Golf Lessons From Oakmont!

Playing Oakmont Country Club – What a Treat!

 

How does it get any better than having a friend who is a member at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh, PA – and having him invite you to play there from time to time!

 

This past Friday my friend Larry had me as a guest at Oakmont and I had been looking forward to this for a long time.  Some might call Oakmont – with its fast greens and lots of bunkering – hard, but I like to call it "exquisitely fair."  You get rewarded for good shots, and can be penalized – sometimes severely – for poor ones or shots that can be just slightly off the right line.  

 

I had hopes of playing well (even dreaming of shooting around 85), since I have been playing as good as I have played for a number of years.  However, a triple, double, double, and ug! start on the first 4 holes squashed that pretty quickly.  I shot 98, 53 – 45.

 

But I took a lot of positives out of the round I played at Oakmont.  One was watching how the other three players in my group played.  They are "used" to the challenge of playing there, and so when they had some difficulty they pretty much took it in stride.  

 

So, how does an "outsider" like me – with a handicap between about 8 and 12 – play a great, strategic course like Oakmont – and score well enough to be pleased?  Here I think are some keys that can help at Oakmont and other courses like it!

 

Stay FAR Away From Trouble!  There were at least 3 or 4 holes where – if I had played 10 yards away from potential trouble in the fairway – I could have shot as much as 2 strokes less on that hole.  Fairway bunkers specifically – better to have a shot 10 yards longer than to hit the ball in the bunker and have to escape.

 

Know What Trouble Shots To Have In Your Bag!  For me the shot that I needed to improve on the most was a "simple" short iron shot out of a fairway bunker.  So if you know up front you might need that shot, practice it ahead of time.

 

Have a Good Greenside Bunker Game.  This was one area where I did about as well as I could.  Got out of every greenside bunker I was in sometimes close (thanks Edel Wedges!). 

 

Have Great Respect for Super-Fast Greens!  Oakmont greens are ALWAYS at a stimp somewhere around 13.  If you can stay below the hole with approach shots – but not always possible.  Be sure to know when you are above the hole and have to REALLY be careful with a putt.  And do not beat yourself up for 3 putts – humans will do that there!

 

Set Realistic Goals for Your Round.  It would be a career round for me to shoot 80 or below there – probably better than shooting even par on my home course.  So realize that a 90 can be a great round there, and anything below that is gravy but possible.

 

Maybe Most Important – ENJOY EVERY SHOT AND EVERY CHALLENGE!  If there is a more perfect golf course to get to play than Oakmont, I have not played it yet.  6,400 yards from the men's tees, so most holes of reasonable length.  But wonderful strategy and shotmaking needed to play well.  How can it get better than that?

 

The Fit Is IT!!

Tony