A Golf Historian’s Takeaway From the U.S. Open

I will be completely honest, I was not 100% sold on Pinehurst becoming part of the U.S. Open Rota. It had hosted three U.S. Open Championship’s prior to this year and in this historian’s humble opinion delivered an amazing championship once. The 2024 US Open at Pinehurst proved me wrong.

If people aren’t doing it already, I feel that everyone should be congratulating the USGA and the Pinehurst Resort for hitting this out of the park. The set-up was grueling, but fair. It asked a lot of questions that some of the best players in the world did not have an answer for & others did- in short one of the best U.S. Opens in golf history!

Congrats to the USGA & Pinehurst Resort!

Our Congratulations to Bryson & Our Sympathies to Rory

The 2024 US Open was high end drama and it may have started on the range. Bryson DeChambeau after three days of great driving, caved in his driver head on the driving range just prior to the final round. The end result was some of his worst driving of the week.

What struck me about Bryson was how despite his wildness off the tee, despite a missed short putt late in the round, despite being down 2 strokes with a few holes to play, he didnt seem overwhelmed by the situation. He kept pushing forward and hitting golf shots.

Rory broke a lot of hearts and perhaps the most important may have been his own. A ten year drought at the majors is hard to fathom for a golfer of his talent but he is not alone.

Arnold Palmer never won a major after the age of 35.

Golf is a fickle game that is twisted with demons that live in one’s head. Out of all the near misses, I suspect this one will weigh the heaviest. As a person of Irish decent, I can say that the Irish are a people of resilience and good nature. I don’t know if Rory will ever win a major, but I do know that he will rebound from this and continue to be a fan favorite. We at the Society wish him the very best!

The Evolution of the U.S. Open Gold Medal

While some things stay the same, some things change.

If I could be a bit critical of the USGA. The Jack Nicklaus Gold Medal has been with us for a dozen years now and I would argue that it is not as attractive as the previous gold medal (bottom left) which included the Seal of the United States of America.

Another thing to note is how similar the 1894 pre-USGA medals resemble the post-USGA U.S. Open medal. I will save this argument for another time, but I firmly believe that the 1894 pre-USGA U.S. Open should be our country’s first U.S. Open. I have strong evidence that for the first 50 years the USGA agreed. I will share that story for next year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont CC.

Excited for Oakmont CC in 2025

To me the home of the U.S. Open is and will always be Oakmont CC.

OCC checks all the boxes of history, great champions, and a incredibly difficult challenge. In short, it’s my favorite.

I have played Oakmont ~ 10 times, but my most recent visit was post Gil Hanse Restoration. If you thought Pinehurst was too easy on wayward shots, Oakmont will be your cup of tea. The bunker renovation at Oakmont flattened out the bottoms of their bunkers.

How does that effect the playability?

Most bunkers are a bit concave. Shots hit into concave shaped bunkers tend to gravitate towards the middle of the bunker or roll away from the edges. Oakmont’s flat bottom bunkers tend to do the opposite. When you hit your driver into these bunkers the ball collects up against or near the edge of the bunker and most of Oakmont’s bunkers have grass mounds fronting them.

I think what we may see is a very penal set-up with the bunkers acting as par breakers. Next year Insuspect the week leading up to the U.S. Open you will start to hear the professionals complaining about the bunkers- this will be th reason why.

Love Pinehurst and just want more…

The 2024 Golf Heritage Society National Convention

October. 16-19, 2024

Planning is underway! The GHS is visiting Pinehurst in 2024 where the new World Golf Hall of Fame is opening, in association with the USGA Experience, a facility designed to bring golf history to life. There’s already a buzz about this one, so pencil it on the calendar.

Click the link below to learn more about the Golf Heritage Society:

Thank you for reading this newsletter and sharing it with your friends.

Until next time…

Yours in Golf History,

Connor T. Lewis