Preparations are underway for the 125th U.S. Open that starts Thursday at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. Photos by Howard Richman
Justin Thomas knows playing Oakmont Country Club isn’t for the faint of heart. When you come to play a cathedral of golf, you are bound to hear stuff like this.
“I understand this place is hard. I don’t need to read articles, or I don’t need to hear horror stories. I've played it. I know it’s difficult,” says Thomas, twice a winner in the PGA Championship.
This week Thomas seeks his first U.S. Open title at the famed Oakmont, Pa., club. He will likely need to post a better score than the 8-over-par he accumulated nine years ago in the last U.S. Open at Oakmont CC.
Thomas’ words are music to Mike McCormick’s ears. McCormick — a 12-year GCSAA Class A member and grounds superintendent at Oakmont CC — revels in hearing how golfers view the legendary club, which hosts the 125th U.S. Open starting Thursday. Those weighing in on Oakmont’s reputation include Dustin Johnson, who prevailed there for the 2016 title. Asked this week about the course, Johnson said, “The course is as hard as I remember, if not harder.”
McCormick smiles when he listens to outsiders call Oakmont CC rugged, a beast, yada-yada-yada. Being in on course conditions as he is, McCormick may know better than anyone the degree of difficulty that golfers like Thomas and Johnson will face — especially that five-ish-inch rough.
“Diabolical,” says McCormick about that rough. “I don’t care what they say. At Oakmont, we love adversity.”
Mother Nature has made preparation interesting. Oakmont CC has been slammed by rain in the last five weeks. Up to 8 inches, including some heavy downpours on Sunday and more rain early this week, created challenges for McCormick and the club’s staff. Fortunately, they’ve had help since last week. The volunteer staff is nearly 200-strong (vendors included). They have come from 17 countries and 119 golf courses worldwide to lend an army of helping hands.
One volunteer who has traveled quite a long way is Takayuki Takinami. He is a third-generation course owner and heads Keiyo Country Club in Chiba, Japan. He brought along his superintendent, Asanobu Fukada. Both are volunteering; Takinami got to rake bunkers at the famous Church Pews. “I like to learn how they operate championships, how they prepare,” says Takinami, who’s volunteering at his third U.S. Open. “It (Oakmont) is demanding. Every course I have been to is high quality. The quantity of work is heavier here.”
The equipment is up to the task. Ian Christy, equipment manager at Oakmont and 8-year GCSAA member, mentioned he received new equipment in the spring, including John Deere mowers, gators and golf carts. “Seeing our product out on the course, knowing you had something to do with it, is special,” he says. Christy has been on site since 2009 and oversaw his department during the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open and his first U.S. Open nine years ago.
Downtime includes multiple options for maintenance volunteers, including a golf simulator.
On Tuesday afternoon, architect Gil Hanse made an appearance. He guided Oakmont CC’s major restoration in 2023. This week, he stood in front of the staff and volunteers, emphasizing how important they are to operations.
This is Oakmont CC’s 10th U.S. Open, which is three more than No. 2 on the all-time list (Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., has hosted seven). “I’m blown away by how our team has handled this,” Max Claassen, Oakmont CC’s director of agronomy, a 2-year GCSAA member from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Claassen arrived at Oakmont CC in 2018 seeking a challenge. He got it. “I came here, wanted to test myself with the best. This is what the members always have wanted here. There’s a reason why we have hosted so many of these.”
The maintenance team’s leadership work long hours. When it’s time to rest, they have a golf simulator, a pool table and ping pong to keep them entertained. Of course, there’s another staple of major championship maintenance areas: Cornhole. Another downtime feature is Oakmont CC and Bernhard Academy’s learning and personal development sessions, led by GCM contributor Phil Helmn, MG.
Scottie Scheffler, currently the world’s top golfer, said Tuesday that Oakmont CC is in prime form, despite the rain and mud that kept maintenance on its toes until the last couple of days. “Yeah, the golf course is good. Rough is healthy. The golf course is in great shape, so it should shape up for a really good week,” Scheffler said.
Scheffler and others inside the ropes will tackle turf with Stimpmeter readings ranging from 14.5 to 14.9. What else would you expect from this iconic spot? McCormick, who is hosting his first major championship, is ready to rock ‘n roll.
“We’re going to have a great championship,” McCormick says.
Howard Richman is GCM’s associate editor.