How Can I Play Brookline?

The Country Club in Massachusetts, which is affectionately known as Brookline, is the host venue for the 2022 US Open and one of the most storied courses in the game's history. As well as being one of the oldest clubs in the US, it is one of the five charter clubs that established the United States Golf Association.

The club has a long lineage with the US Open, too. It first hosted the event in 1913 and did so again in 1963 and 1988, when Curtis Strange beat Nick Faldo in a playoff. It was also the scene of a memorable comeback in the 1999 Ryder Cup that saw the US beat Europe, including a famous and controversial monster putt from Justin Leonard. But, arguably, the first US Open held at the course had at least as much drama, when 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet beat firm favourites Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in an 18-hole playoff.

As for the course itself, there are 27 holes over the Main Course and the Primrose Course. In previous Majors, three and a half holes from the latter had replaced three holes in the former back nine, but that is different in 2022, with the Main Course’s fourth hole making way for the par-3 12th (which will play as the 11th in the tournament), a devilish 131-yard hole whose green is guarded by four bunkers and a brook.

Thanks to Gil Hanse’s redesign, anyone fortunate enough to play the course can expect a parkland effort with natural rock outcroppings and plenty of long holes across its 7,312-yard layout interspersed with demanding shorter holes. Small greens are prevalent, while an extensive tree-removal program ensures the course plays firm and fast.

Meanwhile, the back nine features a five-hole stretch either side of the 11th that is nothing short of gruelling, with a 513-yard uphill par-4