It’s all about the rough. Forget whether Scottie Scheffler can clinch a fourth major, or if Rory McIlroy can emulate his Masters-winning form from six weeks ago, there was only one topic front and centre as the world’s best descended on Oakmont Country Club for this week’s 125th US Open. “The golf course is in great shape. The rough is healthy” was Scheffler’s laconic summation when asked what he thought of the much-vaunted Oakmont turf conditions on the eve of the tournament. Indeed, go through every player's press conference transcript this week and almost every one begins with a question about the course set up, in particular the 5-inch long rough which is a lush cool-season mix of Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass and Poa annua.

Oakmont, which is hosting the tournament for the 10th time in its history, was recently installed as the USGA’s first ‘anchor site’ as a venue for its future championships. Although several venues joined Oakmont on that list, there was a specific reason why it was the first. The USGA asked all of the players where they wanted to win most, with the overwhelming majority coming back in favour of Oakmont due to it being a genuine test of golf. Physically and mentally, tee to green, rough and bunkers, if you win at Oakmont you have earned it. Indeed, when the Oakmont CC Board commissioned renowned course architect Gil Hanse in 2023 to do the biggest restoration since the club’s inception, the only thing they told him was – “You better not make this any easier”. 

USGA CEO Mike Whan summarised what Oakmont is all about at the start of the week and what it means to have their flagship tournament there: “We’re at Oakmont for the 10th time, more than any other venue for the US Open. We believe in the words 'golf’s toughest test'. And if you believe in that, you’re going to be coming back to Oakmont pretty regularly, and we do. [To give you some perspective], 1385 players have played a major championship on this venue, and 27 of them finished their four days under par, 2 per cent. So that’s quite a test out there.”  

2021 US Open winner and two-time major champion Jon Rahm backed up those sentiments in his press conference when asked what his mindset was for the week at Oakmont: “You’re aware of what a golf tournament here is going to be like, it’s going to be a challenge. A lot of unfortunate things are going to happen. It’s hard fairways to hit, bad lies, difficult bunkers, difficult greens. It’s going to be a nice test, a difficult test. And I think one of the truest representations of what a US Open is all about.”

Overseeing Oakmont’s course preparations for the US Open is grounds superintendent Michael McCormick who has spent a decade at the Pennsylvania course across two stints. His first was between 2010-2016 where he progressed from being an intern through to assistant, before leaving to spend six years as superintendent of The Apawamis Club in New York State. He returned to Oakmont as superintendent in 2022 and now oversees a crew of around 50.

That team has been bolstered this week by upwards of 150 course volunteers who have flooded in from across the US and overseas. There is very much an international flavour in the Oakmont maintenance compound, with no less than 17 countries and a total of 119 golf clubs represented. Among them are five Australian golf course turf management professionals who have made the long journey to fly the flag this week, including (pictured above, from left):

    Craig Walker (superintendent, Devonport Country Club, Tas)
    Craig Anthony (superintendent, Spring Valley GC, Melbourne)
    Shane Baker (superintendent, Mosman Park GC, Perth and GCSAWA president)
    Solly Marshall (senior greenkeeper, Kingston Heath GC, Melbourne)
    Marlon Johnston (assistant superintendent, The Australian GC, Sydney) 

For Anthony, Baker and Johnston, this week’s Open is something of a reunion. All three were volunteers when Oakmont last hosted the tournament in 2016 which was won by Dustin Johnson. In Baker’s case it is his third US Open at Oakmont, having been on the crew for the 2007 US Open after also being an intern there in 2004. Since the 2016 tournament, the Oakmont layout has undergone a significant Gil Hanse restoration which has continued the evolution of one of the US’s most iconic golfing venues.

“The work on the golf course has seen some of the fairway and greens surfaces increase, but it certainly hasn’t made them any easier,” says Johnston, who played a key role in preparing The Australian for the 2023 Australian Open. “The scale of the property was potentially lost with all of the tree work conducted over the past 20 years and now all of the trees have been removed the Hanse team were able to put that back. All of the work has restored mowing lines, bunker shapes and fescue ditches to ensure the shot selection from the tee or fairway is thought about with significant risk and reward. Even though it is the most work conducted at Oakmont ever, it is still the same beast. Fairways are tight, the rough is dense and the greens roll out like nothing else in the world!” 

Elsewhere, a new two-lane bitumen access road (previously unsealed) now runs around the entire perimeter of the Oakmont property which has assisted greatly with the tournament infrastructure build to cater for the 60,000 spectators expected every day. From a crew perspective, the maintenance facility footprint has also doubled in size, with a new 6000-foot mechanics shed, spray shed and washdown bay.  

For Walker, he is backing up for his second US Open in two years after volunteering at Pinehurst No.2 last year. Walker won the ASTMA Excellence in Golf Course Management Award back in 2023 and used the prizemoney to fund that experience. He was also a volunteer at last year’s Australian Open at Kingston Heath Golf Club and both he and fellow US Open volunteer Marshall received confirmation that they had been successful with their application during that tournament. 

“It has been a great experience so far and a lot different from Pinehurst,” says Walker. “The work force is significantly larger – 100 more – and it’s great to be working on cool-season grasses as opposed to Bermuda which has been a great learning experience. They are certainly pushing the boundaries with the greens (Poa), tees and approaches here, whereas at Pinehurst it was a bit more on the safer side.” 

Since arriving last weekend, the Aussie contingent has been put to work across the whole Oakmont property, undertaking a range of tasks including bunker preparation, rough detail, approach mowing, fairway mowing, tee mowing and rotary mowing the notorious rough. Anthony (tees), Baker (fairways) and Johnston (approaches) have been on the mowing crews, while Marshall has been in the bunkers (Oakmont has 168) and Walker part of the team maintaining (fluffing with blowers) the roughs each day. 

Social media has been awash much of the week with shots of the substantial rough mowing crew and it was one of the Australian contingent who would unknowingly star in one that went viral. Pictured manhandling one of the rotary mowers as he attempts to cut the step grass face on one of Oakmont's bunkers is none other than Craig Anthony! CLICK HERE to view the post. As an aside, it is estimated that each staff member who mowed the Oakmont rough with rotary mowers walked about 26km in the process!

The morning shift begins at 3am with the afternoon shift generally winding up at 10pm. The maintenance compound has been well set up to cater for the huge number of volunteers, with dedicated bed, lounge and recreation areas which include massage chairs, pool tables, ping pong tables, cornhole and even a golf simulator. Education seminars have also been provided throughout the week, while Hanse stopped by on Tuesday afternoon to talk about the restoration works. 

“All of the rumours are true,” laughs Johnston when asked about how tough the conditions are this week at Oakmont. “Unlike 99% of other clubs across the globe, Oakmont really enjoys negative feedback. The membership take pride in hearing their fellow members, and guests, sharing stories in the locker room, not about how well they played, but how the golf course beat them up and how they survived their round. This is certainly not for everyone, but the Oakmont membership understand their identity as a tough and true test of golf.

“The rough has been manicured extremely carefully to ensure it is able to remain strong enough to stand up tall and be as penal as possible. Although it looks like it has been let go, it certainly has not. The strategy around the incremental height of cut adjustments and the agronomic applications have all been for purpose, and it has been an impressive result. 

“This team, led by Mike McCormick, is going to put on a display like nobody has ever seen before. They’re looking for scores above par. If you have the opportunity to tune in, it’s bound to be entertaining television.”

Words: Brett Robinson with Marlon Johnston 
Photos: Shane Baker, Craig Walker, Marlon Johnston, USGA Open Championship Media