Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: The 3 holes that will decide the Ryder Cup

It’s finally here; it’s Ryder Cup week and the excitement is growing by the hour.

Such enthusiasm may well be snuffed out by the time players have made it onto the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club layout however, such is the gruelling nature of Tom Fazio II and European Golf Design’s redesigned beast.

The course commenced its restructure in August 2018 with the finishing touches being applied in September 2021. Since then, there has been communication with Team Europe representatives, including captain Luke Donald, on how they want it set up come game time.

It’s a proper matchplay venue, with various amphitheatres being created in mind, and one thing that is almost guaranteed this week is carnage. Not only do you have narrow fairways and undulating greens to plot your way round, but the added danger of chewy, penal rough – a setup style favoured by Team Europe captains on home soil for decades.

Whilst the appetite has been whetted for most, some of Team Europe’s players have previously expressed concerns about the venue, with Viktor Hovland not holding back in his initial assessment.

He added: “I don’t think it suits the Europeans very well, when you’re first going to make a course for the Europeans in the Ryder Cup, it’s pretty disappointing to end up with that product.”

Hovland will have to put those qualms firmly to the back of his mind this week though as Europe look to take back the trophy from American hands after being humbled by 19 points to nine at Whistling Straits in 2021.

Every hole at Marco Simone has its own quirkiness and characteristics, especially on the back nine, with Rory McIlroy saying: “The front nine is…like the first couple of chapters of a book. It gets you into the book a little bit and sort of sets the story, but the real juicy bits come on the back nine. That’s where you really get into it.”

The Northern Irishman certainly isn’t wrong, and we’ve identified three key holes that could sway the destination of the 2023 Ryder Cup, only one of which is on the front nine.

This is the final par-four hole the teams will face on the front side, and it is a brute at 525 yards.

Strategy off the tee will very much come into play with risky and conservative plays both being options, so depending on the players’ strengths and the current score within the game, someone may take a chance in the hope of wrestling back some momentum.

A precise drive will be needed into a narrow fairway that continues to get pinched by the large water hazard on the left. Success with that then leaves another long iron shot over the water to a raised putting surface that also slims. The safer route asks more of a question of making your par four, although water shouldn’t worry this strategy. Expect to see matches shifting here.

As players continue the uphill climb and St Peter’s Basilica comes into view in the distance, this short par four will have the big hitters licking their lips. From the championship tees it’s a little over 300 yards to the front of the green, but all uphill. A committed whack with the driver will be needed if any player wants to find the dance floor, and even then, the green will run fast.

Shorter hitters will lay up but will also need to air on the side of caution as any laziness could see their ball swallowed up by a central fairway bunker. The steep green will require pinpoint accuracy when players try to flick a wedge in close.

Now this is going to be fun.

The beginning of an exhilarating closing stretch presents a potentially match-winning or match-losing choice: lay up to a generous fairway, that still has two bunkers to steer clear of, or brave a pond and three bunkers that guard an angled green. Players who find themselves down in a match could pull off some heroics here to really turn the tide.

The green is 66 feet below the tee so you will see plenty of drives getting nuked, especially in the four-ball format where each player gets to hit their own ball. Expect one bomb and one layup.