Myopia Hunt

Leeds certainly fashioned an unusual and perhaps quirky course but it’s a layout that is full of character with no two holes the same. An unusual feature of Myopia Hunt is the random almost haphazard use of bunkers which appear in odd places and in numerous shapes and sizes. There is no other course that features such a mixture of bizarre and often cruelly penal bunkering as Myopia Hunt.

In the book Golf’s 100 Toughest Holes by Chris Millard, the par four 12th is described as “the toughest hole on the toughest course in Open history”. The author continues: “A 447-yard par four, it was originally designed as a par five. The tee is set high on the property and offers a magnificent New England view. But even the view can’t soften the hole.

“Guarded on the left by thick woods, the hole features a large rock on the right that blocks the view of the landing area. Given that the fairway slopes from right to left, a fade off the tee is the best way to stay in the fairway. But miss the fairway to the right and you can do is hope. The approach is played to (what else?) a small, crowned green that slopes away from the player.”

Host to four early US Open Championships – the most recent in 1908 – Myopia Hunt Club is one of the most important historical courses in the US. If you are only mildly interested in golf course architecture, this is the one to study. Myopia Hunt Club is yet another private US golf club but if you do manage to secure a game you are guaranteed an exciting treat.