The Broadmoor's East Course: A hole by hole guide to the 2025 U.S. Senior Open

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Broadmoor's championship East Course has launched the careers of two of golf's greatest players.

Jack Nicklaus won the 1959 U.S. Amateur there, providing the first glimpse that the Golden Bear was a special talent. Decades later, Annika Sorenstam won her first major championship at the 1995 U.S. Women's Open. Ever since, the United States Golf Association has put the East on a tight rotation to host major championships, including the 2008 and 2018 U.S. Senior Opens and 2011 U.S. Women's Open. Next up is the 2025 U.S. Senior Open to be held June 26-29. The USGA announced this week that the venerable East track will host again in 2031 and 2037.

What's fascinating about the demanding East Course is its complementary architecture from two other legends of the game. The nine holes on the south side of the property (holes 1-6 and 16-18) were designed by Donald Ross in 1918. The holes across the road (nos. 7-15) were added by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1952. The changes came about when the West Course opened in 1952, giving each course nine holes from each architect.

East at Broadmoor Golf Club

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Resort/Private

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West at Broadmoor Golf Club

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Resort/Private

4.0

5

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Together, the duo have created, arguably, America's best mountain course. The fairways climb and fall at the base of Cheyenne Mountain at an elevation of roughly 6,300 feet. The chimes of the Will Rogers Shrine high up on the mountain serenade players every day. It's as constant as the bogeys that pile up for even the best players in the world.

Escaping thick rough and reading the greens properly will be the biggest hurdles to lifting a USGA trophy at the Broadmoor. Every putt breaks away from the mountain, even when the ground's undulations suggest otherwise. Every round is a perplexing mind game to figure that out.

Let's tour The Broadmoor's iconic East Course in advance of golf's most important senior championship:

The round starts simply enough for the players: hit a straight tee shot that avoids the rough and a fairway bunker up the left side. The uphill approach is made more treacherous by the false front of the first green. Bunkers frame either side of the putting surface, a classic look that's a theme throughout the Broadmoor.

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The shortest par 4 on the course isn't necessarily the easiest. Two fairway bunkers up the right side have flashed faces that can make the escape tougher. Two bunkers farther up on either side of the fairway could take the driver out of players' hands. Missing in the two greenside bunkers might be better than in the rough, depending where the pin is located. The small, tilted green slopes hard right to left.

The first downhill hole of the day doglegs to the right, revealing a long journey to a green fronted by a pond. Anybody looking to take on the water for a second shot could get wet. A shot finishing in the greenside bunker on the left is probably better off than one in the rough on the right.

The pond is more for show than an actual hazard, given the relatively short yardage, unless the wind or rain kicks up. It's the undulations of the green and the rough on the moguls around it that will cause players the most problems. The putting surface slopes severely right to left and back to front, funneling shots off the green at times.

Once again, the fifth climbs uphill with four fairway bunkers pinching the landing zone. Two bunkers lurk 70 yard short of the green in case anybody can't gouge their way out of the rough.

The last of the Ross holes for awhile might be the most compelling of the bunch. Three fairway bunkers on the left tend to goad players into missing up the right side of this slight dogleg left. The trio of greenside bunkers form a wall protecting an elevated perch that's hard to hit and hold. Players should take an extra club but not too much. Shots can carom into a back bunker on the left or into a trench behind the green.

After driving through an underground tunnel, players face nine consecutive holes designed by RTJ Sr. This demanding hole, a par 5 for everyday play, doglegs hard left before the fairway swoops down into a valley. The green sits atop a hill pockmarked with bunkers. A bowl in the front section of the green will funnel shots towards the flag.

No. 8 might be the most difficult par 3, especially when it comes to selecting the proper club. The tee sits well below the green. Players will need to clear a pit of unplayable lies and two front bunkers to hit the green in regulation.

Right-handed players who can shape a hard draw (or lefties who can fade it) around the corner of this dogleg left will have a significant advantage. The fairway slopes left to right, often kicking balls into the rough. Golfers who go for it could end up in four greenside bunkers or the pond in front. Players forced to lay up should have little problem controlling a wedge onto the elevated putting surface. Making the putt for eagle or birdie is never a given on the Broadmoor's slick greens.

Once golfers have climbed to the highest point on the course, it's time to head back toward the clubhouse. That journey begins with this dogleg left that tumbles downhill past three fairway bunkers. The landing zone cants right to left, funneling tee shots into the low-side rough. Three bunkers and another false front guard the green.

The 11th reverses course, climbing uphill again with another dogleg left. Three bunkers fortify the right side of a green that feeds balls right to left.

This downhill par 3 provides a great view of the task at hand: clear the four bunkers fronting a shallow green. A trench behind the green can lead to awkward lies for players who hit it too far.

This hole is the no. 1 handicap for average golfers due to its sheer length (466 yards from the white tees), but many pros will be happy it's a rare dogleg right on the East. If they miss the two fairways bunkers, they will have a nice downhill look into a more accessible green only blocked by a bunker on the right.

You guessed it: another uphill dogleg left with a bunker complex at the inside of the turn. Many will take an extra club to fly past the three greenside bunkers to reach the tabletop elevated green.

The elevated 15th tee shot drops to a pinch point bracketed by a pair of fairway bunkers. The final hole from RTJ Sr. bends left to a green propped above three front bunkers. Missing long leaves slippery chips that will be hard to stop.

Back through the tunnel to the Ross side of the property, the 16th plays downhill to an undulating green guarded by a front bunker. The putting surface rolls hard right to left.

The 17th fairway rolls downhill, normally affording resort golfers and members a chance at birdie on a gettable par 5. Instead, it's a monster 545-yard par 4 for the seniors. Half a dozen bunkers line the fairway at various yardages. The grandstands are tight to the green in back. Don't be surprised if a shot or two caroms off them.

The 18th will deliver the theater necessary to crown a major champion. The hole doglegs right past a pair of fairway bunkers at the turn. I'd be shocked if anyone hit it in the pond well short of the green, but it's a scenic setting nonetheless. A greenside bunker on the right side will be a popular spot.