Selecting a single hole at Oakmont Country Club to break down for our “The Hole at…” video series is challenging. Most courses have two or three candidates that are especially compelling for their history, architectural variety or beauty, so the choice is narrower. Others, like Augusta National, have a dozen or more, complicating matters, though as host of the Masters we can do a new one each year.
Oakmont falls into the latter category. As the long-time fifth-ranked course on America’s 100 Greatest Courses there is hardly a hole that isn’t worthy of a deep dive. But there also isn’t one obvious choice to profile either.
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For this examination we selected the third hole, a long, uphill par 4 known for one of golf’s most spectacular hazards, the Church Pews bunker that dominates the left side of the fairway. Oakmont’s third might not be the most architecturally dynamic hole on the course, but it penalizes and terrorizes as effectively as any other hole on the course with a few additional twists and turns that are uniquely its own.
Watch the video below to learn why the third hole and the Church Pews bunker have become icons in the world of golf. Together they embody the elements that make Oakmont such a fascinating and terrifying championship course, all in a singular, unmistakable package. More U.S. Open preview stories 
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
