Any day spent at Oakmont is special

The way I look at it, any day on a golf course is a very good day.
Regardless of the course, regardless of whether I’m playing or watching. Even when I’m covering an event, it’s still a good day because I’m on a golf course.
Now some of those days are admittedly better than others, but they’re all good.
I had three really good days this week. I was at Oakmont Country Club Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and any time you get to spend time there, that’s really special time.
The historic club is a treasure trove of moments that have shaped the game and the golf course remains one the game’s great gems. Regardless of whether the rankings are annual or biennial, Oakmont always comes in top-10, closer to top-five.
Take a walk around the course and you can almost feel the history of the place. Arnold Palmer’s heartbreak in 1962, Johnny Miller’s spectacular final round of 63 in 1973, Larry Nelson’s thrilling playoff victory in 1983 and Palmer’s emotional farewell to the U.S. Open in 1994.
The Pennsylvania Amateur was held at Oakmont this week for the second time in 12 years. The 120 players in the field were a mix of juniors, amateurs, high school, collegiates and post-collegiates and mid-Amateurs.
Most of them, obviously, had little experience at Oakmont. The ones from western Pennsylvania — and oh by the way, 14 players of the 42 who made the cut were from this end of the state — had better access, of course. But access is very limited because of how busy Oakmont is.
It was fun to watch how they went about trying to make good scores. Take the first hole for example. It’s a 476-yard par four that requires a downhill approach shot that rarely holds those shots.
Eventual winner John Sawin took driver off the tee and yanked it left, presumably into one of the bunkers down the left side. Turns out he blew it past the bunkers and his approach found the green. Nelson Hargrove found the fairway with his drive and got his approach to stop 20 feet in front of the hole. Nathan Smith took an iron off the tee and hit the fairway. He hit another iron that he thought was good, but it rolled through the green.
Sawin and Smith made pars, Hargrove made birdie.
What struck me was how many players, young and old, were hitting drivers off tees.
It must be wonderful to have the strength and confidence to step up there with a 4-iron in your hand and send it nicely over 200 yards and avoid those treacherous Oakmont bunkers.
While the course is not as firm and fiery as normal, thanks in large part to the wet conditions we’ve had this spring and summer, it still stood up just fine to this group of skilled amateurs. The average round for the three days was 77.867. There were 290 double bogeys and 113 others.
The 15th hole, always a very difficult par four, was the toughest hole, averaging 4.644. The easiest was the ninth, which for some reason was played as a par five measuring 488 yards. Most of the players who hit the fairway were hitting low-to-mid irons for second shots into the green. It averaged 4.829.
One of the coolest part of the week, however, was sitting on the porch that overlooks the putting and ninth greens. From there, you can almost see at least parts of every hole on the golf course, thanks to the tree removal project that took place at Oakmont.
It is wide-open and breath-taking as you take in the routing and all the bunkers that play such a key role there.
It was also neat to see the number of parents, girlfriends, wives, etc., who walked the course with the players each day.
Long-time professional and now Director of Golf Bob Ford surveyed the scene from behind the 18th green and said, “I think it’s awesome that these folks are allowed to come here and experience what a special place we have,” he said. “Who knows if they’ll ever get the chance to come back? And I know there are places that would not allow folks to walk the course like this.”
Like I said, it was a really good three days.
Do you have an interesting story about your club or course or an individual who has done something special, let me know. Send your story ideas to mike.dudurich@gmail.com.
Mike Dudurich is a freelance golf writer and also hosts The Golf Show on 93.7 The Fan, Saturday mornings from 7-8 during golf season.