Ranking All 18 U.S. Open Holes At Oakmont Country Club From Easiest To Hardest

The 125th U.S. Open Championship tees off at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania this week, marking a record 10th time that Oakmont has hosted the U.S. Open, the most of any club by far. Much has been made of the near 300-yard par-3 but Oakmont Country Club also boasts the hardest opening hole in all of championship golf.

There were only 4 of the 18 holes at Oakmont CC during the 2016 U.S. Open that played under par. The other 14 holes were true testaments to how the U.S. Open Championship is the most difficult test of golf these pros face each year. Here we rank all 18 U.S. Open holes at Oakmont Country Club from easiest to hardest so we can all go into this week’s U.S. Open more knowledgeable about the course.

The winner of the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club will enter the annals of golf history and reap incredible awards including a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Open, 5-year exemptions into the Masters, Open Championship, PGA Championship, and Players Championship along with 5-year exempt status on the PGA Tour. But in order to secure that bag they have to overcome the most difficult challenge in golf, the U.S. Open.

Oakmont Country Club boasts the longest hole in championship golf, a 684-yard par-5 (in 2016) and a par-3 that will play 300-yards this week. Here, we rank all 18 U.S. Open holes at Oakmont Country Club from easiest to hardest, ranked based on the 2016 scoring averages from the last time Oakmont hosted the U.S. Open.

#18: Hole 17

Hole 17, 312-Yard Par-4, 3.89 Scoring Average: The 17th hole at Oakmont Country Club is a 312-yard par-4. During the 2016 U.S. Open, it played as the easiest hole (to par) on the course with a 3.89 scoring average. A well-guarded green with bunkers up the front left and along the right side make an accurate approach shot essential but the 129 birdies at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont suggest the 17th hole will cough up a few more bird dogs this time around.

#17: Hole 4

Hole 4, 611-Yard Par-5, 4.97 Scoring Average: One of two holes that feature Oakmont CC’s iconic ‘Church Pews,’ the left side of this beefy par-5 will punish players if they test it. Going up the right side is recommended. At 611-yards, this par-5 was the second easiest hole at the 2016 U.S. Open playing at a 4.97 scoring average or just below par. When Ángel Cabrera won the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont he birdied this hole in 3 of his 4 rounds so this is a hole that many players will circle early in their rounds as one to attack.

#16: Hole 13

Hole 13, 182-Yard Par-3, 2.99 Scoring Average: Playing at a 2.99 scoring average during the 2016 U.S. Open, this was the 3rd easiest hole in the field. The 182-yard par-3 will play a little longer on some days and players will have to pull short-to-mid irons from their bag and stuff it tight as the flag is protected by 3 large bunkers around the green. Any players unfortunate enough to hit it long or right at the 13th hole will be lucky to make it out of there with a bogey.

#15: Hole 14

Hole 14, 379-Yard Par-4, 3.99 Scoring Average: The 14th hole at Oakmont is the last of the holes that played under par at the 2016 U.S. Open. Coming after the 13th, this back-to-back combo of attackable holes is one players have to take advantage of. In 2016, the 379-yard par-4 14th hole played at a scoring average of 3.99 but a straight tee shot is crucial here and then sets up a wedge for these players into the green that has large bunkers up the left and front right.

#14: Hole 11

Hole 11, 400-Yard Par-4, 4.07 Scoring Average: The 14th most difficult hole at Oakmont, Hole 11 is an 400-yard par-4 that played at a 4.07 scoring average in 2016. Players ideally want to bomb it up the fairway to the top of the hill where a small plateau sits and offers them a flat shot to the green. Once on the green, things are deceptive. While it might appear relatively flat, 11th green slopes back to front and left to right so players have considerable movement to contend with even if that movement is relatively predictable.

#13: Hole 2

Hole 2, 346-Yard Par-4, 4.13 Scoring Average: Playing at a 4.13 scoring average during the 2016 U.S. Open, the 2nd hole was the 13th most difficult hole on the course but a very welcome relief after the brutal opening hole. At 346-yards, the fairway of this short par-4 is littered with bunkers designed to grab a golf ball like a Venus fly trap. Once on the green, depending on the flag position golfers will be happy to 2-putt.

#12: Hole 5

Hole 5, 408-Yard Par-4, 4.13 Scoring Average: The 408-yard par-4 5th hole played at a 4.13 scoring average in 2016 making it the 12th-most difficult hole on the course. Even still, Oakmont CC’s own description of the hole claims “birdie is a real possibility” at this hole if players can navigate the blind tee shot and wedge into the green. Like every hole at Oakmont, the 5th requires two precise shots (tee + approach) or a golfer will likely be chasing bogey.

#11: Hole 6

Hole 6, 200-Yard Par-3, 3.14 Scoring Average: The 200-yard par-3 6th hole played just a tad more difficult than the preceding hole back in 2016 with a 3.14 (π!!! ‘pie hole’) scoring average. Despite being a par-3, the 6th hole still has six large bunkers protecting the green like sentinels. Players are best off just hitting it to the dead center of the green and hoping they can unlock some magic with the putter because if they go left or right of the green then a bogey is a likely possibility.

#10: Hole 12

Hole 12, 632-Yard Par-5, 5.14 Scoring Average: The 12th hole at Oakmont Country Club is the final par-5 on the course and one that the longer hitters will try and take advantage of, but at 632-yards it will take these golfers 3 good shots to get to the green. Both sides of the fairway are flanked by bunkers and ditches ready to snatch up any wayward shot and once on the green there is a severe front to back slope which makes anything but a highly-lofted approach shot difficult to stick on the green. During the 2016 U.S. Open, Hole 12 became the longest hole in U.S. Open history at 684 yards with the tee boxes way back leading to a 5.14 scoring average (10th overall)… Will we see the tee boxes that far back this week? Only time will tell.

#9: Hole 16

Hole 16, 236-Yard Par-3, 3.24 Scoring Average: The 9th most difficult hole at Oakmont in 2016, Hole 16 is a beefy 236-yard par-3 with a 3.24 scoring average due in no small part to a massive worm-like bunker that snakes up the left hand side of the green and around the back. There is also a massive false front on this green so any ball that comes up short will roll straight off the putting surface.

#8: Hole 8

Hole 8, 289-Yard Par-3, 3.30 Scoring Average: This is arguably the most talked about hole of the week. It will be the longest par-3 in Major Championship history at some point, and despite the official yardage being listed at 289-yards, this par-3 will play over 300 yards multiple times this week once the USGA sets the tee boxes. At the 2016 U.S. Open, this hole played at a 3.30 which was 8th toughest on the course.

The silver lining for players with this hole is it’s pretty straight-forward: hit driver or 3-wood at the green and hope to get on. If not, scramble from nearby. But the green itself isn’t designed to punish players in the ways some other Oakmont holes are. That said, when Johnny Miller famously shot a 63 at the 1973 U.S. Open this was the only hole he bogeyed after 3-putting.

#7: Hole 3

Hole 3, 462-Yard Par-4, 4.23 Scoring Average: Hole 3 is the other hole featuring the iconic ‘Church Pews’ bunkers. In 2016, the 4.32 scoring average made the #3 hole the 7th most difficult hole on the course and it is easy to see why. Any tee shot that gets stuck in the Church Pews bunkers will be gobbled up and golfers have to accept the likelihood of bogey. And to protect players from simply bailing out up the right, the right side of the fairway is flanked by enormous bunkers as well. Players then hit into an elevated green making balls tougher to spin into this 462-yard par-4.

#6: Hole 18

Hole 18, 502-Yard Par-4, 4.32 Scoring Average: Any players seeking birdie at the final hole will find them hard to come by as the 18th hole, a 502-yard par-4, played at a 4.32 scoring average in 2016 making it the 6th most difficult hole on the course. With the clubhouse in the background and massive bunkers littered up the sides and middle of the fairway and green, this is one of the most picturesque finishing holes in U.S. Open golf. Despite this being the 6th most difficult hole on the course, Dustin Johnson managed to birdie it in 2016 as his 72nd hole and give the patrons something to roar for.

#5: Hole 7

Hole 7, 485-Yard Par-4, 4.33 Scoring Average: Hole 7 at Oakmont Country Club is a 485-yard par-4 which had a 4.33 scoring average in 2016 making it the 5th most difficult hole the last time the U.S. Open was held here. There’s danger everywhere for players hitting wayward shots. Off the tee, players can hit it up the right where the fairway is wider but they will have a longer shot into the green or they can risk it and play to the left for a shorter approach but then a number of bunkers come into play. Once at the green, players will find the multi-tiered surface difficult to manage and 2-putts feel like a win.

#4: Hole 10

Hole 10, 461-Yard Par-4, 4.33 Scoring Average: Making the turn from the back to the front, surely players will find some relief at the 10th hole because most private country club courses are favorable on the back nine to members, right? Wrong. In 2016, this 461-yard par-4 was the 4th most difficult hole at Oakmont. It plays downhill which would be nice for the players if it didn’t also have arguably the narrowest fairway at Oakmont that has bunkers up both sides and a ditch running through it ready to snatch up any balls struck without distance control. Once players get to the green, they find a nightmarish right-to-left and front-to-back slope. Mickelson famously 4-putted this hole in 2007 and would later miss the cut by 1 stroke.

#3: Hole 15

Hole 15, 507-Yard Par-4, 4.39 Scoring Average: Hole 15 at Oakmont CC is a 507-yard par-4 that played at a 4.39 scoring average in 2016, making it the 3rd most difficult hole on the golf course. As if the blind tee shot wasn’t enough, the fairway is then heavily sloped from left to right so players have to truly trust their tee shot. Then comes a mid-to-long iron approach shot into the undulating and sloping green, a LARGE green, that is flanked on both sides by bunkers. Two good shots (tee + approach) don’t guarantee par here, they have to be great shots to put golfers into position for par or better.

#2: Hole 9

Hole 9, 472-Yard Par-4, 4.43 Scoring Average: The 9th hole at Oakmont played at a 4.43 scoring average in 2016, making it the second most difficult hole at the U.S. Open. This 472-yard par-4 is the first half of a brutal back-to-back punch with the 9th and 10th both in the top 4 most difficult holes on the course. Another hole with a blind tee shot, golfers must avoid the massive ditch up the left or risk bogey or worse but they also have to keep the ball away from the mine field of bunkers up the right. The 9th green is actually connected to the practice green at Oakmont is considered the most complex green on the course, as if players didn’t have enough difficulty getting there in the first place.

#1: Hole 1

Hole 1, 488-Yard Par-4, 4.45 Scoring Average: Hole #1 at Oakmont Country Club isn’t just the hardest hole on the course, which it is with a 4.45 scoring average, it is the most difficult starting hole in all of Championship Golf, across all of the 4 majors. A 488-yard par-4, the first hole requires a very precise tee shot and then a long iron into a green that slopes away from the golfers causing the ball to skip. There will be a sickening amount of bogeys at this hole in the 2025 U.S. Open and the players who are calm enough to recognize that the entire field has to contend with the difficulty of #1 and not just them will do the best.