hr: Golfing

Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn., home to the championship June 26-29, is the longest course to hold the Women’s Open. With five par 5s, four of them reachable in two by powerful hitters, the 6,789-yard, par-73 layout offers a potential birdie-fest to players who can control their tee shots. At the same time, its tree-lined fairways severely punish wayward drives. In short – actually, long – it’s a typical USGA-style parkland course.

The 160-acre site is part of a spacious, leafy suburb seven miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis. Interlachen subsequently held the 1935 U.S. Women’s Amateur (won by Glenna Collett Vare), the 1986 U.S. Senior Amateur (won by Bo Williams), the 1993 Walker Cup (U.S. over G.B. & I, 19-5), and the 2002 Solheim Cup (U.S. over Europe, 15 1/2-12 1/2).

Interlachen offers rolling fairways, 25-28 yards wide, that require precise shot making if the ball is to stay in play. The greens are on the small size, averaging 5,000 square feet, with considerable pitch from back to front. Many of the greens are perched on modest plateaus and require well-struck approaches, lest the ball roll off into bunkers and chipping hollows. Green speeds will average 11.5-12 on the Stimpmeter – much faster than for everyday LPGA events.

There’s a twist to the normal (members) layout thanks to the nines being flipped. The 413-yard, par-4 ninth hole calls for a semi-blind tee shot to a landing area 30 feet below the tee. The hole plays into the prevailing westerly wind and requires a long approach to a putting surface 30 feet above the fairway. Interlachen’s 530-yard, par-5 18th hole is a fine stage for the culmination of a match. The key to playing it is a strong tee shot that favors the right side – leaving a second shot that must carry a huge mid-fairway lake that runs to within 50 yards of the putting surface. Like many classic-era golf courses, Interlachen demands controlled shot making.