Alex Elias
Boston Golf Club
Designed by Gil Hanse, the opening Par-5 at Boston Golf Club plays 510 yards from the Championship tees and 475 yards from the Member tees, featuring a blind tee shot and an elevated green. If one decides to go for the green in two, one will have an uphill shot off a downhill lie.
Castle Pines Golf Club
Although the listed yardage is 644 yards from the International tees and 600 yards from the Combo tees, the opening Par-5 at Castle Pines Golf Club can be comfortably reached in two, as No. 1 plays downhill at 6,220 feet.
Erin Hills
Routed around a wetland on the left, the green of the 553 yard opening Par-5 is fairly accessible as the fairway feeds into the green and is only protected by a cluster of bunkers dug into the right hillside some 50 yards short. Notably, the second shot was made less daunting in 2010, when an oak tree at the corner of the dogleg was removed.
Kingsley Club
Widely recognized as one of the best modern courses in America, the opening hole is perhaps the best opening Par-5 in the country. No. 1 features a series of bunkers bisecting an upper and lower fairway, immediately testing one's course management.
Los Angeles Country Club (North)
Although the Par-5 1st at Los Angeles Country Club (North) may not be as well-known as the Par-5 1st at Riviera Country Club, both open with gentle handshakes, a hallmark of George C. Thomas' designs. A Redan-like green, the green opens from the right, sloping from right-to-left, and is protected by a bunker.
Riviera Golf Club
The most well-known opening Par-5, No. 1 at Riviera Country Club sits in the shadow of the clubhouse and is elevated 75 feet above the fairway.
Sand Hills Golf Club
Designed by Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw, the 549 yard opening Par-5 plays off a sand ridge into a valley below. The relatively small green is elevated and situated between two large sand dunes, with a treacherous bunker on the right and false front. Anything short will roll fifty yards back into the fairway.
Shoreacres
Although Shoreacres is designed by Seth Raynor, No. 1 features two massive cross bunkers which split the fairway, a template often used by A.W. Tillinghast called Great Hazard, and must be carried on one's second shot.
Spyglass Hill Golf Course
After threading a chute of Monterey Pines off the tee, the downhill dogleg left leads to the Pacific Ocean. If the tee shot didn't test one's game enough, the approach shot certainly will, as players are left with a 75 yard shot to a green surrounded by bunkering — earning the hole the nickname "Treasure Island".
Quaker Ridge Golf Club
The defining feature of the opening hole at Quaker Ridge Golf Club is a large, yawning bunker 50 yards short of the green and about 15 feet deep forcing players to decide whether to lay up or go for the green.
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