2009 Presidents Cup course map and layout

Harding Park's layout has been radically altered to ensure the signature hole comes into play every match
(PGA Tour)

Harding Park golf course has hosted its fair share of professional tournaments in its storied history, but the 2009 Presidents Cup marks the first time the course has been completely re-routed for a tournament. Harding's signature hole is its 18th: a cape-style hole that brings Lake Merced into play.

• Click here to download a large version of the map in .pdf format

The risk-reward is straight-forward: the more lake you bite off on your tee shot, the shorter your approach shot is to the green. The hole provides for high drama and is one of the most visually stunning holes in golf.

It also would be near irrelevant as the 18th hole of a Presidents Cup match. The average Presidents Cup match makes it 16.3 holes, a number that caused the PGA Tour and Harding Park's superintendant to sit down and completely re-evaluate the layout of the course.

If you are not intimately familiar with Harding Park's layout all you need to know is that the 15th hole will be the place to see some of the most exciting golf this week. The rest of what follows may be confusing, meaningless or both.

The course will now start on the 10th hole, and play the first four holes of the back-9 as #1 -  4. The closing stretch of Harding's back-9 is epic however, and not to be wasted right off of the bat, so the course turns back in upon itself at #5, playing what is usually the 4th, 5th and 6th holes as #5 - 7.

In order to make the final few holes make any sense, they kept what is usually the 1st hole for near the end, and made the normal 9th the finisher. So at #8 you'll find what is normally the 2nd hole, with the usual 3rd hole wrapping up the front-9.

And this is where the new layout gets interesting. The back-9 starts with #10 on the original 14th hole, one of the more challenging holes on the course given the severe upslope of any approach shot. A quick jaunt over to play the par-3 8th as #11, and then players are off around the usual closing holes of Harding.

Holes #12 - 15 normally play as the 15th - 18th, and in a tight match they offer plenty of opportunity for players to make a move - in either direction. #13 is the 336-yard, driveable par-4 that will offer eagle opportunities to many players in the field.

If the match is still all square after playing the signature hole as #15, play will continue on the 1st hole as #16, the 7th hole as #17 and the 9th hole as #18. Grandstands positioned on #16 give you a view of the action on #18, should it go that far. The layout is only confusing on paper. Once you walk the course and get a feel for the changes they've implemented, it makes complete sense.

One only wishes that you could play the course in its Presidents Cup layout once the event is over.