Oakmont Country Club: Course Tour [Golf Digest]

[nevets88]

Nice little course map with hole linking to graphic and flyover. And the buildup to the USO begins.

http://www.golfdigest.com/story/oakmont-country-club-course-tour

[b101]

5 hours ago, nevets88 said:

Nice little course map with hole linking to graphic and flyover. And the buildup to the USO begins.

http://www.golfdigest.com/story/oakmont-country-club-course-tour

Good share - I didn't keep up with golf in 2007, so haven't watched anything at Oakmont. Looking forward to this after the slightly farcical US Open at Chambers Bay last year. Shame, as I had really wanted it to be good - it was just a bit too silly.

Edited April 15, 2016 by b101

[iacas]

I'll be there almost every day that week. Got the media pass, and then two tickets last year… the wife will use one a few days (my daughter will get in free), and i'll be selling and/or offering the extra to friends.

Looking forward to covering it again this year. Oakmont is one of my top three courses.

I just hope Angel Cabrera doesn't win again.

[Chilli Dipper]

As much as I admire Mike Davis' efforts to make U.S. Open course setups less arbitrarily penal, Oakmont is one of the few courses that is at its best putting players through the wringer for 72 holes. When the USGA's got it wrong in recent years, it's been on the greens (Congressional, Chambers Bay); Oakmont keeps its greens in championship condition on an everyday basis, so it will be hard to mess it up. I want to see a good, old-fashioned bloodbath.

In addition to Cabrera's victory, the top five finishers in '07 included Tiger, Furyk, David Toms, and Bubba Watson; that's a pretty good indication that the course will favor no particular style of player this year.

[djfajt71]

I'll be there for Thursday's round.  I've played the now closed Oakmont East several times, but have never been to the Country Club in any capacity.

[Golfingdad]

I love the "square" greens like on #9 and 18 here.  I feel like I've only seen those on a few courses, and it always seems to be eastern courses.  I wonder if that's a feature of a particular architect or a period in time?  Or neither.

[DaveP043]

My father-in-law was a member of a club in Cumberland MD, where the first 9 was built around 1920.  At least 3 or 4 of those greens have nearly square corners, with the back of the green raised slightly to create a back-to-front slope.  I'm guessing it was in style at a certain time period.  This is an interesting discussion:

 http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,8302.0.html

I read in one spot that they may have been made squarish for ease of mowing, during the times when most of the work was done by push mowers.  Its a bit easier to push a mower straight than it is to follow a specific curve.  Well, they said it's easier, I can't say I've pushed a mower myself for a long long time.

[Coronagolfman]

On 5/5/2016 at 11:39 AM, Golfingdad said:

I love the "square" greens like on #9 and 18 here.  I feel like I've only seen those on a few courses, and it always seems to be eastern courses.  I wonder if that's a feature of a particular architect or a period in time?  Or neither.

I believe the original designer of Oakmont was not a "name" architect but rather a fellow (I think the name was Fownes) that was looking to make a punishing layout in the spirit of a Pine Valley.  The massive bunkers, the "church pew" rows of grass in some bunkers and the fact that the rakes had big teeth that resulted in deep furrows in the bunkers to increase the penalty for hitting into them were somewhat unique features along with the lightning-fast and firm greens that were legendary for their difficulty. I think the furrowed bunkers concept was removed some years ago and for the last Open at Oakmont the USGA talked the members into removing a bunch of trees to make the course a more "links-like" layout. If it's hot and dry in Pittsburgh that week then one might expect a similar carnage as to what was seen at Chambers Bay last year.

[nevets88]

So if you Google Maps Oakmont, the church pews show up. Wonder if a geek at Google is a golf nut. Or Oakmont has a lot of pull. Or a little of both. Or maybe Google Maps is that accurate.

[Chilli Dipper]

46 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

So if you Google Maps Oakmont, the church pews show up. Wonder if a geek at Google is a golf nut. Or Oakmont has a lot of pull. Or a little of both. Or maybe Google Maps is that accurate.

A few courses have course diagrams that show up in map view. Pebble Beach, Augusta National, Hazeltine, and Austin Country Club (where the Match Play was held this year) all have course maps.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

So if you Google Maps Oakmont, the church pews show up. Wonder if a geek at Google is a golf nut. Or Oakmont has a lot of pull. Or a little of both. Or maybe Google Maps is that accurate.

Those aren't even the official ones. Those are the secondary set beside 15.

The "real" set is between 3 and 4.

[nevets88]

Here's FOX Sports' flyovers w/commentary:

 

[iacas]

I love watching the play on #2, in particular.

Kind of annoying that the video playlist is backward.

[bwdial]

On 4/16/2016 at 9:41 AM, Chilli Dipper said:

As much as I admire Mike Davis' efforts to make U.S. Open course setups less arbitrarily penal, Oakmont is one of the few courses that is at its best putting players through the wringer for 72 holes. When the USGA's got it wrong in recent years, it's been on the greens (Congressional, Chambers Bay); Oakmont keeps its greens in championship condition on an everyday basis, so it will be hard to mess it up. I want to see a good, old-fashioned bloodbath.

In addition to Cabrera's victory, the top five finishers in '07 included Tiger, Furyk, David Toms, and Bubba Watson; that's a pretty good indication that the course will favor no particular style of player this year.

I second this.  I don't consider it a proper U.S. Open unless a PGA Tour player (or twenty) is reduced to sobbing and blubbering incoherently.

[RandallT]

 

A no frills flyover via Google Maps.  No fancy animation, but it gets the job done. 

Done using this site: http://www.provisualizer.com/ which I have found pretty cool. You need to install Google Earth for 3D stuff. The thumb tacks were put there by the site, and you can look at any of the major venues (and Olympics) here: http://www.provisualizer.com/procalendar/2016/men/majorchampionships.php

You can even put thumb tacks on your own course to map it and do flyovers pretty easily.

[Buckeyebowman]

On 4/20/2016 at 2:55 PM, djfajt71 said:

I'll be there for Thursday's round.  I've played the now closed Oakmont East several times, but have never been to the Country Club in any capacity.

Wow, it's a small world! I played Oakmont East quite a few times as a kid. Almost all of my Mom's side of the family lived in the area. During Summer vacation I'd spend a week or two at my relatives. One of my golf crazy Uncles would drop me and my cousins off with enough money for golf and lunch, and another Uncle would pick us up on his way home! I can remember looking down the hill, catching glimpses of a few of the many bunkers, and just dreaming!

[Divot Master]

I played Oakmont once right before the tree removal project started, amazing how much different the course looks and plays now.