Course Preview and Fits: U.S. Open

The year’s third major is here, with the U.S. Open heading to Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York, for the sixth time. This is the toughest major to win for a reason, and the USGA brings its annual full field of 156, cut to the top 60 and ties after 36 holes. J.J. Spaun defends after his win at Oakmont last year, where he was the only player to finish the week under par. Shinnecock is one of the great venues in the game, an American original on links-like ground out on the south fork of Long Island, and with the best of the best in attendance, it should be one of the most compelling majors of the last several years.

The Course:

Shinnecock Hills plays as a par 70 measuring roughly 7,440 yards, the William Flynn design from the early 1930s that has barely changed since. It sits on firm, fast, nearly treeless ground that plays as close to true links golf as anything in this country, which means the wind is the course’s great variable and its great defense. The greens are firm and convex, a bent/poa mix, with shaved run-offs and collection areas pulling balls away from the surfaces in every direction, drawing the obvious comparison to Pinehurst No. 2. This is not a course that beats you up with brute length and expansive thick rough the way a typical U.S. Open setup does. It defends itself with modest length by major standards, wild green complexes, severe slope, and an enormous penalty for missing in the wrong spot.