The 2025 U.S. Open is being played at historic Oakmont Country Club this week and the legendary course is set up to be one of the most difficult tests in all of golf. However, there's one local rule surrounding a practice green that could come into play if a golfer isn't careful and if they break that rule, it could cost them a shot at winning the tournament.
The huge ninth green at Oakmont is one of the most unique greens in major championship golf, as it runs right into a practice green in the back of it. Players will be allowed to use that practice green before their rounds, as it's right next to the first tee. However, if they go over a certain line that would put them on what is officially the ninth green, they would be given a penalty stroke (via Rule 5.2b) on their round if they attempted a putt. A second violation would disqualify them from the tournament.
The USGA has signs up around the green pointing out the rule and there are blue stakes on the green that denote where the practice green ends, so it isn't likely that someone would break it. But it feels like players are often getting penalized by rules they weren't aware of, and doing it with this one would prove to be costly.
As for players hitting approach shots into the ninth green, if their ball ended up in one of the holes on the practice green or had one of the holes interfering with their next shot, they would get free relief.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as This Weird Rule at Oakmont Could Cost a Golfer the U.S. Open If They’re Not Careful.
