Breakfast Ball #55: Old Oakmont Still Packs a Punch

In This Week’s Newsletter:

Course Profile: Oakmont Country Club, the host of this year’s US Open

Where better to start a course profile series than in my state of residence, Pennsylvania. Welcome to Oakmont Country Club, the host of the 2025 US Open.

Course Profile:

Location: Plum, PA (on the edge of Pittsburgh)

Par 70, 7,372 yards for the 2025 US Open

Course Rating: 77.7 (what a scratch golfer is expected to shoot)

Course History:

The city of Pittsburgh traces its roots back to the mid-18th century, with European settlers recognizing its strategic location at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River. By the early 19th century, Pittsburgh's population was around 1,400, and its abundant coal deposits and waterways set the stage for industrial growth. These resources fueled the rise of iron and steel manufacturing, turning the city into a major industrial hub. In the early 1900s, Pittsburgh's population surged to nearly half a million, cementing its status as the "Steel City."

One of the people that benefitted from this boom was Henry Fownes, who sold his steel processing company to Andrew Carnegie in 1898. Carnegie later became the richest man in America after selling his steel company to JP Morgan for $303 million, which would equate to $11 billion in today’s money.

Carnegie introduced Henry Fownes to the game of golf, which he enjoyed playing at Highland Country Club with his two sons, who were quickly establishing themselves as two of the best golfers in Western Pennsylvania. However, the nine-hole course at Highland Country Club no longer offered enough of a challenge for their growing skills. Determined to create a true test of golf in the area, Fownes seized an opportunity in 1903 when 191 acres of land became available. With the help of 150 workers and a team of two dozen horses and mules, his vision came to life. Oakmont Country Club officially opened for play on October 1, 1904, laying the foundation for one of the most iconic and challenging courses in golf history.

The course gained national prominence with the emergence of Fownes’ son, William, as one of the best golfers in the US. He won the 1910 US Amateur, and was the president of the USGA in 1926 and 1927, when the course hosted its first US Open. Since then, Oakmont has hosted a record nine US Opens, the most recent in 2016, when Dustin Johnson took home the trophy with a winning score of 4-under.

What Makes Oakmont Unique?

Oakmont remains as the only course Henry Fownes has designed, but his son William made many changes to the course over time. Despite the fact that Pittsburgh is over 300 miles from the nearest ocean, they created an “inland links” course styled after the traditional links courses in Great Britain and Ireland. While many of those old courses have not stood the test of time because of advancements in golf equipment, Oakmont remains one of the toughest tests in golf due to its bunkering and treacherous greens.

Bob Ford, the former head professional at Oakmont, famously remarked, “Putts don’t break at Oakmont; they glide, they drift, they trickle, they streak.” The greens, built across the natural contours of the land, present one of golf’s toughest challenges—especially in dry weather when they become frighteningly fast.

These expansive putting surfaces average over 8,300 square feet, significantly larger than the PGA Tour average of 5,000-6,000. Since hosting the U.S. Open in 2016, the club has restored an additional 24,000 square feet of green space, further amplifying the challenge of navigating Oakmont’s already massive and treacherous greens. The reason for this? To add more room for difficult pin positions. “The greens are the number one defense on the course”, grounds superintendent Mike McCormick said last year.

The course’s most iconic feature is the “Church Pews” bunker (see above) located between the third and fourth holes. The bunker is over 300 feet or 92 metres long, with wide trenches of sand bordered by perilous stretches of deep rough. The church pew bunkers are part of an extensive bunkering complex that boasts 175 total traps, without a single water hazard.

Oakmont has been in the top 10 US courses according to Golf Digest every year since 1969, and with 3 more US Open’s and 2 US Women’s Opens set to be held on the course after 2025, it is not going anywhere.

Can You Play it?

Oakmont is an extremely exclusive private golf club, therefore it is difficult to play unless you know one of the members. Membership is by invitation only, and is reportedly restricted to just less than 600 golfers. Perhaps it is best to keep it off the bucket list unless you don’t want to complete it.

More resources: Every Hole at Oakmont by Golf Digest (Video), How Oakmont Stays Championship-Ready by Fried Egg Golf (Video), The History of Oakmont Country Club (article).

Golfing Results & News Quick Hits

Harris English won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines by one stroke ahead of Sam Stevens. Kris Ventura was the best of the Europeans in T4 after Ludvig Åberg led on day one but struggled with a virus over the weekend. The tour will return to Torrey Pines in a few weeks for the Genesis Invitational after it was moved from Riviera Country Club due to the fires in Los Angeles.

The Old Course at St. Andrews was announced as the host of The Open in 2027. This will be the 31st time that the most famous course in golf has hosted the tournament. The 2027 major rota is now as follows: The Masters, the PGA Championship at PGA Frisco, the US Open at Pebble Beach, and The Open at St. Andrews. Add the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor into the mix and we have quite a year in store.

Alejandro Del Rey won the Ras Al Khaimah Championship on the DP World Tour by four shots. Del Rey claimed his maiden tour title with ease, shooting a bogey-free final round of 66.

Golf YouTuber Rick Shiels announced a partnership with LIV Golf that will see him travel around the world following the tour and creating content with its players. Shiels has been critical of the tour in the past, but signed a multi-year deal to promote it. While YouTube golf has been successful in attracting the younger generation to watch, only Bryson DeChambeau has truly shown the ability to bridge the gap from the pro game to YouTube. Perhaps this is LIV’s attempt at doing the same.

Trivia Corner

The Open Championship has a current rota of 10 courses, including the Old Course at St. Andrews, Royal Liverpool (Hoylake), and Muirfield. However, only one course south of Liverpool is on the Open Rota. Which course is it?

It last held the Open in 2021, when Collin Morikawa emerged victorious.

Come back next week for the answer!

Coming up on tour this week:

• 🏖️ The PGA Tour has its second signature event of the year in Pebble Beach with the AT&T Pro Am

• 🇧🇭 The DP World Tour moves on to the Bahrain Championship

• Rory McIlroy will make his TGL debut alongside his Boston Common teammates against Tiger Woods and Jupiter Links on Monday evening

If you have any feedback for the newsletter or would like to get in touch, I would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] or message us on Twitter/X at @BlueHorizonGolf. Thank you for reading!