The 116th edition of the U.S. Open will be played June 16–19 at the historic Oakmont Country Club, located in western Pennsylvania. The course itself is 113 years old and is registered as a United States Historic Landmark as well as in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. For the 16th time, the United States Golf Association (USGA) has selected Oakmont to host one of their national championships. This course steals all the headlines leading up to the actual tournament because of its difficulty, length, bunkers, and greens. This inland links-style course has virtually zero trees and no water hazards. Oakmont is consistently rated as one of the toughest golf courses in North America, if not the toughest on a yearly basis. Mike Davis, executive director of the USGA, simply explains, “Oakmont is the gold standard for championship golf.”
One of the unique characteristics of Oakmont is its approximately 180 bunkers — about 120 less than its original design. You know this course has great bunkers when they start naming them. The most famous is the Church Pew bunker, located between holes three and four. Other bunker names include “Big Mouth” and “Sahara,” which compliment the pot bunkers located around the greens.
The speed of the greens are also a stand-out characteristic of the course as well. Every year, the USGA increases the green speed for each U.S. Open course, but Oakmont is the only place where the USGA actually had to maintain a slower speed for their national tournaments. In fact, the stimpmeter, used today on all golf courses to figure green speed, was first used at Oakmont where speed was measured typically at 13–15 feet. Standard PGA Tour events conduct 10.5–12 feet for their tournaments. Most daily fee golf courses are typically 8.5–10 feet.
The rough around the course is typically 4–6 inches deep; however, for the Open the USGA actually shortens the length of the rough. Generally speaking, the members at Oakmont play the course in a more difficult setting than the players for the U.S. Open do. The reason behind this unique story is that the membership at Oakmont is a golf membership as compared to most country clubs where its golf and social. Half of their 300 members carry single-digit handicaps.
With all the difficulty surrounding the golf course, it still is remembered as the only U.S. Open course to yield a 63 to a player during the tournament. Thankfully, now that Fox Sports broadcasts the U.S. Open now instead of NBC, we won’t have to hear from Johnny Miller how great his 63 at Oakmont was all week in the toughest conditions he has ever played in.
When watching the U.S. Open on TV, be sure to take notice of the immaculate bunkers, the huge greens, and the best finishing hole in U.S. Open history.
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