Oakmont Country Club is known as one of the toughest courses in the world and, for the 125th US Open, it's set-up to be another brutal test.
Not only is the thick, juicy rough in-play, but greens rolling at 15 on the stimpmeter will also test the player's patience and feel.
However, perhaps one area that is being overlooked at Oakmont Country Club is the bunkers, specifically 168 of them, which will only add to the difficulty competitors face at the US Open.
In fact, the 168 bunkers on the course is the most on the PGA Tour in 2025, with an average of nine featuring per hole at Oakmont Country Club.
The most famous bunker on the course, and one of the most famous in golf, is the Church Pew Bunker, which measures 110-yards long by 42-yards wide. Spanning 26,000-feet, it sits between the par 4 third and par 5 fourth.
Throughout Oakmont's history, there were reportedly up to 350 bunkers scattered around its layout, but that number is considerably lower than that of 100 years ago.
Another aspect that is different involves the way that the maintenance staff look after the bunkers. Emil Loeffler Jr, who was the course's greenkeeper from 1916 - 1948, used to use a heavy-steel rake to create furrows measuring two-to-three inches deep in the bunker.
Because of the depth of these ridges, players would have to chip out sideways and, at one point, those at the 1953 US Open threatened to boycott the event until they were removed from the fairway bunkers.
Historic, controversial, restored & lost. One of my favorite places on this Earth- Oakmont CC, once used a special rake to make their bunkers even more treacherous. An homage to the furroughed bunkers could be found on the 14th, but alas the furroughs were lost years ago. pic.twitter.com/zNVzWuvxHtJune 24, 2022
Nowadays, players don't have that issue, but will need to call upon their high degree of skills to get around Oakmont Country Club in a suitable score.
Going into the third men's Major of 2025, Scottie Scheffler starts as favorite, with the World No.1 recently claiming the PGA Championship.
Bryson DeChambeau is the defending champion after his victory at Pinehurst last year, with Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele among the notable players looking for another Major win following their successes in the past 12 months.
