The Ultimate U.S. Open Course

Upon request from possibly the only person who reads this blog (thanks Bill), we are going to try to create the ultimate U.S. Open Course. The course will obviously consist of holes from past U.S. Open venues, but there is one small catch. In order to make the cut each hole must be the best in its position. Example: Oakmont's first hole will be considered the best opening hole. Selection will be determined on the hole's difficulty in relation to par, aesthetics, and history. Please let me know your nominations. Here we go.

HOLE #1
Oakmont Country Club
Par 4 / 482 Yards

Although it may not be the most "picturesque", it is considered to be one of the toughest par 4's in the world. What better way to start an Open? Imagine trying to stop a golf ball at the end of a marble bowling ally that is located on the downslope of a double black diamond ski run.

Seriously.

Honorable Mentions:

Cherry Hills Country Club (Palmer Drives Green and Birdies 6 of first 7 holes)

HOLE #2

Oakland Hills Country Club

Par 5 / 529 yards

When someone mentions the 1985 U.S. Open they more than likely know two things. Andy North won and T.C. Chen lost. Ahh yes. T.C. Chen. The ol' double hit on the 5th. But that was not Mr. Chen's only "double" of the Open. On a positive not he made another double on the 2nd hole during the first round. A double EAGLE that is. Chen holed a three wood from 265 yards to record a rare albatross.

HOLE #3
Winged Foot Golf Club
Par 3 / 216 Yards

With a scoring average of 3.37 in 2006, the 3rd at Winged Foot became the 7 hardest par 3 in U.S. Open history. The competitors in '06 should have taken a tip from Billy Casper who was victorious in the 1959 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Mr. Casper choose to lay up on the 3rd in every round to avoid the bunkers guarding the front of the green. He got up and down each time for par.

HOLE #4
Oakmont Country Club
Par 5 / 609 Yards

I've only had the great opportunity to play Oakmont one time (thanks for the invite Bill...not). My day there didn't start as expected due to the fact that I began my round on the back nine. Intoxicated by the entire experience, I walked up the 15th and said to my caddie "I thought they would be bigger?" He said "They are. These aren't the real ones." The real "Church Pew" bunker is located in between the 3rd and 4th holes at Oakmont and it is spectacular. Most people credit the 3rd hole as the location of second most famous bunker (#1 I'm guessing is the "Road Hole" bunker), but I disagree. From the third tee the bunker gets small the further down you drive the ball. From the fourth tee it gets bigger. Thus the 4th gets the credit, and the spot on my "Ultimate U.S. Open Course".

HOLE #5
Pinehurst Resort & Club (#2)
Par 4 / 476 Yards

The 5th at Pinehurst played as the most difficult hole during the 1999 U.S. Open (avg. score 4.55...5th hardest par 4 in U.S. Open History). After a great drive, one will find themselves with a 200+ yard approach to a green of which only about half of its surface is puttable.

"The best way to play #5 at Pinehurst is to birdie #4" -Anonymous

Honorable Mentions:
Canterbury Golf Club

HOLE #6
Oak Hill Country Club
Par 3 / 167 yards

Ok. Maybe not the most difficult hole...actually quite the opposite. The 6th at Oak Hill is on the list due to a historical note. During the '89 U.S. Open, in a span of 90 minutes, the sixth hole reliquished 4 Hole-in-ones. Doug Weaver, Mark Wiebe, Jerry Pate, and Nick Price all dropped it in with a 7 iron during the first round (I would have hit 8).

Honorable Mentions:

HOLE #7
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Par 3 / 107 Yards

"Colin Montgomerie was sitting in the Pebble Beach clubhouse in 1992 and feeling confident in his chances of earning the trophy for his first U.S. Open victory when Tom Kite stunned the Scot. With whipping winds in excess of 40 miles-per-hour plaguing golfers still on the course, Montgomerie's clubhouse lead looked like it would hold up. Instead, with an improbable birdie on the seventh hole of the final round, Kite positioned himself for the win. His ball was in the tall grass off the green, but he managed to dig it out with a shot that hit the flagstick and dropped into the cup. Kite went on to win by two strokes." (from NBCsports.com)

HOLE #8
Oakmont Country Club
Par 3 / 288 Yards

A par 3 that is unreachable for some participants has got "USGA" stamped all over it. During the 2007 U.S. Open, the 8th at Oakmont became the longest par 3 in the history of....golf (I may have made that up but I'm almost certain it's true). I was having a hard time not putting the 8th at Pebble in this spot until I read one fact. The 8th hole at Oakmont is the only bogey Johnny Miller carded during his final round 63 of the '73 Open (and it only played 244 yards then).

"Driver please." - Joe Leenheer, PGA

Honorable Mentions:
Pebble Beach (8th hardest par 4, 4.53 Scoring avg. in 2000)
Pinehurst #2 (John Daly's infamous blowup)

HOLE #9
Interlachen Country Club
Par 5 / 530 Yards

Bobby Jones won the 1930 U.S. Open at Interlachen Country Club giving him the third leg of the "Impregnable Quadrilateral". This win was set up by the infamous "Lily Pad Shot" during Jones' second round. Distracted by spectators, Jones semi-topped his second shot which skipped across a water hazard and came to rest safely on the bank on other side. His good fortune resulted in a birdie and an eventual U.S. Open title.

Honorable Mentions
Pebble Beach Golf Links (4th hardest par 4)

HOLE #10
Bethpage State Park (Black Course)
Par 4 / 509 Yards

During the 2002 U.S. Open the tenth hole at Bethpage required participants to carry their drives some 250-260 yards just to get to the fairway. Now some people might think "What's the big deal?" Well considering it's a 500+ yard Par 4 with rough that will chew up and spit out anything longer then a wedge. Combine that with some "naughty" bunkering throughout the entire hole....I'd say that's pretty tough. Players even joked about it wasn't the carry that was the problem, but the width of the fairway (they were referring to the caddy strip!) The USGA did change the required carry for the 2009 U.S. Open to avoid any controversy. A move which this purist would classify as "wussy". They should have made it longer.

Honorable Mention
Pinehurst #2

HOLE #11
Worcester Country Club
Par 4 / 400 yards

Worcester Country Club hosted the 1925 U.S. Open which was won by Willie Macfarlane. Who cares right? Well....how about this. He won the title in a playoff. Actually, he won it in a double playoff against the great Bobby Jones. How does this make the 11th hole the greatest 11th hole in U.S. Open history? Well this great playoff would have never taken place if it weren't for the unbelievable display of sportsmanship by Mr. Jones on the 11th hole. This was the hole were Jones famously called a penalty on himself when his ball moved slightly in the rough after he touched the grass with his club. That penalty stroke cost him the title, but when praised for his sportsmanship, Jones responded that he might as well have been congratulated for not robbing a bank.

HOLE #12
Oakmont Country Club
Par 5 / 598 yards

During the 1994 U.S. Open, the 12th Hole at Oakmont Country Club played as the 3rd hardest par 5 in Open history. It may have earned a higher position if played from the member tees at 667 yards. Unhappy with the 3rd place finish, the USGA and Oakmont went to work and during the Open in 2007 they earned the top spot with a scoring average of 5.41.

HOLE #13

Canterbury Golf Club
Par 5 / 490 Yards

In contention for his sixth career major title at Cantebury Golf Club in the 1946 U.S. Open, Byron Nelson was felled by a mistake not of his own making. In the third round, his caddie had accidentally kicked his golf ball while walking down the 13th fairway, resulting in a one-stroke penalty for Nelson. That penalty was the difference between winning outright and playing in a playoff, which is where Nelson lost to Lloyd Mangrum.

Honorable Mentions

HOLE #14
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Par 5 / 573 yards

As one of the less spectacular "inland" holes at Pebble (which is dumb because you can still see the ocean from anywhere on the hole), this Par 5 had the gold and silver on the list of most difficult par 5's in U.S. Open history until Oakmont's 12th Hole during the 2007 Open overcame it (scoring avg. of 5.38 in 2000 and 5.29 in 1992). What makes this hole so tough? Go to Pebble and find out (or read my blog about Pebble!)

Honorable Mentions:

HOLE #15
Bethpage State Park (Black Course)
Par 4 / 459 Yards

While everyone was worrying about the 250 yard carry to get to the fairway on the 10th hole at Bethpage during the 2002 U.S. Open, they should have been thinking about how they were going to make par on 15. That year it played as the second hardest par 4 in U.S. Open History with a scoring avg. of 4.60 and followed that with an avg. of 4.47 in 2009 again playing as the most difficult hole on the course.

Honorable Mentions:

HOLE #16
Olympic Club (Lake)
Par 5 / 607 Yards

The 16th at Olympic has played as the 4th and 5th Hardest Par 5 in U.S. Open history (scoring average of 5.25) and for me has been the hardest hole to find a picture of......thanks Google Maps! Considered one of the hardest par 5's in the world, this hole cost Arnold Palmer the 1966 U.S. Open. Attempting to draw his tee shot, he snap-hooked his ball into a tree a mere 150 yards away. Then stubbornly trying to hit a 3 iron out of the U.S. Open rough, he managed to advance the ball another 100 yards down the crescent shaped hole. After holing his bogey, his lead slipped to one. He would eventually loose to Billy Casper in a playoff.

HOLE #17
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Par 3 / 208 Yards

"Foul!" You say? How can you not have the 17th at Pebble as the greatest 17th hole in U.S. Open History? Hello..Tom Watson. Jack's 1 Iron. Not to mention in 1992 it played as the second hardest par 3 in U.S. Open History (3.44 scoring avg.) only behind #17 at Pebble Beach in the 2000 U.S. Open (scoring avg. 3.46) Yeah, that's what I thought. Quit complaining and make your bogey.

Honorable Mentions:
17th at Olympic Club (1st and 3rd hardest par 4 in U.S. Open History)

HOLE #18
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Par 5 / 543 yards

The greatest finishing hole in golf. Period.

"I'm surprised you don't have to walk through pearly gates between 17 green and 18 tee."

-Joe Leenheer, PGA

Honorable Mentions:

Pinehurst #2 (5th hardest par 4, Payne Stewart's Putt)

Oakmont Country Club (2nd highest scoring avg. for par 4's in 2007 Open, 4.602)

Winged Foot (Phil Mickelson's "oops")

Interlachen C. C. (Bobby Jones sinks 40 foot birdie to win 1930 Open by two and achieves the "Impregnable Quadrilateral")

ULTIMATE U.S. OPEN COURSE STATS

Par: 75

Front Nine: 35

Back Nine: 40

Yards: 7791 yards

Front Nine: 3404 yards

Back Nine: 4387 yards

Distance Between Holes:

19830 Miles, 20 yards

307 Hours, 38 Minutes, 25 Seconds

Front Nine: 9024 Miles / 140 Hours & 38 Minutes

Back Nine: 10,806 Miles & 20 Yards / 167 Hours & 25 Seconds

Inverness Club

1920, '31,'57, &'79 US Opens

Course: 18 Hole Private
Architect: Donald Ross

Founded: 1903
Location: Toledo, OH
Web Site: www.invernessclub.com
Date Last Played: May 12, 2008
Score: 80...ish

There's no "I" in Open....or is there?

"God measures men by what they are

Not by what they in wealth possess

This vibrant message chimes afar

The voice of Inverness"

Pretty good huh? Those words are inscribed on a clock that was donated to The Inverness Club by the Golf Professionals who participated in the 1920 U.S. Open Championship. This gift was inspired by an action that hits very close to this writers heart. During the U.S. Open that year, Golf Professionals were invited into the clubhouse of a hosting venue for the first time in championship history. This invitation created a historic swing in the status quo of the Golf Professional/Member relationship. The U.S. Open returned to Inverness three times with significant lapes between contests (1931, '57, and '79). Unfortunalty technology has forced Inverness into the "too short" club of historic venues and the hopes of a U.S. Open returning are bleak.

The big "I" (as commonly referred to by locals) is a classic championship course that has maintained its "old school" charm throughout the years. I would like to believe Donald Ross would still enjoy his course even after a couple tweaks by renowned architects Arthur Hills and Tom Fazio.

I have had the opportunity to play Inverness on three occasions all of which were Northern Ohio PGA Tournaments. Each time I retuned I looked forward to playing two holes. Numbers 1 and 10. This is not to say that the other 16 holes are not special in their own right. But to be honest with you, I can only remember a handful of them without looking at a course map. Holes 1 and 10 have a very memorable and distinct look to them. This look was created by merging the fairways of each hole creating a "front lawn" feeling. It is truly unique design. I also like this design feature for another reason. Two fairways doubles my chances of actually hitting one off the first tee! I have a tendancey to get a little "snappy" when starting my round so having a fairway right next door (actually left next door) is very comforting.

Notable Holes: Let's start with the 4th Hole. A lenghty par 4 which features a HUGE green. Wait. I though all these old courses had small greens? Although most of greens at Inverness are delicously small (bite size if you will), the green at the 4th is large and udulating. With the green sloping severly from front right to back left, finding the green here is more difficult than you may think.

For our next notable hole we don't have to go far. The 5th at Inverness is a tasty dogleg left which demands length and control off the tee. A wayward drive will more than likely force a player to lay-up or bail-out left to avoid the water hazard which runs the entire length of the hole and defines the right hand side of the green.

Now, I don't want this to come out the wrong way, but for me the rest of the holes are just "ok". It's not that I don't really like some of them, but they just don't wow me.

One thing that does wow me is the history and tradition that the Inverness Club has to offer. Even the great Donald Ross thought so highly of its design that he choose to single out Inverness in his book "Golf Has Never Failed Me" (he only mentioned 7 courses of the 400+ he designed). I hope that the USGA doesn't forget about the big "I" and brings the U.S. Open back their for some more big history.