When I informed Tom Paul that I was going to be playing Oakmont for the first time this week, Tom asked me to write down my pre-conceived expectations of the golf course, followed by my thoughts after having played it. So here goes:
TEES
I did not expect so much elasticity from a golf course of this age. But there is so much room out there for length. Maybe it’s the fescue grasses that they grow around those championship tees that make them blend in so nicely with the terrain?
If you ever have the privilege to play Oakmont you should walk back to the tips on number 17 tee. I swear there must be 80 feet of fill under that one tee. The whole 17th tee is just an amazing feat of engineering, and I think it really shows you the commitment of this club to excellence.
And what’s the story behind those cool tee markers? Are those lead tank shells?
FAIRWAYS
I expected the fairways to be much more narrow than they are. But some fairways are over 45 yards wide in places. They are cut very tight too so that you get a good long roll. But that can get you into trouble too, with all the deep bunkering along the edges.
I think Oakmont shows that you don’t have to have narrow fairways for true championship golf.
BUNKERS
Of the three holes that I hooked the ball off the tee, two of them were number 3 and number 4. Well let’s just say I won’t have to go to church for a month now because I went to the pews four times yesterday.
On the thirteenth hole I hit out of the back left bunker, raked my footprints, climbed out of the pit, wiped my hands on my towel, and still had time to watch the ball roll all the way down to a front pin placement and in to the cup. That was my great shot of the day, but actually I didn’t get to see it roll in because you can’t see the green from down in that bunker. There are a lot of very deep greenside bunkers like that at Oakmont.
I can not imagine how incredible the drainage work must have been when Fownes built those bunkers. And these may be the deepest fairway bunkers anywhere. They are a true one shot penalty because you just have to accept the fact that you will not be able to advance the ball very far. In fact, you are better off hitting out sideways, because most of them have another bunker beyond the one you are in. Maybe that’s why Fownes designed so many of them – so that you can’t advance forward from the one you are in?
DITCHES
I knew there were ditches out there, but I didn’t realize there were so many of them. I went into the ditch on 12, and I found another ditch on 15. I was able to easily locate the ball in the fescues that grow in there, and while the stance was really awkward, and the backswing was more of a chop than a swing, the ball was very playable. Oakmont has made these into the most unique features maybe on any golf course anywhere, and the quality of the fescue in there is just some of the best that you will ever find. You don’t loose the ball in the ditches, but you can sure loose your nerve in there.
I have a theory about the origin of those ditches. I think that they might have been gullies, way back in the day of the original grow in. In other words, I think Fownes just had the imagination to turn a potential grow-in problem into a hazard. I had always assumed that those ditches were there for day lighting drain tiles into, and probably some of them do serve that purpose, but so many of them looked to me like they were in areas where water could really get rolling down hill, and that’s what made me think that they might have been gullies. But that’s just a theory.
GREENS
You know the greens are going to be fast, and they are. But you can not appreciate how undulating they are, or how huge they are until you play there. And because they are so fast and undulating it is very hard to keep a chip shot close to the hole. So now you are going to be making some lag putts that are longer than any other lag putts you have ever played. Right there, with that one aspect of the course, you can add a lot of stokes to your card.
APPROACHES
The approaches are groomed to near putting green quality. And they are nice and wide so that you can run the ball up. But running the ball up is not advisable actually, because it just keeps running and running. Yes I rolled off the back of one green. Doh!!
OVER ALL EXPERIENCE
I had no idea how incredibly hospitable and helpful everyone would be at Oakmont. Our member host came out special to join us - in the rain. And somehow we managed to get around this tough course in around four hours, but we never felt rushed. I think that was because of how good our caddies were, and how helpful our host was. My caddy, Matt, is a GCAer, and he was awesome. I have never played a course where the caddy was more important than Oakmont, that’s for sure.
I have to say that this was the greatest golf course I have ever played or seen.