Having watched Oakmont on TV, and Saturday in person, I can tell you without hesitation, that in person, Oakmont is not viewer friendly.
For the most part, we've been told there are 45,000 people per day at the course. I'm here to tell you I know what 45,000 looks like. I've been to Major League Baseball games, and NFL games, and while there may have been 45,000 on one side of the holes of the PA Turnpike, there was another 45,000 on the other side of the bridge.
You literally had to work to find an open space to view the players - not that you could ever get near a tee or a green. I distinctly recall in 1983, and 1994 how you had more access to the interior of the course, and could actually follow players!
This year, you were herded to the outside boundries of the holes. Yes, there was the odd interior view, but not anywhere a ball would land.
Take the par 3 #8 as an example. If you stood at the rope line at the tee box, you could not see the green. Each person would lean over, so the people closest to the tees couldn't possibly see by them, and the green, as I said was a figment of ones imagination. Hell, I was closer to Dotty Pepper than I was to any player - and btw, a very nice view it was.
As for Tiger - well, when he appeared, it was show time for everyone involved. And more than one person noticed, everyone, everything, even the Met Life Blimp turned in mid-air to follow him. The logistics of his movements must be planned for who knows how long in advance.
We were standing at the 9th, with the attached practice green. We had a nice breeze and were watching the action of the 9th and the putting green. For some reason the breeze stopped, and it wasn't until I turned that I realized that Tiger had appeared on the green, and that I was surrounded by hundreds of people.
As I noticed, it was much worse as he walked down #1. I don't know how anyone could do that? 20-30 deep. I couldn't see players when it was 2 and 3 deep.
As for the course, if I could have seen more of it, I could comment on the architecture of it. In the meantime, the USGA needs to understand cueing and how to have people sit in front, with many more standing behind.
Oh, how I longed for Augusta.