The course which hosts the US Open often comes under more scrutiny than any other course on the calendar, with many golf fans having a clear idea of how that particular major should be played.
The US Open is traditionally the toughest test in golf. Seven of the 25 events since the turn of the century have seen the winner finish on even par or worse.
And it appears that Oakmont is going to scratch the itch of those who want to see a brutal US Open this week. No player has ever won the US Open at Oakmont with a score of better than five under par. Angel Cabrera meanwhile, won at the venue on five over par back in 2007.
The Oakmont rough is several inches deep, while Jordan Spieth suggested that Oakmont will trip up anyone who gets carried away and tries to force the issue.
How the USGA reacted to Billy Horschel’s criticism of Chambers Bay after the 2015 US Open
It is arguably the blueprint for a US Open. But the USGA has not always escaped criticism following the event over the years.
And perhaps the most controversial US Open in recent memory came a decade ago, when Chambers Bay hosted the event for the very first time.
It was Spieth who triumphed for his second major title of the year. But many players left with a sour taste in their mouth, with Billy Horschel one of those who did not hold back in his criticism of the greens.
And speaking on Dan on Golf, Horschel – who finished tied for 25th that week – explained how the USGA reacted to his comments as he was asked about the keys to setting up a good US Open venue.
“I’ll say this, I have always loved the US Open for a multitude of reasons. I love it that anyone can have a chance to qualify, obviously with a certain handicap. I believe it’s the toughest test in the sense of testing all aspects of your game of golf on a regular basis. You’ve got to drive the ball well, you’ve got to be a great iron player, you’ve got to have a good short game that week, you’ve got to putt well and just the mental grind of the US Open is a challenge in itself,” he said.
“And I’ve said some comments in the past about Chambers Bay, and it was more or less the greens not being championship calibre. And what a lot of people don’t know is Mike Davis called me two days after, out of the blue, and apologised for the greens not being up to championship calibre conditions, and they were aware of that.
“But I think the US Open, when we’ve gone to Chambers Bay and Erin Hills, they were good courses and I like them, I love Chambers Bay, the views and the way the course played was cool. And Erin Hills is similar. But it wasn’t what I grew up watching the US Open.
“It wasn’t Oakmont. I played Winged Foot in 2006 as an amateur after I got out of my freshman year, and that’s when they did the graduated rough, which was awesome. But it was still carnage. And I feel like the US Open lost their identity for a couple of years, and I told Mike Davis this. You guys challenge every aspect of the game. When you make driving not a challenge and you have the fairways as wide as they were at Chambers Bay, you had the fairways as wide as they were at Erin Hills, it doesn’t reward the player who’s a great driver of the golf ball. It makes everything a little bit easier.
“So going back to these iconic, traditional US Open courses, even though they may have removed the trees and renovated it, if you still have it where driving, you still have to drive the ball and if you don’t, you get penalised for it. You’ve got great iron play, you’ve got firm, fast greens, you’ve got to have all of it, that’s what you need to have.”
What Billy Horschel said about Chambers Bay after his final round 10 years ago
Horschel admitted at the start of his interview 10 years ago that he was prepared to speak for an hour, with the state of the course clearly on his mind.
And it was clear that the putting surfaces were his main gripe.
“I was here six weeks ago, and I think this is one of the most spectacular settings that I’ve ever seen in a golf course. I thought Pebble Beach had unbelievable views, I thought Royal County Down had unbelievable views, they are my top two scenery golf courses to play. And this one by far beats it. But tee to green it’s fair. It is. Some of the greens could be a little softened, seven and maybe — obviously four. Maybe do a little bit different things. But it’s just been a disappointing week with the way the greens are,” he said.
“When you’ve got a bunker in the middle of number four green that shouldn’t be there, that’s disappointing. I’ve had this debate on Twitter the last couple of days with people and it sounds like the players are whining and we’re complaining about this and they’re like, Well, you’re playing for millions of dollars, you’re playing for the U.S. Open championship. And like I said, we’re not looking for perfect greens. We’re not looking for Memorial’s greens or even last week at TPC Southwind in Memphis, at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. But we’re looking for something that’s very consistent. Every green is very consistent. And this week they’re not. The only two greens out here that are really good are 13 and seven. And number 10 is not too bad. But other than that, it’s just a very disappointing week to be here.
“I feel like the greens — when you come to a championship tournament, I think it’s supposed to — obviously you’re going to find out who the best player is, but when you neglect one of the skills or take away one of the skills from a player, and that be putting, and if you’re a really good putter, a great putter, you know, and they take that away from you, you know, that’s what skill that you have above everybody else. And I understand Jordan is up by the leaderboard and he’s making plenty of putts. But I’m a really good putter as well, and I have not had a great week on the greens. And it’s not due to the fact that my stroke is off or my speed is off, I’ve hit a lot of really good putts that have bounced all over the world. So it’s just frustrating. I played awesome golf today. I played out my tail, out my ass, to shoot three under par. And I really felt like I should have shot six, seven or eight under, but I wasn’t able to due to the fact that some of the putts I hit just hit some really bad spots on the greens and got off line and didn’t go in.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there do not appear to currently be any plans to bring the US Open back to Chambers Bay, with the venue every year now confirmed up until 2042.
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