Winner: J. J. Spaun, 279 (-1) by 2 over Robert McIntyre

My favorite golf tournament of the year will be held this year from June 12-15 at my favorite golf course: Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh, PA.

I was there in 2010 for the U.S. Women’s Open, won by Paula Creamer.

It is a scary course. It gives you no room to make a mistake. The bunkers are bigger than they look to be, they are everywhere. The rough seems benign when you run your fingers through it, but members told me that it absolutely grabs your golf club if you don’t know how to swing through it.

Greens? They will Stimp at about 15. Sam Snead said that once he marked his ball with a nickel and the nickel slid off the green. I saw one of the players in 2010 putting from above the hole on #1 and I thought to myself, “There’s no way she’s going to stop that ball.” Sure enough, one slow roll at a time, the ball ended up off the green.

This a course where over par for 72 holes can take home the trophy. If you know what I mean, the Open won’t won by the player who shoots a low score, but by the one who manages to shoot the lowest score.

The video below takes you around the course in detail. Of special note, something you can’t appreciate on TV, is that the tee on #17, a drivable par-4, is about 40 feet below the fairway. Players trying to drive the green have to contend with a raft of bunkers they can’t see, including one to the right of the green that is eight feet below the putting surface.

From the bleachers by the 18th green you can see the entire course.

And this one.

Do you want to know the best part of it all? The fourth round of the U. S. Open is Always on Father’s Day. I would always spend the day with my father watching the broadcast. If your father lives near you, and is a golfer to any degree, make an annual date with him. It’s a tradition you will remember for the rest of your life.