At Shinnecock Hills, this road gives public a peek behind the hedges

At Shinnecock Hills, one of golf’s most storied venues, a public road slices through the course, offering a rare glimpse behind the club’s famed hedges and impacting play on two holes. Tuckahoe Road is its name, and it’s a feature that has long been part of the Shinnecock landscape.

On Tuesday afternoon, Halla Arnadottir and Sveinn Ogmundsson were following their son Arni Sveinsson during a U.S. Open practice round at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, a place they had never visited before. The person walking with them mentioned something about the course that might strike a new visitor as peculiar: the pavement they were walking on between holes 13 and 14 was actually a road.

“Really?” Arnadottir said. Indeed. Occasionally, the person said, cars will even stop and snap a photo — when the club isn’t hosting a major championship. “Oh, wow!” Ogmundsson said. Indeed. At Shinnecock, there are humps and bumps, and lefts and rights, and wind, sand and fescue. And a road.

Tuckahoe Road cuts across the esteemed course. On the western side of Tuckahoe are holes 1 through 9 and 14 through 18, and holes 10 through 13 are on the eastern side of the road. And it’s in play on holes 12 and 13. On the 472-yard, par-4 12th, it’s just ahead of the green, and on the 367-yard, par-4 13th, it’s just in front of the tee box. Below, you can see flyover videos, which were shot by the USGA.

This year, the 12th also played a part in a … 427-yard drive. During Thursday’s first round, Bryson DeChambeau’s tee shot bounced before Tuckahoe, then bounced on it, before finishing just short of the green. DeChambeau went on to birdie the hole.

Notably, in 2016, the club attempted to have Tuckahoe rerouted around the course. This year’s U.S. Open will also be the second straight Open where a road cuts through the course — last year, Interstate 76 divided Oakmont. Sunday, you can get one last look at the road in tournament play. A few weeks later, you can then drive on it.