© John David Mercer-Imagn Images
The US Open Championship is set to begin at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania on Thursday morning. Competitors are currently going through their practice rounds in an attempt to feel out the surroundings and fine-tune their games.
Nothing will be easy this weekend as golfers prep for difficult conditions. The tournament will open up with an impossible first hole that ranks as the toughest on the course.
BroBible listed the 18 holes at Oakmont from easiest to most difficult ahead of Thursday’s opening round. Those rankings were based on average scoring dating back to the 2016 US Open event.
Hole 1 proved to be the tallest task for the field nearly a decade ago. The Par 4 setup saw a stroke average of 4.45.
Hole #1 at Oakmont Country Club isn’t just the hardest hole on the course… 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.
Difficulty will be at a high for golfers when they start their rounds. The ability to hit the green after that initial tee shot has proven elusive for a number of players in the past. With that being said, some are getting creative in their preparations for the US Open.
Golfers are putting to the green from 150 yards out.
@dpworldtour Tony Finau uses putter from 150 yards 😳 #golf #golftiktok ♬ original sound – DP World Tour
Whether or not players will actually use this tactic is unclear. It seems unlikely, but then again, it’s proven quite effective for those testing it out.
Tony Finau tried from 150 yards out. He ended up putting a little too hard but still landed on the green. Zac Blair was more successful from a little over 120 yards out. He got right up near the pin!
@golfoncbs This is wild! 😅 #golf #mcilroy #usopen #viral #golftiktok ♬ original sound – Golf on CBS
The first hole plays fast. The ball just continues to move down the fairway and onto the green. That was demonstrated perfectly on this 130-yard hand-rolled ball earlier this week.
@dpworldtour How fast are the US Open fairways? 👀 #usopen #golf #golftiktok #oakmont ♬ sonido original – ☄️
With the tee located more than 485 yards away, it would take a 300+ yard drive to even get in this position for shot number two. Again, it’s not likely a tactic to be used in actual competition.
Still, it shows the vast difference in difficulty between keeping the ball in the center of the course as opposed to fighting your way out of a very thick rough.
Phil Mickelson was one of many golfers to struggle with the tall grass at Oakmont during the practice session. Typically a short game wizard, he found it impossible to get a clean shot.
@golfdigestofficial If Phil’s struggling in Oakmont’s rough, you know it must be tough!! (📹: @Franchise Cousins ♬ original sound – Golf Digest
The crew at Oakmont prides itself on those unwelcoming course conditions. It sets out to penalize players for wayward shots. Superintendent Mike McCormick opened up on how the staff purposely manicures the rough to be as difficult as possible to escape.
“We made some adjustments to our mowers. We had some custom made so we can actually cut grass up to the height that we want for the championship. If you just let it grow up to three inches and let it go from there, it’s going to just start growing over itself… then the ball sits on top.
“There’s actually a lot of science that goes into it… [We had custom mowers made that] are actually standing the grass up as they’re cutting it [to the height we want].”
-Mike McCormick via the Fried Egg Podcast
The Oakmont crew built custom mowers that allow them to cut the grass at their desired height of around five inches. It will undoubtedly play a role this weekend.
The 125th edition of the US Open is set to run Thursday through Sunday. We’ll see if some of these golfers’ creativity is on display.