Pennsylvania’s Oakmont Country Club is home to what is widely considered one of the best golf courses in the world, which also happens to be the oldest top-ranked golf course in the United States. Located near the Pittsburgh suburbs of Oakmont and Plum, the course is famously bisected by the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which separates holes two through eight on the east side from the western part of the course and the rest of the holes.

The world-renowned golf course at Oakmont Country Club was designed by steel magnate Henry Fownes and opened in 1903 after a year of intense work. Aside from being one of the most beautiful courses in the world, Oakmont is also considered one of the most difficult, although, remarkably, the course has changed very little since its opening day. The biggest change relates to the trees that once dotted the course: close to 15,000 trees have been eliminated, mostly during a 2007 renovation.
Oakmont: Epic Combination of Beauty and Difficulty
Over the years, Golf Digest has consistently ranked Oakmont’s golf course as one of the five best in the United States, and the famed course has always been included among the magazine’s Top 10. The course has more than 200 bunkers, very fast greens, and “tight” fairways, which have been challenging golfers for more than 100 years. The Oakmont golf course is also home to the well-known Church Pew bunker, which is actually made up of 12 crisscrossing grass-covered ridges that somewhat resemble church pews. The Oakmont golf course has individual holes that are also considered the best and hardest around, including the beautiful 456-yard, par-4 18th hole, which is arguably the best par-4 anywhere. The first hole of this historic course – also par-4 – is a 482-yarder that has often been deemed the PGA Tour’s most difficult. Golf fans everywhere can look forward to a memorable 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.