When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
The Ultimate Club Pro Signs Off
/Video: Oakmont's 11th & 12th
/A case could be made that the 11th is the least interesting hole at Oakmont, playing uphill to a landing area the golfer can't see and forcing a lay-up for most of today's players who have not managed to boost driving distance averages since 2003.
The green slopes from back left to front right but should give up plenty of birdies. A nice thing since there aren't many left after this.
The flyover:
The par-5 12th featured fairway contour issues last time around that let to the field's GIR finishing at only 44% according to the USGA. Those issues have hopefully been fixed. Tees will be moved around here to offer the look of a reachable five a legit three-shotter. The ingredients here are all pretty spectacular and hopefully the setup is better this time around.
Roundup: 2016 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying
/Video: Oakmont 9th & 10th Holes
/For Your U.S. Open Consideration: Conventional Grip McIlroy
/If you were looking for a reason to back Rory at Oakmont, he certainly gave punters all they needed to see on some of the tour's toughest greens.
From Bob Harig's Memorial report on Rory McIlroy's play (-13, T4) just a little over a week before the U.S. Open at Oakmont:
But perhaps more important was McIlroy's putting. Typically a sore spot and the aspect of his game that holds him back, McIlroy was second for the week in strokes gained putting and never took more than 29 putts in a round. (He had more than 30 in each round two weeks ago in Ireland.)
"Off the tee I was really good this week, and I feel like my putting improved a lot,'' he said. "If you look at the stats from my putting, I feel like it's been really good. So all things considered, it's been a decent week. Time to get ready for Oakmont.''
And this from Golf Channel's Justin Ray:
.@McIlroyRory: final round 68 (-13 overall). 2nd in field this week in strokes gained putting - was 122nd this season entering week.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) June 5, 2016
I think most fascinating about the putter grip change from left hand low to conventional is just how much less he "pops" a putt instead of a stroke. Popping is not a good thing on greens running 14. IMHO.
Tim Warsinskey notes that McIlroy has been preparing by watching the USGA's flyovers.
Apparently he's jumping on the Oregon bandwagon en route to Oakmont...
When you're about to takeoff but tell the pilots to wait! Playoff looked likely but not now! ✈️ pic.twitter.com/cPusHv3YUE
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) June 5, 2016
U.S. Open Sectional Storylines, Links, Fox Coverage
/Video: Oakmont's 7th & 8th, The Tough Begins
/Not that there has been an easy moment so far, but Oakmont only gets tougher from the 7th tee on. Even more exposed than it was nine years ago, this is one of the more sloped greens and a nice contrast to the flat eighth.
I'm not sure releasing a paper outlining the lack of distance gains and then lengthening the longest par-3 in U.S. Open history twelve or so yards does much to make your argument stronger. Especially when the hole saw only 27% of the field hit the green in regulation last time the U.S. Open was played here.
Nonetheless, the least interesting looking and playing hole at Oakmont is still interesting, a credit to its design.
Video: Oakmont 5th & 6th Holes, Two Of The Best
/It's been a while since I've been to Oakmont but the flyovers and green contour lines in these USGA flyovers remind what a great pair of holes these are.
It'll be interesting to see if that directional post behind the fifth green survives...
Nice to see the 6th green enlarged, as I vaguely recall it played a little too small during the 2007 U.S. Open.
Video: Oakmont 3rd & 4th Holes, Hello Church Pews
/Video: Oakmont 1st And 2nd Holes
/We're off and running to Oakmont Country Club for the U.S. Open and the USGA is again posting flyovers on YouTube. So two holes at a time, here is one of America's great courses, this time as seen from a drone giving us some nice tee perspective to start off, followed by a hole flyover.
I'm not sure there is a tougher starter and certainly no green as difficult to start on as this one:
One of the few birdie opportunities at Oakmont, assuming you hit the fairway and keep it below the hole, the par-4 2nd: