. Accuracy of the second shot is the key to a good score on this hole.
Hole 12 | Par 4 | 476 yards
A slight dogleg left back into the hill, the tee shot is wide and inviting—turning to the right side towards strong mounding. The green sits on top of a rise and is nestled in against the hill, but slopes slightly away off centre on both sides. Anything short will fall off the green down towards the approach and cause the chip to be blind up the hill.
Hole 13 | Par 3 | 204 yards
A long par three uphill to a green heavily surrounded by bunkering and sitting up high, making it difficult to stop the ball with long irons or woods. A hint of a safe shot left is guarded by another bunker level with the centre of the green backed by a mound that runs into the green surface and divides the pin positions. Tough!
Hole 14 | Par 5 | 626 yards
A downhill tee shot with the distance being the reward. The hole doglegs right after the landing zone, which is protected by bunkers long left. Going at the green requires hitting over the bunkers and trying to use the slope to guide the ball around and up onto the putting surface. A waste bunker runs from the start of the lake on the right all the way under the green.
Hole 15 | Par 4 | 371 yards
A slight dogleg left back uphill, this drivable par four is nothing but risk reward. A massive low attracts everything to the left side of the fairway and pushes up right under the green. The tee shot must be played to the left and, if put in the absolute perfect spot, gains the ultimate reward. Safety short means playing over the low area into a green that slopes away towards a deep low.
Hole 16 | Par 4 | 486 yards
A dogleg right played over a falaj to a broad fairway that slopes away from the tee and will carry the long drive farther. Water in the form of a large lake lines the right, with its presence influencing all the way to the green. Right off the green, a bail-out area sits low with one bunker tucked under the putting surface. Look out for the waterfall that links the two lakes.
Hole 17 | Par 3 | 195 yards
A true island green. Nothing to say about this hole other than to make sure of the club selection. Wind from anywhere will make this very difficult.
Hole 18 | Par 5 | 620 yards
A long hole to finish with water off the tee right and a creek right at the landing area. Bunkers sit short right and left of the tee shot, which is best placed as far right as possible. The second shot can be played either directly towards the green or up the left, as a falaj splits the fairway in two. The shot played right is narrower but opens up the green for approach, whereas the shot played left is easier but creates a forced carry to the green over a large group of dangerous bunkers. The green is raised and uphill from the fairway with the falaj off to the left and a low long and right.
Total – 7,675 yards
