With all due respect to past courses to have held national championships, there are few which could hope to be considered among the “blue riband” layouts deemed as “classic U.S Open” venues.

Bryson DeChambeau won his second U.S Open last year in dramatic circumstances at one of those handful – Pinehurst No. 2 – and will have the opportunity to make his title defence at another, the storied Oakmont Country Club, likely just as you’re devouring this piece with your corn flakes.

Think “U.S Open” and it’s difficult not to have images of Oakmont in Ardmore, Pennsylvania in mind, with the club preparing to stage a record 10th men’s event. Located to the east of Pittsburgh, the Henry Fownes creation from the early 1900s fast earned a reputation for its exacting test, first under Fownes and then his son William’s firm guidance.

From the famed Church Pew bunkering on the third hole to those treated with wide-toothed rakes to emphasise uneven lies, Oakmont was seemingly built to challenge players of the highest calibre and has played host to a string of major professional and amateur events over the first half-century of its existence.

Ben Hogan won the U.S Open for his second of three-straight majors in 1953, when it was logistically impossible to win all four due to the scheduling conflicts of the PGA Championship and Open Championship qualifying in Scotland. Johnny Miller shot a record 63 in the final round to win in 1973 and our own Nick Flanagan carved his own piece of history with his 2003 U.S Amateur win at the 37th hole.

However, perhaps the most notable and celebrated of all of Oakmont’s championships was the 1962 U.S Open duel between Pennsylvania native Arnold Palmer, then at the height of his powers, and a newly minted and still winless professional from the neighbouring state of Ohio.

Coming home to Pittsburgh as the reigning British Open and Masters champion, the groundswell of support behind “The King” was enormous but, ultimately, in vain. A 22-year-old Jack Nicklaus would get the best of Palmer in an 18-hole playoff, setting in place a rivalry which would grow the game exponentially. A rivalry between the two was formed that week at Oakmont, and evolved over time into a deep mutual admiration and friendship. Professional golf has never looked back as a result. 

Palmer farewelled his U.S Open playing days at the 1994 championship and both he and Nicklaus were named honorary co-chairmen of the 116th U.S Open held at Oakmont back in 2016, where Dustin Johnson would prevail for his first major championship.

Twenty-four-year-old Ernie Els triumphed in Palmer’s farewell year, adding his name to the tapestry of wonderful champions who have triumphed in majors at Oakmont including Nicklaus, Hogan, Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Miller, Larry Nelson and Angel Cabrera.

The golf course is now two U.S Opens beyond the extensive renovation which occurred in the mid-1990s, where hundreds of trees were removed to restore the more open, pastoral setting Fownes had originally created.

Ernie Els' ascension to greatness began with his win in the 1994 U.S Open at Oakmont. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Ahead of the 2016 U.S Open, additional tree removal allowed for a near-uninterrupted aspect of every hole from the highest vantage points on the property. Further work conducted by Gil Hanse in 2023 has restored more than 24,000 square feet of green surfaces, following the discovery of some old photographs while Hanse was on site initially to work on a full restoration of Oakmont’s bunkers.

“The greens are the No. 1 defence on the course,” said Mike McCormick, Oakmont’s superintendent. “Oakmont, in today’s world, it’s not a crazy-long golf course. There are several holes out here which the players will be hitting wedges into, putting even more of an emphasis on the greens.”

Back in 2016, the greens certainly created a buzz among players and were the centre of some significant final-round consternation for the eventual champion Johnson.  

Johnson had begun the final round four strokes adrift of overnight leader Shane Lowry and faced a short par putt on the 5th green. As he was taking practice strokes, the ball appeared to move once and then again as he addressed the ball.

Johnson immediately called for a ruling before holing the putt and moving on, not knowing whether the USGA’s analysis of the replay vision would result in him being assessed with a penalty or not. He was subsequently approached by an official on the 12th tee, where the prospect of a one-stroke penalty was first flagged with him.

The rest of the field was also informed of a potential penalty hanging over Johnson’s head and yet despite the unprecedented furore, Johnson calmly went on to play the back nine in even par before learning that a one-stroke penalty would indeed be applied.

Dustin Johnson's first win in a major was the 2016 U.S Open at Oakmont. PHOTO: Getty Images.

A two-under 68 quickly became a 69 for a total of 4 under – still good enough for a three-stroke victory over Lowry, Jim Furyk and Scott Piercy.   

Even prior to Johnson’s travails in 2016, Oakmont already had a deserved reputation for its fearsome greens which feature a combination of frightening pace, tilt and undulation. Many have quite unique slopes and furrows, while a good number slope from front to back and are often guarded by thick rough and penal bunkering.

Palmer once said of Oakmont: "You can hit 72 greens in regulation and still not come close to winning the championship” and in 2016, some of the green speeds had been measured at 15 on the Stimpmeter.

“Oakmont is a beast, but it’s one of the coolest designs I’ve ever played," according to Australia’s Louis Dobbelaar who contested the 2021 U.S Amateur Championship at Oakmont.

“The greens have some cool designs and even a few square fronts which are quite unique. Many people would be happy if their home club greens were like the first cut off the greens at Oakmont, too," Dobbelaar said.

“Putting from above the hole will be a killer.”

Like many links and courses of the era, including those on the Melbourne Sandbelt, Oakmont features no forced carry hazards, water and in fact, retains the same hole routing today as when Fownes shaped the golf course through a combination of manpower and a team of donkeys in 1903.

Despite its age and pedigree, modern-day players will still discover that downright difficult holes are in the majority at Oakmont when prepared for a U.S Open. Dobbelaar described the experience of playing the course in tough conditions as “relentless” and in past U.S Opens, there were two par-5s which could be extended to well over 600 yards and a par-3 that could play to nearly 300.

However, there are also opportunities at Oakmont for tees to be pushed forward and the element of “risk reward” introduced, should the USGA choose.

I once asked 2006 champion and Golf Australia magazine columnist Geoff Ogilvy which course he’d like the opportunity to set up for a U.S Open if he had the chance; “Oakmont” was his swift response, suggesting there was more to the golf course’s design than the regular austerity of a “thick rough and difficult pin position” U.S Open setup. 

The 340-yard par-four 2nd and the 312-yard par-four 17th are cases in point. Players were posed with the option of laying up or taking more aggressive lines for the green on the 17th in both the 2007 and ’16 Opens, challenging the deep bunkering and rough that protect the putting surface.      

“The 17th hole is definitely going to be a cool hole to watch coming down the stretch,” Dobbelaar added.

Unless the weather plays a part – as it did when Rory McIlroy was able to torch Congressional via its soft greens in 2010 - the USGA’s long-held mantra of seeking a course setup that identifies the best players at the U.S Open invariably stands the test of time, year after year.

Last year was no different, with DeChambeau’s theatrically long bunker shot to save par on the 72nd hole consigning the now five-time major winner McIlroy to another major championship heartbreaker. A further glance down the leaderboard and a host of “cream of the crop” names in Hideki Matsuyama, Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele stare back at you from inside the Top 10.