OAKMONT, Pa. — When Preston Summerhays played in the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club four years ago, the then 19-year-old faced a vastly different test than the rough-choked beast that the U.S. Open field will tackle in earnest beginning Thursday morning. The course was much softer than this week (on account of heavy rain), more than 100 yards shorter (when all stretched out) and far less penal when players missed fairways. Yes, there was rough but nothing like the five inches of shag carpeting in play now.
The more forgiving setup meant players could get creative with how they attacked the course, and get creative they did. On at least a half-dozen holes, some contestants willfully drove their tee balls into adjacent fairways with the goal of acquiring more favorable angles into the greens.
This strategy, which surely drew gasps from Oakmont’s more tradition-minded members, was employed, among other holes, on the downhill par-4 1st, where players would bomb their tee shots down to the 9th fairway; on the par-4 10th, where players would aim for the 11th fairway; on 11, where they smacked their tee balls back to 10; and on 14, where targeting the 12th fairway made sound strategic sense. After Travis Vick attacked the 14th green from the 12th fairway in his second-round match that week, he said, “[The pin] was kind of tucked front right, so the smart thing to do was take it down 12. That way I had 90 yards with a clear angle.”
Summerhays that week elected to play each of Oakmont’s holes as their designer, Henry Fownes, intended them to play. But at least one of Summerhays’ opponents didn’t. In the first round, Summerhays drew Vick, who went rogue, as Summerhays recalls it, with at least four of his tee balls.
“It was actually a good play because the rough was super-thin, nothing like we have up here this week,” Summerhays said Wednesday. Summerhays added he himself didn’t play down alternate fairways, because he didn’t try it during practice rounds and so didn’t feel comfortable under the gun. Vick beat him, 2 and 1.
Summerhays, who is now 22, is back at Oakmont as a U.S. Open competitor. It’s his third Open start but first as a professional; he made his pro debut on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this month. The course that has greeted him upon his return visit looks familiar but also different. It’s longer and, in spots, meaner.
When asked after his Wednesday practice round whether he or other players might be tempted to play down adjacent fairways as his comrades did at the Amateur, Summerhays didn’t need long to ponder.
“You’re not gonna get away with that this week, not with how thick the rough is,” he said.
Ah, yes, that ankle-swallowing rough. It’s been a hot topic this week, with players recounting practice-round horror stories of having to hack out sideways or generally just guessing about how balls might come out of the thick stuff. Nine-woods — which help slice through the heavy grass and launch balls quickly — have been a popular addition to bags this week. Caddies also might be wise to tote Weedwackers.
Jon Rahm, who won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines the same year Summerhays played in the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont, said he has talked to Summerhays about the cheat code players tried to unlock in 2021. But Rahm is unconvinced that strategy would work this week. In fact, he advised Summerhays against it. “I told him, ‘If you ever play a U.S. Open there, there’s no chance you’re doing that,” Rahm said. “If you are, you’re taking a big risk obviously.”
Gil Hanse, who masterminded Oakmont’s recent restoration, echoed Rahm’s comments. Speaking at a Rolex event at the club Wednesday morning, he said he’d be surprised to see anyone crisscrossing holes not only because of the severity of the rough but also because of the crowds. At the Amateur, spectators were sparse; at the U.S. Open there will be upward of 40,000 fans roaming the property and all manner of hangers-on inside the ropes. Frankensteining holes would not be the safest practice.
Summerhays gets it, especially after playing his practice rounds this week.
“On hole 1, guys were going down 9,” he recalled of the 2021 Amateur. “I don’t see that happening this week. On hole 9, guys we’re going down 1. That’s not happening. Ten and 11, I don’t think that’s happening, either.”
Because of the rough, but also because of the roll out, especially on the downhill 10th. “Because it’s firm this week,” Sumemrhays said, “you’d have to hit a really good shot there to get the ball to fly the rough but to stay short of the through rough.”
OK, so we’re all in agreement then?
Um, well…not quite.
On Tuesday, Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine asked Bryson DeChambeau, who’s made a hobby of reinventing how the game is played, whether going the alt-fairway route might make sense on any holes.
“Not specifically,” he said. “But it’s a great idea, thank you. I’m going to go check that out now.”
