BASICALLY, it's the long and the short of it which makes Congressional CC a unique setting for the US Open, which begins on Thursday. At 7,213 yards for a par of 70, it is the longest course in the history of the championship. And it has the distinction of a 190-yard, par-three finishing hole.

On learning of Congressional's length, even Tiger Woods was impressed. "That's long," conceded the US Masters champion. "Seriously long," added British Open champion Tom Lehman. Which suggests a forbidding test for Ireland's three challengers, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington.

But it is the 18th which is arousing most interest, for the simple reason that only four, previous US Opens have finished on a short hole. And the last time was 88 years ago, at Englewood, New Jersey. a course that no longer exists. In fact the last major championship to have a par-three finishing hole was the 1940 USPGA at Hershey CC, Pennsylvania, where Byron Nelson triumphed.

"It's not cast in stone that the finishing hole of a US Open has to be a back-breaking par four, like at Winged Foot West, said USGA executive director, David Fay. "It can be a short par-four like at Olympic Club or Inverness or a terrific par-five like at Pebble Beach or Baltusrol."

The fact remains, however, that par-three 18th holes are extremely rare. In Ireland, one thinks automatically of the glorious, short 18th on the Mahony's Point course at Killarney and of the 202-yard finish at Mallow. Then there is the formidable 18th at St Pierre in Wales.

Congressional's contribution to these rarities could hardly be described as a sporty one-shotter. Three bunkers guard the right side of a green which slopes towards water front and left. Grass on the bank is being mowed to half an inch which, according to Fay, will mean a 50 per cent chance of a mis-struck ball rolling to a watery grave.

The famous Blue Course has been modified dramatically since 1964 when Ken Venturi won the only other US Open to have been played at Congressional. What was originally conceived as a minor renovation became a $1.7 million assignment for designer Rees Jones.

Essentially, the course is now being played in the same configuration as the members play it, with the short 10th becoming the 8th, "If something happens (like a hole-in-one) it will become a very famous hole," said Jones. "Either way, why do everything the same every year?"

Why indeed. But some of the leading challengers have decidedly mixed views on the issue. "There's good and bad about it," said Lehman. "I've always believed a finishing hole should require you to hit a good tee-shot (which he didn't do at Oakland Hills last year), a good iron shot and maybe make a putt.

"This is taking one, crucial shot out of the equation. Having to hit a narrow, 25-yard fairway with a driver when the heat is on is not always easy. But everybody is going to be hitting the exact same shot to the last hole, which I think will create some excitement."

Corey Pavin, the 1995 champion, took a more critical view. "If you drive it 290 in the rough, you're not going to win the Open," he said. "And what if you have to wait on the 72nd tee? There could be a one or two-group back-up. If you happen to be in the lead, tied for the lead, or whatever, that could give you some time to think about it, which is always dangerous."

Jones explained that his intention was not to restore the course to the way it once was, but to adapt it to the demands of the modern game. Claiming that his father, Robert Trent Jones, was making everybody play the aerial game, he said: "Dad hunkered the face of almost every green whereas we opened them up. We kept the integrity of the design but took it back to a classic style that presents more options."

He went on: "A lot of holes are straightaway and the longer hitters can let it rip. In fact I don't think there are any holes where we take the driver out of their hands the players will have to do that. I don't think they'll complain about not having a choice."

Jack Nicklaus, who finished runner-up to Tom Weiskopf in the 1995 US Senior Open at Congressional, admires what Jones has done. "I like the course much better now," he said. According to the great man, it's not a gimmicky course where a player can readily drop down to a two or three iron for accuracy off the tee. "You've got to bust the ball and play substantial irons into the greens," he said.

So, birdie options will be very limited, even at the two par fives. At 607 yards over a chasm to the green, the ninth may be beyond even the second-shot capacity of Woods. The 583-yard 15th is more reachable and it may be the only breather in a string of formidable par fours on the homeward journey.

All of which prompted Tom Watson, who tied for second in the 1981 Kemper Open at Congressional, to remark: "I think it's a high-ball hitter's golf course. Tiger Woods, Paul Stankowski and Greg Norman will all do well."

The re-design got its first outing during Weiskopf's triumph which marked the first time in an important event that all 18 holes of the Blue Course were used. Though Congressional was the venue for the 1964 US Open, the 1976 USPGA Championship and the Kemper Open from 1980 to 1986, the 16th and 18th holes had been left out and a composite course was made by adding the fifth and 15th from the club's Gold Course.

As it happened, the seniors played this week's 18th hole as the 10th and finished on what is the members' 17th - the one on which Venturi had his victory march. "It's not like we're coming up with some kind of contrived routing," said Fay. "One could say that what we tried at the Senior Open was contrived - that's not how the course plays."

Meanwhile, the USGA official discounted suggestions that the potential winner was being deprived of his traditional, victory walk. "The assumption there is that the winner will be in the last group," he said. "If you're in the fifth-last group, there isn't a victory walk. The simple truth is that you don't know what's going to happen."

Finally, youthful nerves of steel were evident in the attitude of Woods as he looked towards the climax of the championship next Sunday evening. "If you have a lead going to the last hole, it'll be pretty good," he said. "All you have to do is hit an iron to the middle of the green, two-putt and get out of there."

Come to think of it, with a finishing three to a major championship, nobody would dispute a player's right to claim the coveted trophy - even if his tee-shot happened to be with a medium iron.