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Oakmont also has front-to-back sloped greens – at the 1st, 3rd, 10th and 12th. Is this a design element you favor and why is most design overwhelmingly using back-to-front pitched greens?
Kyle Franz: Far too much time and ink are spent discussing how difficult Oakmont is. Not enough is spent on how well it works. It is a tremendously fun course for being as demanding as it gets.
I think they are one of the best sets of greens in the world. Particularly the aforementioned fall-away aspect. If you consider the list of greens closer, that at least a large portion of the surface is tilted away, it’s a long list!
As an overall set, they are all brilliant. In addition to the ones you mentioned, the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 15th, 16th, and 18th equally impress me. All killer, no filler.
Shawn Smith: Most greens are built with back-to-front pitch because they are more receptive, making them more playable. However, the occasional front-to-back green can be fun because it adds variety and presents a unique challenge.
When conditions are firm and fast, like they usually are at Oakmont, it reintroduces the ground game that is so often not a factor in today’s modern game. To get the ball close to the hole, or sometimes even keep it on the green, you must land the ball short of the green and let it roll on. It’s one of the many aspects of Oakmont that makes it so challenging.
Bill Bergin: I am OK with greens that pitch away or certainly a portion of a green that pitches away from the line of play. I do believe the runout should be intentional, designed for a possible recovery.
Kevin Norby: I think most modern architects try to drain greens in at least two or more directions to provide variety in the putting surfaces and to avoid wet approaches. I frequently drain the majority of the putting surface towards the front and then 10-30% off the back or side.
Greens that drain front to back are a great design solution on a short drivable par 4 or short par 5. I think most greens slope back to front, particularly on a longer approach, to allow the green to receive and hold a shot.
Forrest Richardson: It’s devilish.
I do slope a few greens that way, but it has to fit the hole and incoming shot. By the way, when Jack Snyder was superintendent at Oakmont in the early 1950s, he rebuilt the 8th because it, too, had a significant slope from front to back. Lew Worsham [Oakmont’s professional at the time] told Jack that even the scratch players had a hard time holding the green given the demanding and long tee shot.
Jack lifted the back and rebuilt the 8th using Allegheny River sand that was hauled up to the course. All of Oakmont’s original greens were built with native river sand, which Jack’s father confirmed.
Green speeds are always a key element in deciding a US Open champion — particularly at Oakmont. In your estimation how fast is too fast even in elite competition or is there such a thing for US Open competition?
Shawn Smith: Someone once told me that Oakmont is the only course that slows down their greens for the US Open. That may or may not be true, but the speed of the greens is part of the lore of Oakmont. Provided they don’t become unplayable, I’m good with however fast they want to make them.
Forrest Richardson: That’s a question I’ll leave to the USGA. At some point you have to defend par besides adding length and growing rough.
If you made a list of all the factors that can toughen a course, green speeds would be on the list. But creating a puzzle that can’t be solved is probably not in anyone’s best interest.
Kyle Franz: Quite simply, if you’re not able to pin the most interesting areas of the original green design, it’s too fast. At my company we build our greens to be most fun for events at roughly 11-12 on the Stimpmeter.
If it’s faster than that we have to dial back the contouring to where we cannot build some pretty interesting architecture. So, we would prefer for the speeds to not be faster than that. They can be faster — but I’d prefer less.
Kevin Norby: Putting greens will always need to have some slope to drain properly so a Stimp of 14-15 is probably the maximum in order to preserve any sense of playability. I suppose 50 years ago the golf world thought 10 was probably the maximum.
Bill Bergin: Green speed must be factored along with green slope. Admittedly, US championships usually walk a very fine line. Oakmont has always had the reputation of establishing that fine line.
Oakmont also has two lengthy par-3 holes – the 8th plays roughly at 300 yards and the 16th at 236 yards. How important a role do such holes play in modern golf architecture given how architects from years ago were not hesitant in creating them?
Bill Bergin: I believe there is a MacKenzie quote that championship golf should have one par three that requires a fairway wood as well as one par four that requires a drive and a fairway wood.
Kevin Norby: I am in favor of one hole that demands and rewards a well struck but lengthy approach. I love the occasional long par 3 or 3 ½ . It provides variety and, as long as the green is appropriately sized, it’s a great way to test accuracy and instill some strategy.
Forrest Richardson: As long as there are tees that allow players to be equalized, there is no problem with the super long par-3.
It also helps to have fast and firm fairways and approaches. As long as you can scoot the ball and make it run, my favorite saying applies — “Run Forrest, run.”
Kyle Franz: I absolutely love the 8th at Oakmont. The 16th is impressive as well. But the 8th has always been a favorite of mine. Watching it for the first time in the ’94 Open, it was so unique — the players rarely saw that kind of long par-3 on the PGA Tour.
At that length it was legitimately pushing boundaries. Conversely, Golden Age golf architects-built par-3 holes where you had to hit a wood all the time. It was a key element of classic architecture.
Shawn Smith: Given how far the ball goes in today’s game, I think they are more important now than ever. As distances have increased, it has become more difficult to put a long iron or fairway wood in the hands of elite players.
Long par-3s allow architects to dictate that the player hit a club they might not otherwise use.
What letter grade do you give the USGA in preparing a host site for the US Open in the last five years?
Forrest Richardson: They deserve an “A” — it’s their baby and they own it.
Shawn Smith: A. There always seems to be criticism about the setup. It’s too easy or it’s too one-dimensional but overall, I think the USGA does a good job.
Every venue is different with its own unique challenges but more often than not, the cream rises to the top of the leaderboard and that tells me the USGA is doing something right.
Kevin Norby: B+. I’d like to see more variety and less Pebble Beach on the rotation. Of all the course on the US Open rota, Pebble has the least variety and least strategy. It’s essentially defined by the exceptionally small size of the greens.
Bill Bergin: I’d give them a B+. I think the winning scores have been fair and still compelling and the last four have come down to the final hole.
Additionally, there has been an interesting mix of traditional rough lined courses along with some with faster, firm conditions.
Kyle Franz: A+ .
Especially these last 25 years — architecturally. Having worked on the restoration of Pinehurst No. 2 for Coore and Crenshaw, I love everything the USGA has done there.
Overall, this year at Oakmont will be my 4th straight US Open as a spectator. The experience from the gallery at the US Open is fantastic. From the amount of grandstand space, to the scoring apps and headsets following play — it is very user friendly! Perhaps the best experience of any major championship.
List your top five US Open venues.
Kyle Franz: The ones that have done great restoration work these last 15 years are at the top of my list — to bring out the character of their original designs. Every one of these courses is being seen in its very best form these days.
I’d especially highlight the ones with tightly-mown inventive shotmaking and recovery shots around the greens. Pinehurst and Shinnecock Hills. It is much more engaging watching players of this caliber have to putt, chip, hit bump-and-runs and be creative.
In order – Pinehurst No. 2, Shinnecock Hills, Oakmont, Merion and Los Angeles CC / North.
Bill Bergin: My favorite five — Shinnecock Hills, Pebble Beach, Oakmont, Pinehurst No.2, with Merion / East a distant 5th.
Forrest Richardson: Tied for number one — Pebble and Oakmont split the country. They are both American classics.
Shawn Smith: I’d go with Oakmont, Shinnecock Hills, Pinehurst No.2, Merion / East and Oakland Hills / South.
Kevin Norby: Mine would be in order — Oakmont, Shinnecock Hills, Riviera, Oakland Hills / South and Los Angeles CC / North.
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The Participants
Kevin Norby
ASGCA
Carver, MN
A member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and owner of Norby Golf Design, a professional golf course design firm specializing in golf course design and long-range master planning for golf courses. He is also a Golf Digest Top 100 Panelist and a registered landscape architect in four states.
He has 35 years of experience in the golf industry and has been responsible for the design of over 200 projects throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Recent projects include The Club at Golden Valley (A.W. Tillinghast, 1924), Eau Claire Golf & Country Club (T. Vardon, 1928) and The Legacy at the 19 (T. Bendelow, 1915).
Bill Bergin
ASGCA
Atlanta, GA
Founded Bergin Golf Designs in 1994 and has completed over 100 renovations and original designs.
Prior to becoming a golf course architect, he played professionally for six years, competing on both the PGA Tour and European Tour, and playing in three US Opens and two Open Championships.
His favorite designs include the brand-new cliff edged Keep at McLemore; the sandy beachside gem at Santa Rosa Golf & Beach Club; and the historic Richland Country Club, in Nashville, TN.
Forrest Richardson
ASGCA
Phoenix, AZ
Forrest Richardson works predominantly in the west. His work includes private clubs, resorts and public access courses. In 2022 he helped ready Anchorage Golf Course for the US Women’s Senior Amateur, including greens and bunker renovation. He has several projects listed on top lists.
In recent years he has become a champion for short courses, and during his tenure as President of ASGCA he was a strong voice for more design ideas that involved less time to play and were fun for all. His most recent short course at Promontory Club in Park City, Utah was just honored among the top three awards in Golf Inc’s Development of the Year.
Shawn Smith
ASGCA
Toledo, OH
Originally from Montana, Smith attended Washington State University where he was a member of the golf team while earning a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture.
He joined the Hills & Forrest team in 1998 and became a Partner in 2010. Over the past two and a half decades, he has gained a wealth of experience from his direct involvement in numerous projects around the world, including prestigious private clubs such as Oakland Hills Country Club and Oakmont Country Club.
Shawn has been a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects since 2009. With a competitive background in golf and a design philosophy shaped by an avid appreciation for classic golf course architecture, his design approach centers around creating golf courses that are a dynamic blend of strategy, playability, artistry and the natural environment.
Kyle Franz
KMF Golf Course Design
Pinehurst, North Carolina
Most recently, he and his team have led the design and creation of the Karoo Course at Cabot Citrus Farms. The Karoo was named Best New Public Course in 2024 by Sports Illustrated and ranked second by Golf Digest. They also co-designed the Roost Course at the same property—both courses opened this year.
Over the course of his career, he has had the privilege of working on some of the most renowned modern and classic golf courses in the world. He began his professional journey working for Tom Doak at Pacific Dunes in Oregon and later worked with him at Barnbougle Dunes in Australia—two of the most highly regarded/ranked courses built in the last 80 years. His experience also includes working for Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw on the restoration of Pinehurst No. 2 for the 2014 US Open, Gil Hanse on the 2016 Rio Olympic Course, and for Rod Whitman on Canada’s award-winning Cabot Links.
Internationally, he spent a year studying the classic links of the British Isles and the Sandbelt courses of Australia, an experience that continues to deeply inform his design philosophy.
