2025 U.S. Open: Ranking every hole at Oakmont based on difficulty

The headline pretty much says it all, so let's get down to it as we rank every single hole at the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, which is hosting America's national championship for a record 10th time.

18. 17th Hole: Par 4, 312 yards

The drivable 17th is the easiest hole on the course, but it is not easy.

This work of art plays straight up an enormous hill so that the green's surface can't be seen from the tee. The putting surface is terrifying and slopes severely from back to front with enormous, deep bunkers surrounding it.

17. 14th Hole: Par 4, 379 yards

By Oakmont standards, the 14th is a straightforward hole. The fairway is very narrow with penalizing bunkers lining both sides, but if a player finds the fairway with likely less than driver, they are rewarded with a short wedge to a green that slopes significantly from back-left to front-right.

16. 11th Hole: Par 4, 391 yards

The tee shot at the 11th is blind and straight uphill. The landing area is wide, and less than driver must be used to stay short of the ditch that cuts through the fairway. Avoid the high-lipped bunkers around the front of the green, and everything will be okay.

15. 13th Hole: Par 3, 182 yards

The 13th is the easiest of the four difficult par-3s at Oakmont. The green is enormous, one of the most significantly expanded putting surfaces during the recent Gil Hanse restoration, and is surrounded by deep bunkers. It slopes heavily from back to front with a back tier that's significantly higher than the front section.

14. 4th Hole: Par 5, 611 yards

The fourth is the first of two absolutely spectacular par-5s at Oakmont, and it is the slightly easier of the two.

The fairway is extremely narrow for the entire length of the hole, and the famous Church Pews bunker comes into play on the left side. The hole is one of the most heavily bunkered on the course, and the green features a protrusion in the back right that is extremely difficult to get to.

13. 5th Hole: Par 4, 408 yards

The fifth is a great short par 4 with an impossible green. The tee shot is semi-blind and the fairway narrows farther away from the tee, so many players will use less than driver. The green is surrounded by rough and five bunkers and slopes severely from right to left, and there is a ridge that comes off a deep bunker on the front-left side.

12. 12th Hole: Par 5, 632 yards

The 12th is one of the world's greatest par-5s, a monster playing significantly over 600 yards. It slopes downhill from tee to green and often plays downwind, so despite its length, it can be reachable in two for longer hitters.

The hole is heavily bunkered from tee to green, and the second-shot layup is one of the most difficult in golf, as the landing area is extremely narrow and is guarded by a deep ditch on the left side.

The green slopes severely from front to back, making it very difficult to hold, and there is a small protrusion on the left side of the green where a diabolical hole location can be placed.

11. 2nd Hole: Par 4, 346 yards

The second hole may be the most difficult par-4 under 350 yards in the world.

Many players will use less than driver off the tee to thread the ball to a small fairway between several deep bunkers, including one in the middle of the fairway, and a deep ditch just to the left.

The green is massive and terrifying; it has a massive false front and slopes alarmingly from back to front, and the restored putting surface has added a nearly impossible hole location on the far left side.

10. 6th Hole: Par 3, 200 yards

This tough par-3 is set into the side of a hill, causing the green to slope wildly from right to left, similar to the fifth hole.

The putting surface is surrounded by bunkers, and the hole location in the back-right section is virtually impossible to get to.

9. 16th Hole: Par 3, 236 yards

The 16th plays downhill to a green that slopes severely from back left to front right with a little knob at the back-left corner. The hole's only bunker is a very long and skinny one that runs up the entire left side and around the back of the green.

Due to the slope of the green, it is better to miss short and right, though this will lead to a recovery shot from thick rough.

8. 15th Hole: Par 4, 507 yards

The 15th is the longest par-4 on the course, and such length is one of its primary challenges. The green is large, very deep, and one of the flatter putting surfaces on the course.

With firm conditions, players can land the ball short and roll it onto the green. A nasty fescue-bearded bunker, referred to as the Mini Pews or the Piano Keys, can cause a plethora of problems if you miss the fairway to the left.

7. 8th Hole: Par 3, 289 yards

We have arrived at the hole that has already received ample attention and discussion well before most players have even arrived at Oakmont, the par-3 that will play close to 300 yards and may even exceed that number at some point.

Despite what others have said, I think this is an outstanding hole. Sue me.

A huge, brilliant bunker on the left side requires a carry of 250 yards to reach the fairway where the wide entry to the green allows for the ball to be chased onto the putting surface with a 3-wood or driver. Since its creation, this is how the hole was intended to be set up.

A ditch comes into play down the left side, and the green slopes from back to front, although it is not as severe as many others on the course.

This is a wonderful strategic hole that will reward quality execution off the tee. If it were called a par-4, it would be praised as one of the great short holes on the U.S. Open rotation, but the vision of this hole was an extremely long and difficult par-3, and that's what we have.

6. 7th Hole: Par 4, 485 yards

The final six holes in this ranking were extremely difficult to place, as we're left with half a dozen brutal, punishing, relentless par-4s. All six of these holes could be argued as the hardest hole at Oakmont and even among the hardest holes in the world.

The seventh is a long par-4 with a compelling tee shot, devilish bunkers down the left side, and a fairway that is partially split by bunkers on the right. Players can play to the wide part of the fairway or safely to the right side of these intruding bunkers, but this will leave a second shot that is totally blind.

Daring players can take on the narrowest part of the fairway on the left and push their drives beyond 300 yards. It's another wild green surrounded by bunkers; the front half of the green pitches hard from right to left, and there is a tough shelf on the back-right section.

5. 10th Hole: Par 4, 447 yards

The 10th is another brilliant par-4, listed at 447 yards for this U.S. Open, but can be stretched to 461 if the back tee is used. Either way, some players will need to use less than driver to this extraordinarily narrow fairway because a ditch cuts across the fairway at around 350 yards, and the landing area slopes steeply downhill toward it.

The hole continues downhill to one of the most fearsome greens in golf, a surface that pitches so sharply from front to back and right to left that one wonders whether it's even possible for the ball to come to rest.

4. 3rd Hole: Par 4, 462 yards

The third is an iconic par-4 with the Church Pews staring players in the face off the tee. The fairway is narrow with a row of smaller but very deep bunkers on the right side opposite the Church Pews.

The approach shot plays dramatically uphill to a domed green reminiscent of the putting surfaces at Pinehurst in last year's U.S. Open. A new tee was added to lengthen this hole by about 20 yards.

3. 9th Hole: Par 4, 472 yards

The ninth often plays as a par-5 for members but is a par-4 during the U.S. Open.

The tee shot is blind and plays up an enormous hill to a very narrow fairway surrounded by deep bunkers and a huge ditch up the left side. This hole has one of the most unique greens on the course; it is absolutely massive, and the back half is actually the practice green, which is in play for players on the course.

To make matters more difficult, the green has significant undulations, sloping sharply from left to right with mounds and hollows causing complications. This putting surface has an Old Course at St. Andrews feel, as we will likely see putts in excess of 100 feet.

2. 1st Hole: Par 4, 488 yards

An opening handshake? How about an opening bag-over-the-head punch in the face. The first at Oakmont is the hardest opening hole in the world, a rude, brutish, heavy-handed introduction to golf's meanest bully. The absurdly narrow fairway drops so sharply that the front-to-back-sloping ice rink of a green is often not visible on the approach shot.

With no sculpted contours, no beautiful landscaping, no strategic elements, and no hope, Oakmont's opener conveys that this round is not about comfort, frills, and festivities; it loudly and unapologetically says, "Here I am. Deal with it."

It's almost as if Fownes went out of his way to make this hole as devoid of pleasing features as possible. It's stark hopelessness asks players, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

It is the perfect opening hole for this remarkable place, plunging golfers unceremoniously into the most relentless mental test in the world. Dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and trudge ahead to the second tee. One down, 17 to go.

1. 18th Hole: Par 4, 502 yards

The 18th hole at Oakmont is one of the most difficult finishing holes in golf.

It has yet another extremely narrow fairway surrounded by bunkers that cut in at numerous places. The fairway is sloped from left to right, and there is a deep ditch just left of it.

The elevated green is one of the wildest on the golf course. It slopes sharply from back to front and has a ton of internal movement; most notably, there is a depression in the middle-right section of the green that will collect shots played just barely off line. There is also a significant false front.

Oakmont ends as it begins, with another punch in the mouth. This is the last beating to take before enjoying a reprieve in the beautiful clubhouse.

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