Hazeltine National Golf Club

Infobox_Golf_Facility
golf_facility_name = Hazeltine National Golf Club


location = Chaska, Minnesota
establishment = 1962
type = Private
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website = [http://www.hngc.com/ Hazeltine National Golf Club]
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designer1 = Robert Trent Jones
par1 = 72
length1 = 7,360
rating1 = 77.0
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Hazeltine National Golf Club is a golf club located in Chaska, Minnesota. It is a private club and therefore closed to guests not accompanied by a member. The course opened in 1962 with Robert Trent Jones as the course architect. Because of the harsh winter climate in Minnesota, the course is open only from about April 1 to about November 1, and is closed on Mondays. The current president of the club is Tim Rainey.

Hazeltine also hosts functions other than golf. The clubhouse has a ballroom that can host weddings and wedding receptions. The club also has two restaurants on the premises.

History

Totton Heffelfinger, a former president of the United States Golf Association, saw the opportunity to build a new championship golf course after The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis (where Chick Evans won the 1916 U.S. Open) was threatened by the development of a freeway. After that club rejected plans for a new course, Heffelfinger met with Robert Trent Jones to design the golf course.

A few years later the course opened under the name Executive Golf Club of Minnesota, and was initially intended to be part of a series of Executive Golf Clubs around the country. However, reception to the name was not favorable and the other clubs did not materialize, so it was renamed Hazeltine National Golf Club in honor of the adjoining Lake Hazeltine. The course opened for play to club members in 1962. Heffelfinger's ultimate goal was to have major championships played at Hazeltine. He got that wish when the 1966 U.S. Women's Open Championship was played at Hazeltine. Sandra Spuzich won that tournament with a score of 297 (nine over par). The course played to 6,305 yards (5,765 m) for that tournament.

Hazeltine hosted the 1970 U.S. Open Championship. The course received much negative press as many big names and nearly half the field didn't break 80 the first day. The weather had been very cool and windy. After his round on Friday, Dave Hill said that the only thing Hazeltine was missing was "80 acres of corn and a few cows." Tony Jacklin (that year's reigning Open Championship winner) won the tournament with a seven under par 281. The course played to 7,151 yards (6,539 m). Hill placed second.

After that, the club faced severe financial troubles, and it looked unlikely that the club would host a major championship ever again. The club almost secured a deal to host a PGA Championship, but ultimately lost the opportunity. However, the course was awarded the 1977 U.S. Women's Open. This was the first year that Nancy Lopez played in the championship as a professional, and she placed second. Hollis Stacy won the event with a four over par score of 292; the course played to 6,313 yards (5,773 m).

Over the next few years, the course received a series of renovations. A number of dogleg holes were straightened. The par three sixteenth hole was abandoned and a new par four was laid out along Hazeltine Lake. The par four seventeenth was converted to a par three, keeping the original green site. The 1983 U.S. Senior Open was held at the redesigned course. Billy Casper and Rod Funseth were tied after four rounds with scores of four over par 288 (the course played as a par 71). Casper made a birdie in the playoff to win. The course played to 6,625 yards (6,058 m).

The course was awarded the 1991 U.S. Open in January 1986. Rees Jones, the son of Robert Trent Jones, made more changes to the course in preparation for the Open. The Open was remembered primarily for two things. One was the dramatic duel between Payne Stewart and Scott Simpson, who both finished at six under par 282. In the 18-hole playoff, Stewart was two strokes behind coming to the 16th hole. Then, as he had on Sunday, he rallied and won the Open for his second major championship win (and the first of his two Opens). Stewart made 57 pars during the 72 holes of regulation.

The other thing that the 1991 Open will be remembered for is the lightning that struck on Thursday, June 13, 1991, on the first day of the championship. The day had started out with bright blue skies, but a rainstorm soon came in. Spectators left the course or stood under trees for shelter. Six spectators stood under a tree near the famous sixteenth hole, which lightning struck, leaving one of the spectators dead.

In 1994, the course hosted the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, one of the big events in amateur golf. In that competition, Tim Jackson defeated Tommy Brennan with a final score of one up (the Mid-Amateur final is held at match play). The course measured at 6,700 yards (6,126 m) for that championship. In 2001 another amateur event, the USGA Men's State Team Championship, was held at Hazeltine. John Carlson, Jered Gusso, and John Harris comprised the Minnesota team which won that event with an even-par score of 432. The course played at 6,818 yards (6,234 m).

Hazeltine also hosted the 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Championship. The University of Georgia won the team tournament with a twenty-seven over par score of 1179. Luke Donald (then at Northwestern University) won the individual championship with a four under par score of 284. The course played to 7,196 yards (6,580 m).

Rees Jones lengthened tees and added several new bunkers in preparation for the 84th PGA Championship in 2002. The course played at 7,360 yards (6,730 m) as a par 72. Rich Beem was the winner of the championship, with a score of ten under par 278, holding off a surging Tiger Woods, who birdied the last four holes. The course's competitive course record was set in the 2002 PGA Championship as Beem, Robert Allenby, and Justin Leonard all shot 66 (six under par) during the first round.

In 2006 the course hosted the U.S. Amateur Championship, which was won by Richie Ramsay of Scotland. The PGA Championship will return to Hazeltine in 2009, and the Ryder Cup is scheduled for 2016. Hazeltine declined an invitation to host the BMW Championship in 2012. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2529576 ESPN - Hazeltine out as 2012 BMW host - Golf ] ]

Major tournaments hosted

Bolded Years are major championships on the PGA Tour

General information

Playing groups of five are not allowed. Metal spike shoes also are not allowed. The club has a no cell phone policy.

For weekdays, green fees are $125 plus tax for eighteen holes, June 1 to October 15. Greens are aerated in May and September. The fairways and greens are bent grass.

Course information

The golf course is hilly, and it has narrow fairways and small greens. Nine of the holes have water hazards. The "signature hole" at Hazeltine is the par four sixteen. The tee shot on the sixteenth must carry 220 yards (201 m) over Hazeltine Lake. The green is a raised peninsula which falls off on all sides, including into the hazard in the back and on the right.

The seventeenth is a long par three that used to be a short par four. Four bunkers and two water hazards guard the green, which is one of the most undulating on the entire course. The finishing hole is a long, well-bunkered par four.

Keeping with the club's goal of improving the golf course as needed, a number of changes were made in the fall of 2005, including adding new tees (which will increase the length from the championship tees) and bunkers. The course will be re-rated in 2006.

Prior to the changes, from the championship tees, the course measured 7,360 yards (6,730 m) and had a rating of 77.0/153. From the blue tees, the course measures 7,010 yards (6,409 m) and has a rating of 75.4/150. From the gold tees, the course measures 6,646 yards (6,077 m) and has a rating of 73.7/146. From the white tees, the course measures 6,204 yards (5,672 m) and has a rating of 71.8/142 for men and 77.2/144 for women. From the red tees, the course measures 5,690 yards (5,203 m) and has a rating of 74.3/138 for women.

During the 2008 summer the club made many significant changes to the golf course in preparation for the 2009 PGA Championship. Some of these changes include adding bunkers onto the Par 4 2nd Hole and adding a new tee box on Hole 12, a par 4 which will now play at almost 520 yards.

References

External links

* [http://www.hngc.com/ Official site of Hazeltine National Golf Club]
* [http://www.hngc.com/history.cfm History of Hazeltine]
* [http://www.golfcourse.com/search/coursedtl_ga.cfm?clubid=7045&courseid=7054&source=GA&start=1&count=10&sort=clubname&usstate=MN GOLFCOURSE.com page on Hazeltine]
* [http://www.pgatour.com/u/ce/multi/0,1977,5608487,00.html Article about the 1991 lightning incident] (inactive as of October 4th 2008)