The first hole ever played in major championship golf was a par five—the 578-yard opener at 12-hole Prestwick, the venue for the inaugural Open Championship on October 17, 1860. That hole no longer exists, but today a handsome plaque marks the spot of the old first tee. In 1870, Young Tom Morris began his quest for an Open Championship three-peat by making a remarkable 3 at the first. Prestwick fell off the Open rota after 1925, but it clearly established the importance of conquering par-five holes on the path to victory.
Of the current courses on the Open rota, here are the 10 best par fives.
St. Andrews (Old Course)—14th hole, 614 yards
Named “Long” for good reason, the cross-country adventure that is the 14th on the Old Course is both a strategic marvel and potential nightmare. Alister MacKenzie identified four legitimate routes to the green and his design partner, Robert Hunter, witnessed Bobby Jones establish a fifth option. Nearly 100 years later, every pathway remains viable, though each revolves around avoiding the seven-foot-deep, revetted Hell bunker, which resides roughly 100 yards short of the green. In 1995, Jack Nicklaus—twice a winner of the Open at St. Andrews—took four swings to escape it, on his way to carding a 10.
Muirfield—9th hole, 558 yards
Host to 16 Open Championships, most recently in 2013, Muirfield will undoubtedly witness a few more now that the membership has updated its admission policies. In the meantime, we salute one of its greatest holes, the 9th. A long, low gray stone wall forms the OB feature to the left, and a left-side fairway bunker—plus rough beyond that bunker and more rough to the right of the fairway—conspire to rein in long hitters. Seeking a fifth Open title here in 1959, Peter Thomson doomed his chances by hooking his drive over the wall. For tee shots that succeed in finding the fairway, a bunker cluster well short-right of the green further influences play.
Carnoustie—6th hole, 580 yards
The lone par five on Carnoustie’s front nine unfolds over flattish terrain and is defined by two bunkers in the middle of the fairway and by an OB fence that runs along the hole’s left edge. Only 20 yards separates the first fairway bunker from the fence, but if you can find that slender alley, your angle into the green improves. A drainage ditch called Jockie’s Burn cuts into the fairway from the right side, 80 yards from the two-tier putting surface. An unusual east wind, more common in March and April, makes the hole reachable by most of an Open Championship field. The prevailing wind is into your face, bringing all the hazards and angles into play, as it did during the final round of the 2018 Open Championship. Ben Hogan cemented his reputation as the “Wee Ice Mon,” as the Scots called him, by directing his drive into this narrow gap during all four rounds of the 1953 Open en route to winning the event in his only appearance.
Royal St. George’s—14th hole, 547 yards
An apparent birdie opportunity occurs at Royal St. George’s 14th, which is known as “Suez,” named for the canal that bisects the fairway 200 yards from the green. In the wind, however, it’s easy to miss the narrowest fairway on the course, as did Bernhard Langer in 1993, when he was one back of eventual winner Greg Norman. Langer flared his drive to the right, beyond the OB stakes that separates Royal St. George’s from Prince’s Golf Club. In 2011, Dustin Johnson emulated Langer, shoving his 2-iron second shot OB while two shots behind playing partner and eventual winner Darren Clarke.
Carnoustie—14th hole, 513 yards
Jabbed into the face of a sandhill some 50 to 65 yards from Carnoustie’s 14th green are the “Spectacles,” the round, menacing, side-by-side bunkers that give the hole its name. Prior to this encounter is a daunting tee shot, where the amply wide landing area is obscured by a mass of heather and gorse. Typically, the breeze is over your right shoulder, effectively converting this into a par four. Find the fairway and it’s a 4- or 5-iron into the largest green on the course. If the wind is over your left shoulder, however, the decision to take on a carry over the Spectacles is momentous. Lay up and your third is totally blind. Gary Player and Tom Watson both made eagle 3s here on their way to victories in 1968 and 1975, respectively. Player’s came via a 3-wood second shot over the Spectacles that finished nine inches from the cup in the fourth round; Watson’s via a chip-in in his 18-hole playoff with Jack Newton.
Royal Troon (Old)—6th hole, 623 yards
Prior to 2023, Royal Troon’s par-five 6th hole, called “Turnberry” for its view of the Turnberry Lighthouse, was the longest in Open history at 601 yards. However, when Royal Liverpool rolled out its newly tweaked design for the 2023 Open, its par-five 13th stretched to 614 yards. Not to be outdone, Royal Troon reclaimed the crown in 2024, elongating its 6th by 22 yards to play 623 yards. At whatever length, it traverses prime linksland, with a low, right-side dune ridge that rises progressively toward the green a visual reminder of the hole’s proximity to the sea. Avoiding a trio of bunkers in the landing area (two left, one right) is critical. Xander Schauffele kickstarted his 2024 charge to victory here with his first birdie of the fourth round, while Scottie Scheffler, tied with Schauffele at the time, bogeyed.
Royal Birkdale—17th hole, 567 yards
As Birkdale gears up to host the 2026 Open Championship, it is inevitable that the 17th will prove pivotal. Perhaps the last opportunity to make up a shot (or two), the 17th demands a drive slotted between the dunes, taking care to avoid two small bunkers at the fairway’s right edge around the 310- to 320-yard mark. The successful approach must find and hold a well bunkered, narrow, heavily sloping green tucked into the sandhills. Padraig Harrington did just that in 2008, ripping a 5-wood to three feet for an Open-clinching eagle.
Royal Portrush (Dunluce)—7th hole, 607 yards
Ahead of its first Open since 1951, Royal Portrush engaged architects Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert in 2017 to create two holes and eliminate two others, the fairly dull closing holes. Borrowed from the old 5th and 6th holes on the club’s adjoining Valley Course, the subbed-in new ones are numbered 7 and 8 on the championship layout. Called “Curran Point,” the uphill 7th commences from an elevated tee and skirts a primary dune formation. At 592 yards for the 2019 Open, the 7th surrendered the most eagles (11) of Portrush’s three par fives but still had the highest scoring average of the trio.
Royal St. George’s—7th hole, 566 yards
During the 21st century, Royal St. George’s 7th hole has packed on 70-plus yards, keeping it relevant—and magnificent—as a par five. In 2003, Jim Finegan described the tee shot on a hole that was just 488 yards as “Commencing from high ground that looks directly over a giant sandhill scarred with three terrifying pits.” With those pits obscuring the fairway, it’s a daunting challenge to grip it and rip it. Rumpled ground, dense rough, and seven other bunkers await following the drive. Louis Oosthuizen would never recover from a thinned greenside bunker shot here during the final round of the 2021 Open Championship, dropping him from the lead. His shot found another bunker on his way to bogey. Meanwhile, challengers Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm both eagled the hole and eventual winner Collin Morikawa made birdie.
Muirfield—17th hole, 578 yards
Perhaps less adulation greets Muirfield’s 17th versus its 9th, as quality par fives go, but it’s certainly no less compelling or pivotal. The ideal drive on this left-swinging hole flirts with clumpy rough and a nest of bunkers on the left elbow. Play safer, out to the right, and it adds length to the hole, and more often brings cross bunkers into play on the second shot that reside 90 to 120 yards from the green. In the final round of the 1972 Open Championship, Lee Trevino took on those left-side bunkers, found one, chipped out, and eventually wound up just over the green in the fringe rough, lying 4. Famously, Trevino quickly jabbed at his fifth, almost in frustration—and holed the shot. His closest competitor, Tony Jacklin, then three-putted for bogey and Trevino closed him out on the 18th. The bowl-like green will reward a brave shot from the proper angle—as Phil Mickelson illustrated in 2013, striking a perfect 3-wood second to the heart of the green. He two-putted from there, and when he parred 18, he claimed his Claret Jug.
