Hole-by-hole guide

1: 206 Yards Par 3 The only course on the British Open rota to start with a Par 3, the main difficulty here is not the hole's length but rather club selection as the tee-box is surrounded by trees that can make it hard to judge the wind. The out-of-bounds to the right doesn't really come into play but nine greenside bunkers give players an early indication of the role that sand traps play in the protection of the course.

2: 438 Yards Par 4 The tee-box is set up alongside the out-of-bounds fence that separates the course from the railway line and the brave line is to aim over the cluster of three fairway bunkers on the right which opens up the best line for an approach to an angled, sloping green. Miss the green left, right or behind, and some tigerish rough awaits.

3: 458 Yards Par 4 The longest Par 4 on the front nine, and one that demands accuracy off the tee as the fairway bunker on the left - at 251 yards - comes into play. Anyone finding the bunker has little hope of being able to reach the green, but for those finding the fairway, the main objective with the approach is to avoid the treacherous bunker back left of the green.

4: 392 Yards Par 4 On this right-to-left dog-leg, the preferred tee-shot - into the prevailing wind - should preferably find the right side of the fairway. Any shot too far left could find either the strategically placed fairway bunker, positioned 257 yards from the tee, or deep rough. The green is guarded by five bunkers but the slightly uphill approach often proves deceptive with many players inclined to leave their shots short.

5: 212 Yards Par 3 Not the prettiest hole on the course by any means, but a testing one with an area of dead ground in front of the green making the hole play longer than it appears from the tee. It is another green well protected by bunkers - four to the left, another two to the right - and the many undulations on the green demands extreme care, even on short putts.

6: 496 Yards Par 5 When the championship was last played here in 1996, this emerged as the easiest hole on the course with a stroke average of 4.49. This time round, attempts have been made to stiffen up the challenge by building a new angled tee and making the right-to-left dog-leg more severe. It will still be considered a genuine birdie hole by most players.

7: 557 Yards Par 5 The longest hole on the course, and the second successive Par 5, it nevertheless represents another genuine birdie chance for players. New bunkers have been added which help define the hole's shape but, depending on the wind, the green is on in two and its main protection is likely to be pin placement with a location immediately behind the front left bunker a favoured spot.

8: 419 Yards Par 4 More than anywhere else on the course, the redbrick houses encroach and there is out-of-bounds all the way down the right-hand side. The drive from an elevated tee is to one of the more generous fairways on the course but the positioning of cross bunkers some 40 yards in front of the plateau green puts particular emphasis on the approach shot.

9: 164 Yards Par 3 The third Par 3 on the front nine, and the shortest hole on the course, out-of-bounds lurks on all sides of the greens. Nine bunkers protect the flat green but it is the least intimidating short hole on the course and, in 1996, was the only Par 3 to play under par. Paul McGinley had a hole-in-one here with a 7-iron in his second round on that occasion.

10: 335 Yards Par 4 Almost like the calm before the storm, the homeward journey - statistically the tougher half of the course - starts with the shortest Par 4 on the course. The tee-shot is a blind one to a relatively large landing area and then the players have a short approach to a green that slopes severely from front to back.

11: 542 Yards Par 5 A good driving hole where the player faces a decision on whether or not to take on the left-hand cross bunkers, a decision that determines if the green will be on in two. The tee-shot requires a carry of 260 yards to get over the two bunkers and the rough-covered mound that lies immediately behind them. Anyone going for the green in two requires extreme accuracy as its raised surface tends to deflect inaccurate shots, particularly on the left-hand side.

12: 198 Yards Par 3 Some strategically placed greenside bunkers and out-of-bounds close to the right make finding the green off the tee shot particularly important here. In the 1996 British Open, this was the toughest short hole with the raised and angled green - that measures just 27 yards - often hard to hold.

13: 342 Yards Par 4 A relatively straight-forward Par 4 - with the onus on securing a good position on the fairway off the tee - should enable players to get in an attacking second shot. There are some subtle and deceptive breaks on the green but many players will consider this a genuine birdie hole and, in many ways, a respite before facing into one of the toughest finishes in championship golf.

14: 445 Yards Par 4 There are four well-placed bunkers on the right-hand side of the fairway, varying in distances from 220 to 276 yards off the tee, which simply must be avoided. The preferred option is to go down the left, but the landing area is a narrow one and any pulled shots will find thick rough. With out-of-bounds immediately right of the green, the approach shot demands nerves as well as accuracy.

15: 465 Yards Par 4 Darren Clarke believes that the additional bunkering is "silly" in that it has made an already tough hole even tougher. In fact, the new bunkering on either side of the fairway could encourage players to lay-up off the tee which would leave them with an approach shot of over 200 yards to a blind green.

16: 359 Yards Par 4 This hole remains synonymous with Seve Ballesteros, who made a final round birdie here when playing his second shot from a temporary car park short right of the green. It is a relatively innocuous hole, though, with most players opting for position off the tee to the left side of the fairway that gives an approach along, and not across, a very narrow green.

17: 467 Yards Par 4 A tough, demanding hole that is both long and heavily bunkered. A plaque marks the spot from where Bobby Jones struck his critical mashie shot to the green in the final round of his 1926 victory and it is a hole that will demand inspiration from potential champions. There are 21 bunkers positioned at various points on this hole, and anyone staying out of them is most likely to claim a welcome par.

18: 412 Yards Par 4 One of the toughest finishing holes in championship golf, players will require both accuracy and nerve. Two angled rows of bunkers split the fairway between the 200 and 285 yards distance off the tee, which makes it vitally important to stay out of sand. The approach shot is to a green guarded by seven bunkers - and the imposing sight of grandstands on either side of the fairway and the clubhouse behind - demands supreme accuracy.