The US Open is synonymous with a brutally tough examination of a golfer's game, a winning score that hovers around par and lightning-quick greens. For the 2025 championship at Oakmont Country Club, it's no different.
The USGA has tipped the rough at five inches to start, there is at least one new hole location on all 18 putting surfaces, the par-70 course has been lengthened from 7,219 to 7,372 yards, and the ditches dotted throughout the iconic Pennsylvania layout are now much harder to play out of than the last time the US Open was held at Oakmont (2016) having been enhanced accordingly.
Add to that the absence of graduated rough and you've got yourself a cocktail for a fantastically-entertaining US Open.
Speaking to Golf Digest about the altered troughs in May, USGA chief championships officer, John Bodenhamer said: “In 2016, we carved out those ditches to where players could get in there and play. This year we're not doing that.
“You hit it in those ditches, good luck. There might be some that will play out of it, but it'll be 12 to 18 inches of wispy, pesky and they're nasty.”
Meanwhile, Jeff Hall - managing director of rules and Open Championships at the USGA - explained why there is method to the apparent madness at Oakmont this year.
He said: “We can make any golf course difficult. That's not hard to do, but is it difficult for the right reasons? Are we differentiating good golf, great golf, and average golf? And that's really what our job is as a set-up team. If good shots and bad shots are finishing in the same place, we haven't done our job properly.”
How Fast Are The Greens Running At The 2025 US Open?
Tee to green aside, the question everyone wants to know is - how fast are the greens running at Oakmont for the 2025 US Open?
Historically, putting surfaces at Oakmont have regularly measured between 13-14 on the Stimpmeter, and that is where they are expected to remain this year if the wind picks up.
However, Hall said in an interview with Golf Channel's Eamon Lynch that, conditions allowing, most of the golf is going to be played on greens "in the mid to upper 14s" - maintaining Oakmont's position as having some of the fastest championship-level greens in the world.
Hall said: "The greens that we will present will be very fast. We are going to try and play the majority of our golf in the mid to upper 14s - that's what we're hoping to do.
"We will play most of our golf in the mid to upper 14s, but that's what Oakmont is all about!"Players who survive Golf's Longest Day can expect plenty of rough, challenging bunkers and greens that are firm and fast at the U.S. Open. pic.twitter.com/WMvDyv8v2pJune 2, 2025
"But that's what Oakmont is all about. It's been that way forever. I gather there was a near-stoppage at the '35 Open because the greens were too fast in some players' minds. But this is what Oakmont is.
"I hasten to say, Eamon, when these players filed entries for the championship, they knew what Oakmont was. There will be no surprises here. There will be plenty of rough, challenging bunkers, putting greens that are firm and fast. This is Oakmont, and we can't wait to present it."
For context, Pinehurst No.2's greens were officially operating at roughly 13.5 to start the US Open in 2024, while greens at a regular PGA Tour event typically hover between 11 and 12 on the Stimpmeter.
Arguably the most famous golf course in the world, Augusta National, is one of the only places to rival Oakmont with putting surfaces reaching 15 on the Stimpmeter at times.
Defending champion, Bryson DeChambeau earned his second Major via a six-under-par total at Pinehurst No.2 and was one of eight players to finish the week in the red. It appears as though the USGA only want that number to shrink - or possibly to not exist at all - at Oakmont.
Last time the Pennsylvania layout hosted a US Open, in 2016, green speeds measured between 13.5 and 15, with the USGA facing plenty of criticism from players and fans alike.
Despite the blowback and a high-profile case of controversy involving champion, Dustin Johnson, it seems the governing body has stood firm and told players that 'if you want to win a US Open, we're certainly not going to make it easy on you.'
