Hole #1 is a archetypal opening hole. All the themes of Gleneagles’ high slope rating course show up here. It showcases a sharply sloping fairway, an approach shot that cannot be easily landed, and a green that will often send barely missed putts running off into the fringe. Potential disaster on every shot.

The first tee plays to a narrow, sharply uneven fairway. A draw should hold the sloping fairway regardless of distance, but a fade must carry around 165 yards to stay in play. Anything that misses the fairway on the right side spells disaster, as the slope only gets steeper as it goes out of play. The left side has it’s own trouble, a sloping hill covered in sticks and stumps. Seeing locals take an iron here, purely out of caution, is not uncommon.

Assuming a well placed tee shot, the approach will be downhill to a green, which slopes hard to the right. Any miss right or long is is serious trouble, and there is also a bunker short left to snag any attempt to roll onto the green.

Once on the green, if the pin is on the high side, birdie putts are always at risk running out if they catch the down-slope. A pin set on the right can still create a challenge, though, as there are no straight putts on this green.