A couple of photos from the 4th tee, first looking left and then right:


(That's the back of the wonderful 3rd green over there)


(If I had been smart enough to walk over to the edge, you'd see the amazing 6th green - sorry - instead you get a glimpse of the 7th fairway)

George -

Great hole! I made eagle here last year so it holds a sentimental place in my heart.

George -

Great hole! I made eagle here last year so it holds a sentimental place in my heart.

Jim, I remember you mentioning this before. Did you reach the green, or hole a wedge? Shiv tells me you're a bomber, so I'll assume the former.

Do those little church pewish bunkers right of green front have a name?

George,

On the small chance you are speaking of my writings on the hole, no need to scan......This is the original version of what I wrote for Paul Daley. No doubt Paul gently edited it to make it better for his book, but this is the "uncut" version of the DVD......

My Favorite Hole
4th Hole at Oakmont
621 Yards, Par 5
By
Jeffrey D. Brauer

I especially like holes with memorable– and colorfully named – features.  Names like “Punch Bowl,” “Bottleneck,” “Island,” or even “Maxwell’s Rolls” suggesting a history of titanic struggle between man and golf course.  

No feature is more memorable than the famous “Church Pew,” bunker at Oakmont Country Club, a large fairway bunker between the third and fourth fairways.  The bunker contains several rows of grassy hummocks, and is as fearsome as its reputation.  

While the third gets most publicity, I actually like the fourth much better.  Players like holes for many reasons.  Better players like holes with easily envisioned shots, average players love famous holes at exclusive clubs, Architects like unique features, and golf historians often like less heralded gems displaying design themes of the past.  The fourth displays elements that appeal to each of these players.

•   The tee shot is well defined, as the Church Pews, in combination with stacked bunkers on the right clearly call for a controlled fade on the tee shot.

The second shot also requires a fade, and offers great strategy, rather than the need to advance the ball as far as possible, which is unusual for par 5 holes!  There are two clusters of fairway bunkers on the right of the second landing area.  

Your dilemma is to get near these, as the green is very narrow, and angled that direction, making it much more receptive.  The green narrows towards the back, making the decision on your second shot very tricky when the pin is located there.

You can’t help but feel the unique history of the hole in American golf design and tournament history when you play.  It’s no stretch to say a course like this will never be built again.

•   The course is shamelessly penal, and historians say that “Golden Age” design theories of angles of play were inspired in response to Oakmont’s difficulty.  However, this hole shows the course really had both schools of thought.

Coincidently, while the hole appears timeless, and unchanged, it has in fact had a rebuilt green, bunkers rebuilt, and tees extended to keep the famous bunker in play for modern tournaments, and everything blends in very well.  

•   Like most average golfers, playing Oakmont was a rare treat for me, enhancing the experience of the entire day.  That I did find myself “up close and personal” with the famous Church Pews on my tee shot, replicating the famous picture of Palmer trying to recover on the third, gave me a golfing story to tell.  My plight naturally gave rise to some good natured opponent and caddy banter.  

“Should have spent more time in Church last week…“Closest you’ll ever get to playing like Palmer!”…“I’m praying for you!”…You’ll do some penance now!

Now, I have a story to tell that evokes knowing nods from golfers, of battling an instantly recognized famous adversary called the Church Pews.  And those memories is what really creates favorite holes.

Here is a more recent picture (Summer '06) from the back tee.  It is clear to see how the tree removal program has altered the view off the tee, relative to the previous pictures.
 .

For a short knocker like me; is the second shot as interesting as it looks on paper?  It looks like if playing F&F and going over the hill it could be an exciting walk.

For a short knocker like me; is the second shot as interesting as it looks on paper?  It looks like if playing F&F and going over the hill it could be an exciting walk.

It is indeed an exciting walk.

Jeff, thanks for posting that, I hope everyone takes the time to read it and think about it.

If anyone would like to read the real thing , you can order the book - Favorites Holes By Design: The Architect's Choice - directly from Paul at http://www.fullswinggolf.com.au/. As with all of Paul's books, it is fantastic. If you order it from Paul, he might it drop in a short note for you.

Phillipe -

I don't know that the 5th fairway is reachable on a tee shot, and to fall short would be about the worst thing possible. You'll see more on the post of the 5th hole. I'll try to see if I can figure out the yardage, or maybe someone else can from an aerial or from the yardage book.

Of course this belongs on another thread and I don't mean to deflect from the discussion of this great golf hole, but let's just score another point for me and take another one from "pure architecture is all that matters" Mucci.

 

Well said, point scored.

I've decided to add another element to my threads:

Cool Oakmont Tidbit of the Week:

One of my favorite things about Oakmont is the routing - completely natural, utilizing features abundant in western PA in a fashion not seen on many other local courses (or in the rest of the world, for that matter). One of the coolest things about the routing is that it offers an almost infinite (not quite, but I don't have time to figure out the combos ) number of mini-loops, for the member who can sneak out late in the day for a few holes.

Just a small sampling, beyond the traditional front or back 9:

1-9-10-11(-12-13-14)
1-2-3-4-9(...)
1-5-6-7-8-9
10-11-12-13-14

Hopefully, you get the idea. Basically it's due to the intimate nature of the routing (intimate in the sense of everything's close, all the space is well-utilized; feel-wise, it feels both intimate and grand, if that makes any sense at all!). There are many opportunities to return to that grand clubhouse.

Yet another bowling alley hole.  Why is it when other courses pull this trick out of the bag they are labelled penal, yet Oakmont is strategically great?

This is certainly a valid criticism, but I will add that while the fairways themselves are fairly narrow, the ball is very findable and playable in the rough. It isn't always simply punchouts or drops, like many courses that choose to use trees or other heavy  vegetation, water, or desert to perform the same task.

I can't answer the tree question objectively.

Garland, I was primed for an argument, I don't know how to respond.

 

Happy Holidays.

I own Paul's book - in fact I read it more than any golf book I have - it's fun to go back to, and well... each hole writeup is pretty perfect length for restroom "library" sessions.  

Thus I have been waiting for this hole to show up.

I believe there is no question as to its greatness.  But it's interesting to me the "intangible" is among the things that make it great for Jeff... that is, the coolness of having a story to tell, comparing to the greats that have walked before, etc.  Of course this belongs on another thread and I don't mean to deflect from the discussion of this great golf hole, but let's just score another point for me and take another one from "pure architecture is all that matters" Mucci.

 

Tom,

Ron Whitten among other serious writers is always a bit non plussed to be forced into being a "toilet read." When I am writing, I have to avoid envisioning the reader, ah, assmimilating the info I provide.  At least when writing on golf club atlas, I figure the reader is at least in his PJ's, probably with a bowl of cheerios or a glass of wine in hand staring at the computer.  Or do some of you now use bathroom time to read gca on your pda/cell phones?

Other than that, glad you liked the piece.  I am of the belief that America's hobby is really either storytelling or bitching, and that we endulge in other pursuits simply to foster the main one.  Golf certainly fits the bill, since igetting a hole in one wouldn't be satisfying at all, without someone to lord it over. I mean share it with!