Golfers must adopt bunker mentality at Oakmont

When Henry Fownes designed Oakmont Country Club in 1903, he wanted a course that was difficult.

He got one.

The course, which sits high above the Allegheny River, started with fewer than 100 bunkers. But by the time Henry and his son, William, were finished, there were more than 300.

If the Fownes family felt members weren't getting penalized enough or they happened to carry a bunker, they would either add a bunker or move them.

Henry Fownes said, “a shot poorly played should be a shot irrevocably lost.”

When the U.S. Open begins June 16, golfers will be greeted by 210 difficult bunkers.

While pro golfers usually can handle bunkers on the PGA Tour, Oakmont's director of golf Bob Ford said that won't be the case here.

“Shot that runs into the bunkers here will usually run up to the face,” Ford said. “Because the bunkers are so steep, they'll be just trying to get out. There's a penalty for an errant shot here.”

Amateur Nathan Smith said if you get into a fairway bunker, the golfer must come out sideways.

The original design didn't feature the famous “Church Pew” bunkers. There were six bunkers that sat between the third and fourth fairways.

But by the 1935 U.S. Open, the six bunkers were combined into one larger one, with a series a grass ridges running through it made it look like outdoor pews. They were altered more for the 1973 U.S. Open, and then the 2007 Open.

The Church Pews have grown from seven pews to 12. They are 100 yards long and 40 yards wide, and feature 12 grass-covered traversing ridges that rise 3 to 4 feet and are covered with tall fescue grass. The sand has a fine, soft texture.

“You don't want to get in any bunker,” said Smith, who has played in numerous events at Oakmont, “especially any of the fairway bunkers on par-4s. You're definitely looking at a bogey or (worse) if you do that.”

Ford added that golfers can advance the ball toward the green, especially if they get a favorable lie in the pews. Ford said they will more likely just try to advance the ball.

While the most famous bunker at Oakmont is the “Church Pews”, there are other famously named bunkers.

“Big Mouth” is a greenside bunker on No. 17, and “Sahara” is a long bunker running approximately 100 yards to the left on green on No. 8.

There is a smaller version of the “Church Pews” on the left side of the No. 15 fairway.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.