Ranking the 5 toughest golf courses in U.S. Open history, from Oakmont Country Club to Shinnecock Hills

All play courses are intended to coming immoderate benignant of situation for players, but U.S. Open courses are routinely among nan toughest courses nan world's champion subordinate will look successful their careers.

While location are exceptions (looking astatine you, Los Angeles Country Club), navigating astir U.S. Open courses is typically an highly difficult task. The database of U.S. Open winners is littered pinch immoderate of nan biggest names successful golf, and that is improbable to alteration anytime soon.

More tests await golfers successful nan years ahead, mounting nan shape for precocious scores and gauntlets that will abstracted nan champion from nan rest. 

The Sporting News ranks nan 5 toughest courses successful U.S. Open history, from Oakmont to Shinnecock Hills.

MORE: Complete database of U.S. Open winners by year

5. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (Shinnecock Hills, New York)

Course stats:

• Years hosted: 5
• Average 72-hole score: +5
• Average single-round score: 74.7
• Highest people for a champion: +1 (2018)
• Lowest people for a champion: -4 (2004)

Course description: The past U.S. Open champion to decorativeness supra par was Brooks Koepka astatine Shinnecock Hills connected Long Island successful 2018. The people is now a U.S. Open regular, and it hasn't gotten immoderate easier for nan world's champion golfers.

Shinnecock Hills has only a fewer trees, but it's placed successful a haven for upwind correct connected nan h2o successful occidental Long Island and has uneven greens that frustrate golfers. In 2018, a fewer players complained astir nan measurement nan U.S. Golf Association group up nan people day-by-day, adding to nan trouble and making it moreover much unpredictable. 

Shinnecock Hills first hosted nan U.S. Open successful 1896, though nan tourney wouldn't return for different 90 years. The U.S. Open will make its sixth quality astatine Shinnecock Hills successful 2026. 

MORE: Scottie Scheffler's complete fields timeline

4. Merion Golf Club (Ardmore, Pennsylvania)

• Years hosted: 5
• Average 72-hole score: +6 
• Average single-round score: 76.7 
• Highest people for a champion: +13 (1934)
• Lowest people for a champion: -3 (1981)

Merion Golf Club, conscionable extracurricular of Philadelphia, past hosted nan U.S. Open successful 2013, erstwhile Justin Rose won astatine 1-over par and represents 1 of nan toughest challenges successful America for golfers.

Merion is simply a reasonably short course, astatine slightest comparative to immoderate different challenging courses, but it requires precision. With constrictive fairways and mini greens, it's easy to suffer a shot successful nan unsmooth — and getting it retired of nan heavy trim is exceptionally difficult. In 2013, Rose was nan only subordinate to moreover decorativeness wrong 2 strokes of par. 

While Merion is difficult, it is mostly fair, alternatively than wholly unpredictable, arsenic immoderate others thin to be. Precision tin lead to awesome results, and David Graham reaped nan rewards erstwhile he won comfortably astatine 7-under par successful 1981. 

The U.S. Open will return to Merion successful 2030. 

MORE: Who has nan astir U.S. Open titles?

3. Winged Foot Golf Club (Mamaroneck, New York)

• Years hosted: 6
• Average 72-hole score: +7 
• Average single-round score: 77.0 
• Highest people for a champion: +7 (1974)
• Lowest people for a champion: -6 (2020)

Bryson DeChambeau mastered Winged Foot successful New York's Westchester County erstwhile he won a fan-less U.S. Open successful 2020, but he was nan exception.

DeChambeau was nan only subordinate to decorativeness nan tourney beneath par, wrapping up astatine 6-under. In fact, he is nan only subordinate successful nan past 2 U.S. Opens astatine Winged Foot to decorativeness beneath par. Geoff Ogilvy won nan 2006 U.S. Open astatine Winged Foot astatine 5-over par, outlining conscionable really difficult it is to station a debased people astatine nan famed course.

While Winged Foot is mostly flat, it offers fewer breaks. Each spread is simply a challenge, and nan greens are considered severe. 

"The play people gets reliable connected nan first tee and ne'er gets immoderate easier," Jack Nicklaus erstwhile said of Winged Foot. "You can’t make a correction and get distant pinch it here." Tiger Woods, meanwhile, classed Winged Foot arsenic 1 of nan 2 toughest U.S. Open courses successful 2020 on pinch Oakmont.

The U.S. Open is group to return to Winged Foot successful 2028.

MORE: Breaking down really to suffice for U.S. Open

2. Oakmont Country Club (Plum, Pennsylvania)

• Years hosted: 9
• Average 72-hole score: +5
• Average single-round score: 75.4
• Highest people for a champion: +11 (1935)
• Lowest people for a champion: -5 (1953, 1973, 1994)

Oakmont is hosting nan U.S. Open for nan 10th clip successful 2025, and location is simply a logic nan arena keeps coming backmost to nan greater Pittsburgh area. Many of golf's greats person branded nan people 1 of nan toughest to play, mostly because location are fewer breaks afforded to nan players.

The unsmooth is nan biggest situation owed to gangly grass, while greens tin beryllium exceptionally fast. Oakmont's chopped "church pew bunker" connected nan 3rd spread besides presents an different trial for players. 

It's nary surprise, then, that nan 2007 U.S. Open saw nan highest scoring mean of immoderate U.S. Open successful nan 21st period erstwhile Angel Cabrera won while finishing 5-over par.

Arnold Palmer once emphasized nan trouble of Oakmont, saying, "You tin deed 72 greens successful nan Open astatine Oakmont and not travel adjacent to winning," while erstwhile U.S. Golf Association head of rules called nan people "the golden modular for title golf."

MORE: Bryson DeChambeau's complete fields timeline

1. Olympic Club (San Francisco, California)

• Years hosted: 5
• Average 72-hole score: +9
• Average single-round score: 78.7
• Highest people for a champion: +7 (1955)
• Lowest people for a champion: -3 (1987)

A five-time big of nan U.S. Open, Olympic Club successful San Francisco is simply a monumental task for immoderate golfer. Only 2 U.S. Open champions astatine Olympic person vanished beneath par, and nan astir caller winner — Webb Simpson — vanished 1-over par successful 2012.

Like Merion, nan Lake Course astatine Olympic features constrictive fairways and mini greens, forcing players to trust connected precision. The people offers much obstacles than Merion, however, including a important number of bunkers adjacent to greens. 

The past 2 U.S. Open champions astatine Olympic Club were incapable to decorativeness beneath par. In fact, only 4 players successful 5 U.S. Opens held astatine Olympic Club person vanished beneath par, 1 being nan awesome Arnold Palmer. Golfers who get successful San Francisco looking to triumph nan U.S. Open person to beryllium comfortable pinch making mistakes, because a people that matches immoderate of nan champion astatine nan Masters aliases different awesome tournaments is unrealistic.

The U.S. Open isn't scheduled to return to Olympic Club anytime soon, truthful nary 1 will really person to interest astir that successful nan foreseeable future.

MORE: Who are nan youngest U.S. Open winners successful history?