About
Fownes passionately believed that poor shots should always be penalized, so he kept adding bunkers to Oakmont—eventually totaling over 300—making the course infamous for its punishing hazards and the fastest greens in the world.
Henry C. Fownes was a Pittsburgh-born steel magnate who pivoted to golf course design after selling his company to Andrew Carnegie in 1898. Introduced to golf by fellow industrialist John Moorhead, Fownes quickly developed a passion for the game and, finding local courses insufficiently challenging, resolved to build a world-class championship course. In 1903, he purchased land northeast of Pittsburgh and founded Oakmont Country Club, personally overseeing its design and construction. Fownes favored relentless difficulty, installing hundreds of bunkers and ultra-fast, sloping greens that have become legendary among golfers. His original Oakmont layout opened in 1904 with a par of 80, featuring expansive vistas and few trees. Oakmont remains renowned as one of the most challenging and celebrated courses in America, frequently hosting major tournaments and revered for its demanding play. Fownes’ vision and uncompromising standards shaped Oakmont into a benchmark of championship golf course architecture.
