Oakmont Country Club
Near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Henry Clay Fownes made his fortune in Pittsburgh industry and then spent it building what became the most demanding golf course in America. In nineteen oh three he purchased farmland northeast of Pittsburgh, and using only men, mules, and scrapers carved Oakmont Country Club out of farmland. He designed the course himself, with enormous fast greens, narrow fairways, and punishing bunkers built to demand exact shot-making.
The United States Open Championship has come to Oakmont more times than to any other club in the country. Champions who have won here include Ben Hogan in nineteen fifty-three, Jack Nicklaus in nineteen sixty-two, and Johnny Miller in nineteen seventy-three. The course is considered the sternest examination in American golf.
