Apr 28, 2016 4 min read

OAKMONT – The greens at Oakmont Country Club have led more than one professional golfer to mutter to himself during his round.

The Oakmont course, designed by Henry C. Fownes, is difficult to maneuver, covering 7,219 yards (35-35-70). It is famous for its difficult rough and lightning fast greens. The hilly layout is not an easy walk and needs to be smartly navigated.

“For more than a century, the USCG wanted the U.S. Open to be a tough test, a rigorous test,” said Mike Davis, executive director-CEO of the USGA. “The Open is an examination of shot-making, an examination of course management and an examination of nerves. Oakmont more than meets all that criteria.”

This is the ninth time Oakmont has hosted this event, a record, and the course also has held five U.S. Amateur championships, two U.S. Women’s Open championships and three PGA championships.

“It’s been said that Oakmont could host a U.S. Open on a moment’s notice,” Davis said. “While I’m not sure that’s exactly correct with all the grand stands and tent (construction) outside, I do believe this is one course where, if we had to make a call one to two weeks before the U.S. Open and say can you host the national championship, this place could do it.”

The first U.S. Open held at Oakmont was 1927 and won by Tommy Armour. Other champions are Sam Parks in 1935, Ben Hogan in 1953, Jack Nicklaus in 1962, Johnny Miller in 1973, Larry Nelson in 1983, Ernie Els in 1994 and Cabrera in 2007. Paula Creamer won the last U.S. Women’s Open championship held there in 2010.

Henry Fownes and his son William created Oakmont with one thought in mind.

“They loved a hard setup,” Davis said. “For nearly four decades, they lived it. When Oakmont opened in 1904, it had less than 100 bunkers. By the time these two were done, it had over 300 bunkers. … (William Fownes) felt a poorly played shot should be irrevocably lost.”

The Fownes family oversaw Oakmont for four decades and took delight in the difficulty it posed for golfers. It’s been said that the Fownes felt a green was in perfect playing condition if one could release a golf ball at one end and have it roll off the other side.

Imagination is critical to setting up a shot because this is not a typical course. One example is the 438-yard, par-4 No. 1 hole that has a severe dropoff in the fairway about 120 yards to the hole. Many golfers hit a bump-and-run shot, but others can choose to putt. One such video showed up on Twitter during media day in which a player sent a putt 118 yards just to the left of the pin. Try doing that at your local course.

Oakmont’s signature is the speed of its greens. The Stimpmeter, developed in 1935 to test the speed of greens, was developed by Henry C. Stimpson Sr., after playing a round of golf at Oakmont. When Stimpson saw a putt by Gene Sarazen roll off a green, Stimpson was sure the greens were unreasonably fast. He developed a device made of wood with an angled track to release a golf ball at a certain velocity so that it can be measured. An aluminum device was created in 1976 and used in that year’s U.S. Open in Atlanta.

“These greens have been like this since Day 1,” said Davis. “Golfers were complaining at the 1935 Open and some talked about a boycott. … The greens are extremely fast but they are extremely strategic. You want to be below the hole, but that may mean you want to be on the left side, the right side, short of it or past it. They really are what makes Oakmont, Oakmont.”