2025 U.S. Open: Every hole at Oakmont ranked easiest to hardest (with an asterisk)
2025 U.S. Open: Every hole at Oakmont ranked easiest to hardest (with an asterisk)
Oakmont Country Club's members pride themselves on how difficult their course plays, especially in major championships. When Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner renovated the course in 2023, they were forced to promise they wouldn't make it any easier ahead of the 2025 U.S. Open.
How hard is Oakmont? In the 2016 U.S. Open won by Dustin Johnson, the two par 5s combined to average over par. That's basically unheard of in elite championships, where the par 5s normally provide the best scoring opportunities and average under par. One of Oakmont's par 5s played under par in 2016, but the second averaged over par for the tournament by a great enough margin to lift the tournament's par-5 scoring average to above par (keep scrolling for the details.)
Only four holes averaged under par in 2016, two of them par 4s, one a par 3, and that aforementioned single par 5. And based on 2016 and the other previous Opens at Oakmont, players better get their act together in a hurry, because No. 1 is a real threat.
It's worth mentioning, all this comes with an asterisk. Hanse and Wagner renovated the course, and especially notable are their expansions of greens to create new pin-able areas. If the USGA chooses to use many of those new hole locations, the scoring averages for holes could jostle considerably. So take this information as if it's a stock broker's warning: Past performance isn't necessarily indicative of future results.
All that said, here's how the holes ranked in 2016 from easiest to hardest in relation to par:
Hole No. 17 (18th in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 313
2025 yardage: 312
2016 scoring average: 3.8874
Over/under par average: -0.1126
Eagles: 6
Birdies: 129
Pars: 230
Bogeys: 70
Double bogeys: 7
Others: 2
Hole No. 4 (17th in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 5
2016 yardage: 609
2025 yardage: 611
2016 scoring average: 4.9707
Over/under par average: -0.0293
Eagles: 3
Birdies: 98
Pars: 265
Bogeys: 66
Double bogeys: 11
Others: 1
Hole No. 13 (16th in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 3
2016 yardage: 183
2025 yardage: 182
2016 scoring average: 2.9887
Over/under par average: -0.0113
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 87
Pars: 282
Bogeys: 68
Double bogeys: 7
Others: 0
Hole No. 14 (15th in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 358
2025 yardage: 379
2016 scoring average: 3.991
Over/under par average: -0.009
Eagles: 3
Birdies: 72
Pars: 302
Bogeys: 60
Double bogeys: 7
Others: 0
Hole No. 11 (14th in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 379
2025 yardage: 400
2016 scoring average: 4.0721
Over/under par average: 0.0721
Eagles: 1
Birdies: 66
Pars: 293
Bogeys: 70
Double bogeys: 13
Others: 1
Hole No. 2 (13th in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 340
2025 yardage: 346
2016 scoring average: 4.1261
Over/under par average: 0.1261
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 77
Pars: 262
Bogeys: 80
Double bogeys: 22
Others: 3
Hole No. 5 (12th in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 382
2025 yardage: 408
2016 scoring average: 4.1306
Over/under par average: 0.1306
Eagles: 1
Birdies: 54
Pars: 290
Bogeys: 85
Double bogeys: 13
Others: 1
Hole No. 6 (11th in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 3
2016 yardage: 194
2025 yardage: 200
2016 scoring average: 3.1419
Over/under par average: 0.1419
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 71
Pars: 258
Bogeys: 98
Double bogeys: 15
Others: 2
Hole No. 12 (10th in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 5
2016 yardage: 632
2025 yardage: 632
2016 scoring average: 5.1441
Over/under par average: 0.1441
Eagles: 3
Birdies: 77
Pars: 240
Bogeys: 102
Double bogeys: 21
Others: 1
Hole No. 16 (Ninth in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 3
2016 yardage: 231
2025 yardage: 236
2016 scoring average: 3.241
Over/under par average: 0.241
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 32
Pars: 289
Bogeys: 110
Double bogeys: 10
Others: 3
Hole No. 8 (Eighth in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 3
2016 yardage: 288
2025 yardage: 289
2016 scoring average: 3.3041
Over/under par average: 0.3041
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 24
Pars: 275
Bogeys: 132
Double bogeys: 12
Others: 1
Hole No. 18 (Seventh in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 484
2025 yardage: 502
2016 scoring average: 4.3198
Over/under par average: 0.3198
Eagles: 1
Birdies: 33
Pars: 255
Bogeys: 133
Double bogeys: 22
Others: 0
Hole No. 3 (Sixth in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 426
2025 yardage: 462
2016 scoring average: 4.3198
Over/under par average: 0.3198
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 48
Pars: 250
Bogeys: 113
Double bogeys: 24
Others: 9
Hole No. 7 (Fifth in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 479
2025 yardage: 485
2016 scoring average: 4.3266
Over/under par average: 0.3266
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 36
Pars: 251
Bogeys: 136
Double bogeys: 18
Others: 3
Hole No. 10 (Fourth in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 462
2025 yardage: 461
2016 scoring average: 4.3333
Over/under par average: 0.3333
Eagles: 1
Birdies: 43
Pars: 225
Bogeys: 158
Double bogeys: 16
Others: 1
Hole No. 15 (Third in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 500
2025 yardage: 507
2016 scoring average: 4.3874
Over/under par average: 0.3874
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 32
Pars: 235
Bogeys: 151
Double bogeys: 25
Others: 1
Hole No. 9 (Second in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 477
2025 yardage: 472
2016 scoring average: 4.4324
Over/under par average: 0.4324
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 34
Pars: 214
Bogeys: 167
Double bogeys: 28
Others: 1
Hole No. 1 (First in difficulty in 2016)
Par: 4
2016 yardage: 482
2025 yardage: 488
2016 scoring average: 4.4527
Over/under par average: 0.4527
Eagles: 0
Birdies: 29
Pars: 221
Bogeys: 161
Double bogeys: 30
Others: 3
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