Is there any doubt Oakmont is the hardest course in the world?

[Mark_Fine]

John,
Yes it did.  It exposed all the hidden ditches and bunkers, etc and actually got harder but far more interesting and esthetically pleasing.  Again as in the other thread about the look of golf courses, I personally love it! But with all those bunkers etc it is clearly manmade. 

[Rob Marshall]

Is Oakmont a course where members are playing 2 or 3 times a week or is it a course like Cypress or Pine Valley where members show up a few times a year?

[mike_malone]

Is Oakmont a course where members are playing 2 or 3 times a week or is it a course like Cypress or Pine Valley where members show up a few times a year?

Rob,


There’s your proof. Oakmont has an avid membership that plays often. Pine Valley is a special occasion even for many of its members.

[archie_struthers]

 


It's not the hardest for me. But one of my very favorites to play. The greens are so great as is the bunkering. I would agree that the lack of OB and water hazards make it less harrowing than some other courses.


But it's a fabulous tract and the members have a unique affinity for their guests.

[Ben Sims]

I played Oakmont with the young (recent high school graduate) son of a member over a decade ago. We were late, didn’t warm up, and virtually ran to the first tee around 7am on a Tuesday. We played without caddies. Me, a then 27 year old golf architecture nerd, and two guys 10 years my junior about to go to college. It was around three weeks before the US Women’s Open. We played quickly and without pretense. It was cool, then hot. The course was magic. Lunch was fun and down-to-earth. And the tour of the various places of interest in the clubhouse was great.  It remains an easy favorite of mine, easily among my top 5. I’d split 10 rounds between Oakmont and Pine Valley at 7-3, in favor of the Pittsburgh course. Ahead of Riviera, ahead of Crystal Downs; in a stretch run with Ballyneal for best place to play golf that doesn’t touch the ocean.


It’s hard for sure. But vibrant, fun, gritty, and all-together perhaps the quintessential American golf course.

[JMEvensky]

It's not the hardest for me. But one of my very favorites to play. The greens are so great as is the bunkering. I would agree that the lack of OB and water hazards make it less harrowing than some other courses.


But it's a fabulous tract and the members have a unique affinity for their guests.

Archie, how would you split 10 rounds between Oakmont and Pine Valley? Discount your PV bias as much as you can.

[Mark_Fine]

This thread is a perfect example of why courses need to be played multiple times to truly understand them (nothing against Joel as the course was obviously very difficult for him).  But the more you play a course like this or any great one for that matter, the more you start to learn about it and understand it’s subtleties and nuances.  Oakmont is very tough and like many difficult courses it could be set up insane but on a day in day out basis it is a very challenging but very playable golf course.  The first time around it is intimidating for most especially with the speed of the greens but it is not like some courses with water on every hole and lost balls possible throughout. 


For most of the courses mentioned, I would be happy with 10 plays on either one.  They are all in the best of the best category.  Hard to pick a favorite and if invited to any of them - go!

[MCirba]

I played Oakmont with the young (recent high school graduate) son of a member over a decade ago. We were late, didn’t warm up, and virtually ran to the first tee around 7am on a Tuesday. We played without caddies. Me, a then 27 year old golf architecture nerd, and two guys 10 years my junior about to go to college. It was around three weeks before the US Women’s Open. We played quickly and without pretense. It was cool, then hot. The course was magic. Lunch was fun and down-to-earth. And the tour of the various places of interest in the clubhouse was great.  It remains an easy favorite of mine, easily among my top 5. I’d split 10 rounds between Oakmont and Pine Valley at 7-3, in favor of the Pittsburgh course. Ahead of Riviera, ahead of Crystal Downs; in a stretch run with Ballyneal for best place to play golf that doesn’t touch the ocean.


It’s hard for sure. But vibrant, fun, gritty, and all-together perhaps the quintessential American golf course.

+100


Oakmont may be the best combination of course & club on the planet.

[Steve Lapper]

I've had the good fortune to have played Oakmont multiple times and find, although plenty difficult, it is the fairest and most fun course with a high degree of architecturally and condition-presented difficulty. Unlike a Butler National, a Rich Harvest Farms, or a Shattuck  , Oakmont is a joy to play. 


It is a course the genuinely enforces a defensive mind-set. If this thread's author deems it insane to approach a five-foot putt with an iota of aggression than it is he who fails to truly understand the nature of this beast.....nary the opposite. Oakmont makes no pretense to be "gettable," nor does it suffer fools. Its members share a common bond in laughable sadism when hosting guests, yet quietly go about treating it like their everyday playground. One of my best memories was playing with a former club champion and watching him shoot an effortless 33-35. He knew where to go and where not to and once we abandoned our own stubborn eyes, the rest of us managed good scores by surfing his wake.


Unlike Flynn at Shinnecock, Fownes must've known there would be windless days to contend with to maintain adequate defenses. Heat and humidity are no fun anywhere and the Steel Valley is no exception. No caddy uniforms, nor towel-wetting agents for this place


The course may revel in its relentless and stout resistance to scoring, but the club's welcoming nature is a but a doppelgänger to its field of play. Few private clubs in the US with this kind of rich tradition make their guests feel so at home and at ease. The clubhouse creaks with both history and accessibility. The Swat books are an archive of the club's camaraderie. The Rolling Rock or Steel City taps are icy cold and always flowing.


Oakmont is 100% American and an example of a place that won't change much in the next century, no matter what tweaks are made. Its members are inducted first as stewards of its institution, and golfers second.

[Lou_Duran]

Oakmont, Oakland Hills, Oak Hill.  Never had a strong desire to play any of these, but the discussion on Oakmont has me thinking that I need to re-think that.  If I was to play one of the three, assuming that I could get an invitation, which would it be?  For consideration, I've played WF-West which ate my lunch and had me wondering why I bother to play golf.