STROKE OF THE DAY

"Winning isn't everything, but wanting it is. "

When it comes to the U.S. Open, these tracks are the hosts with the most:

Oakmont Country Club – Oakmont, Pa.
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 8
Most recent: 2007 (won by Angel Cabrera)
As last year’s Open reinforced, Oakmont could very well be the hardest test in the country. Two hundred and ten bunkers lurk on the Henry C. Fownes design, which is consistently ranked inside the top 10 of Golf Digest’s annual list of America’s best courses. While legends like Tommy Armour, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus have won U.S. Opens at Oakmont, perhaps the venue’s greatest Open memory came in 1973, when Johnny Miller fired a final-round 63 to win in stunning fashion.

Baltusrol Golf Club (Lower Course) – Springfield, N.J.
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 7
Most recent: 1993 (won by Lee Janzen)
Jack Nicklaus, who won two of his four Opens on Baltusrol’s Lower Course, has said the layout’s greatness is evident in its “extreme fairness.” He posted a 9-under-par 275 in 1967, and when the course was played to a par of 70 in 1980, he compiled an 8-under 272, which is also what Janzen registered in 1993 (and it’s also the lowest winning stroke total in U.S. Open history). One of the most famous holes on the A.W. Tillinghast layout is the 17th, a whopping par 5 that stretches 650 yards.

Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course) – Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 6
Most recent: 1996 (won by Steve Jones)
When the South Course at Oakland Hills opened for play in 1918, it had instant credibility in the American golf hierarchy – it was designed by Pinehurst No. 2 architect Donald Ross, and 1914 U.S. Open champion Walter Hagen was the first professional. Ben Hogan coined it “The Monster” after winning the 1951 Open: there were only two sub-par rounds during the entire tournament, one being Hogan’s 67 on the final day. San Diego native Gene Littler captured the ’61 U.S. Open here.

Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course) – Mamaroneck, N.Y.
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 5
Most recent: 2006 (won by Geoff Ogilvy)
Another Tillinghast layout, the West Course at Winged Foot has witnessed some of the more gruesome Opens in recent memory. Hale Irwin outlasted the field at the 1974 U.S. Open with a 7-over-par 287, a tournament aptly dubbed “The Massacre at Winged Foot” by author Dick Schaap. The track features one of the most difficult finishing stretches in major championship golf, something Phil Mickelson knows all too well after ending with double bogey on the par-4 18th to lose the ’06 Open. San Diego native Billy Casper won the 1959 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

Pebble Beach Golf Links – Pebble Beach, Calif.
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 4 (will host No. 5 in 2010)
Most recent: 2000 (won by Tiger Woods)
The list of U.S. Open memories at Pebble Beach reads like an all-time golf highlight reel. In the ’72 Open, Jack Nicklaus struck a piercing 1-iron through howling wind on the par-3 17th that grazed the flagstick, ensuring birdie and his 13th major victory. Tom Watson chipped in for birdie from deep rough on the same hole on his way to winning the 1982 Open. And then there’s Woods, who obliterated the field by a record 15 strokes on the Jack Neville and Douglas Grant co-design in 2000 to capture his first U.S. Open.

The Olympic Club (Lake Course) – Daly City, Calif.
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 4 (will host No. 5 in 2012)
Most recent: 1998 (won by Lee Janzen)
One of the first 100 golf clubs established in the United States, The Olympic Club has seen two San Diego natives triumph in the four U.S. Opens it has hosted: Billy Casper, who defeated Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff in 1966; and Scott Simpson in 1987. Many players criticized the USGA the last time the Open was contested on the Lake Course in 1998, when the green on the par-4 18th was mowed so slick that some players deemed it almost impossible to get the ball anywhere close to the hole on both approach shots and putts. Sam Whiting and Wiilie Watson crafted the Lake.

Merion Golf Club (East Course) – Ardmore, Penn.
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 4 (will host No. 5 in 2013)
Most recent: 1981 (won by David Graham)
No facility has hosted more USGA events (17) than Merion. Architect Hugh Wilson incorporated Scottish-style bunkers on the East Course, which is one of the most unique in the country because of wicker baskets on the pins instead of flags. In 1950, Ben Hogan defeated Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio in an 18-hole playoff to win the Open a year after his devastating car accident. Merion has been lengthened and will play about 400 yards longer than it did in 1981 when the U.S. Open returns in 2013.

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club – Southampton, N.Y.
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 4
Most recent: 2004 (won by Retief Goosen)
Shinnecock Hills hosted the second U.S. Open in 1896, and it is the only course that has hosted the major in three different centuries. Oxnard’s Corey Pavin held off Greg Norman with a well-struck 4-wood to the 18th hole in capturing the 1995 U.S. Open, and Retief Goosen validated his 2001 Open crown with another staunch effort at Shinnecock to win there in 2004. Because of its coastal location, the already-challenging layout is almost always made more difficult by swirling winds.

Myopia Hunt Club – South Hamilton, Mass.
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 4
Most recent: 1908 (won by Fred McLeod)
In the Open’s early history, the most prolific venue was Myopia. Named in honor of its five founders – who each wore glasses – the Herbert Corey Leeds design was only nine holes when the first U.S. Open was held there in 1898 (eight rounds were played instead of four). Fred Herd’s winning score of 328 that year is still the highest in tournament history. In addition to golf, Myopia is known as a hallowed hunting track and is the longest continually running polo field in the United States.

Inverness Club – Toledo, Ohio
Number of U.S. Opens hosted: 4
Most recent: 1979 (won by Hale Irwin)
In 1931, Inverness was the site of the longest playoff in Open history. Billy Burke and George Von Elm both shot 292 after regulation; the following day, they tied again after a 36-hole playoff, and when the dust settled after 36 more holes, Burke had bested Von Elm by a stroke – 148 to 149. Englishman Ted Ray’s triumph there in 1920 was especially significant because it marked the first time in American golf tournament history that professionals were allowed entry to the clubhouse. The competitors recognized the gesture by donating a cathedral chime clock to Inverness.