Layman's Hall

Chaska, Minnesota

Architect: Robert Trent Jones
Walkable: Very! The club strongly encourages members and guests to walk (and even have fancy pushcarts for folks to use). Their logo is a person carrying their clubs – they’re all about it here and the conditioning is all the better for it.
Highlighted Holes: 6, 10, 14, 16, 17

Hazeltine was built to host major championships. The Ryder Cup, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Amateur, the Women’s U.S. Open, and the Women’s PGA Championship have all been held along the banks of Hazeltine Lake just outside the Twin Cities. Challenging the best players in the world is even in their mission statement: “A golf club rich in tradition, dedicated to hosting championship golf and delivering exceptional experiences.” As a result, Hazeltine is everything one would expect: big, burly, long, and tough. It’s also a few things one might not expect: playable (from the right tee boxes), fun (Layman’s top criteria), and home to eighteen distinct holes, each of which has its own personality.

The property at Hazeltine is massive. Half of it contains the golf course and practice areas while the other half is wide open space, perfect for the concessions, media, and VIP tents that inevitably come with any high profile golf tournament. Beginning in the locker room, guests are offered the Ryder Cupper’s lockers with names still attached. The aura of golfing history is pervasive. The hallway between the pro shop and lockers is a museum chronicling each major with trophies, tournament used gear, scorecards, and writeups, all of which is the perfect introduction for your time in Chaska.

The club has undertaken some extensive tree removal, most prominently on the southwest corner of the golf course. Trees that once framed the seventh and eighth greens are gone and the number lining the ninth and eighteenth have been pared down, opening up room off the tee. The bulk of older trees that give Hazeltine its iconic parkland look and feel around the middle of the front and back nine remain.

The conditions are immaculate. I played it a couple of months before the 2024 U.S. Amateur and the rough was as thick as I’ve ever played out of with greens running fast and true, even on a random Tuesday. Fast fairways and luscious teeboxes round out the experience. While intimidating, the course never felt like it was too much to handle. However, playing the course from 6500 yards is a world different from the 7800 it can be pushed to.

Robert Trent Jones was known for building big, hard golf courses, but what surprised me most was that each hole had its own personality resulting in a bevy of different shots. Hazeltine (again, from the right tee boxes) is flat out fun – and not just because you watched highlights from the 2009 PGA before you got there. There are 6 ponds on the property not including Hazeltine Lake and each one is specific to its hole, offering a few surprises as you go.

Six: All the best holes out here are doglegs and six might be the most sinister. From the tee are a heavy grove of trees left and another further down the right. The fairway itself is narrow and kicks left right about where you’d want to lay up. The green isn’t visible until the hole turns left at which point you see the pond that you should have known about before taking driver off the tee. It guards a skinny diagonal green with bunkers positioned behind to make a shot back toward the water a concern. At 405 from the back it’s not a long hole but makes up for it with every little trick in the bag. Don’t take my word for it – it was the 5th hardest hole at the 2002 PGA.

Ten: While the sixteenth may be the most photographed hole on the course, the tenth is far and away my favorite. From the tee, the fairway is in view out to the corner at which point it inexplicably disappears. The aggressive golfer will take it right over the corner as to cover the bunkers is to catch a dramatic hill that will kick the ball down leaving a wedge in. The green butts up against the lake with the signature peninsula looming behind.

Fourteen: So begins the Y.E. Yang Wanamaker walking tour. His chip in on the short par four kicked off his run that took down Tiger in his prime. From the tee you’ll hit through a chute into a coliseum of trees. Fairway bunkers left and right sit ready to catch aggressive shots that are ever slightly off line. The length and wooded feel of the hole is somehow different than anything else we’ve played so far and may lull you into a false sense of security, but keep your wits and you too may begin your charge.

Sixteen: From the tee, all you can see is the lake. If you do look left, that creek is a lot more in play than you thought. And the entire hole drifts slightly right, and there’s not much room to let the ball run. If you’re here on sixteen, enjoy it. Hit a ball somewhere you can find it before you cross the Payne Stewart bridge to take another terrifying shot out onto the green.

Seventeen: Two ponds, four bunkers, and the subtlest two tiered green protect this par three and make you wonder how anyone could keep their composure trying to win a major.

Final Thoughts

Despite my love for options, width, and strategy, I adored Hazeltine. The holes are varied, distinct, and laid out over rolling Minnesota ground. The big old trees enhance an excellent challenge and are a critical part of the ambiance that creates Hazeltine’s hallowed ground. The club recently released their long-range plan to be fittingly executed by Ryder Cup victor Davis Love III. It includes the addition of a ten hole par three course, a 32,000 square foot putting course, an indoor golf facility (brilliant addition for any club north of the 45th parallel), and on-site lodging for out of town visitors. While the USGA’s new U.S. Open rotation and the PGA’s move to spring may dampen the Hazeltine’s opportunities to host many more men’s majors, the club’s future is bright.

Further Reading:

Hazeltine’s long-range vision
2009 PGA Championship – Tiger vs. Y.E.
Top100GolfCourses – Hazeltine
Golf Course Gurus – Hazeltine