US Open 2026: How tough will Shinnecock Hills play? USGA bosses keen to ensure greens are fair but hard ahead of major

How tough will Shinnecock Hills play at this week’s US Open?

It’s a question that has been on everyone’s lips this week, as anticipation builds ahead of the third major championship of the season at a course that has thrown up plenty of controversy during the last two times it hosted the US Open in 2004 and 2018.

Shinnecock is an outstanding golf course, but at both the 2004 and 2018 US Opens, the USGA received criticism for its course setup, with the condition of the greens coming under particular scrutiny.

Woods: This is not supposed to be how golf is played

Farcical scenes erupted at the 2004 tournament.

Six under par was the leading score through 36 holes, but tournament bosses wanted to present a greater challenge to players and chose not to water the greens before the third and fourth rounds.

It became a test of patience, with the windy conditions sucking the moisture out of the ground, and players struggled to cope with the fast greens.

Only three players, including eventual winner Reteif Goosen, broke par in the third round, and no player managed to shoot below par in the final round.

It became so difficult to putt on the green on the par-three seventh hole that officials chose to water the greens between groups.

Tiger Woods was particularly vocal about the conditions, saying: “This is our national championship, and Shinnecock Hills is a great golf course, but they have lost control of it.

“This is not supposed to be how golf is played.”

‘I’ve never seen a course change so quickly’

Fourteen years later, the US Open returned to the New York-based venue, but the same issue reared its head again.

Shinnecock Hills ranked as the most difficult course on the PGA Tour during the 2018 season in relation to proximity to the hole in approach. Missing the green was also disastrous, with Shinnecock also being the toughest course for scrambling on the PGA Tour that season.

The conditions prompted former USA Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson to go so far as claiming the grounds staff had “lost the golf course”.

The tournament was memorable for Phil Mickelson’s decision to putt a moving ball that had rolled well past the hole on the 13th green. It was a bizarre moment that saw the American, who was frustrated by the speed of the greens, receiving a two-shot penalty.

As the sun baked the greens, the conditions became increasingly difficult for the later groups.

“I’ve never seen a course change so quickly,” former Open winner Justin Rose said. “We come off pretty much shell-shocked.”

The course troubled some of the best in the game, with Rory McIlroy failing to break 80 during his opening round, while Brooks Koepka’s opening round of 75 ranks as the joint-highest first-round score ever hit by a US Open champion since 1980.

Koepka would go on to win the tournament with a score of one-over par.

Will we see the same this week?

The key issue for the USGA is maintaining the consistency of the greens throughout the tournament.

Testing conditions are forecast, with gusts of up to 36mph set to blow through the course. Showers are also forecast during the opening round, but the weather is predicted to improve through the weekend.

Given the feedback from the last two tournaments, grounds staff have modified their set-up to ensure the course plays tough but fair.

USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer wants to ensure Shinnecock stays consistent this week, but there are plans to gradually increase the speed of the greens each day.

“We have really taken the wind direction into account and where we can position those hole locations in places that will account for the wind but will also give us our best chance, so we can just play in those types of winds,” Bodenhamer said.

He added that grounds staff will be syringing the greens on Thursday and Friday. Syringing is a process in which course caretakers apply a light application of water to hydrate the grass.

“We’ve communicated this to the players, that it is really important. We believe that it will present a more consistent playing presentation to both the morning and afternoon waves on both days. It will be consistent across both days, which we think enhances competitive fairness.”

McIlroy: It doesn’t need to get too fast to play tough

McIlroy believes grounds staff will have to “manage things better” during the opening two rounds of the tournament.

“As the week goes on, you have the ability for the course to get firmer and faster,” he said.

“With this golf course, that should only be up to a certain point. We’ve seen what’s happened here at the last two US Opens. It doesn’t need to get that fast to play incredibly difficult.

“There were gusts of 25 to 30 yesterday, and balls wouldn’t stand on the 11th green. That’s where you just have to use a little bit of caution.

“Thursday and Friday are difficult because there are two waves, and you want to try to protect the competitive integrity of the tournament and try to make it somewhat fair for everyone. Obviously, it’s an outdoor sport, and you can’t control everything.

“But on the weekend, at least they have time, if they need to put a lot of water on the golf course early, and then they let it sort of naturally dry out as the day goes on, they can do that at the weekend, which I think makes life a little bit easier for them.

“Thursday, Friday, they’re just going to have to manage a little bit better.”

But a US Open is supposed to be tough!

The US Open prides itself on having some of the toughest venues in its rotation of all the majors.

And for the players, battling it out on the world’s hardest courses is a challenge they relish.

“To me, that’s what a US Open is,” Matt Fitzpatrick said. “You go to these historic golf courses, and they’re set up a certain way.

“You grew up watching US Opens. It was tough. It was tight off the tee. It was firm. It was really hot.

“I feel like Shinnecock summarises that very well, particularly its history here, and even just going out there now, seeing the golf course as it is, it’s kind of how you picture a US Open. For me, I enjoy those ones the most.”

Certainly, Shinnecock feels and plays like a links golf course.

When the wind is up, as we’ve seen already this week, it’s going to be treacherous.

The fairways are wider than they were in 2018, but mishits will be punished. As with every major championship, a litany of videos emerged on social media in the week showing people dropping golf balls in the fescue, which is situated only around five yards in from the edge of the first cut.

One of the best was shared by Bryson DeChambeau, whose golf ball vanished as he dropped it into the coarse long grass. The two-time US Open champion took a swing at his ball but chunked the shot only 10 yards ahead of him.

Koepka: The course is softer, so it is gettable

For the returning 2018 champion, Koepka, executing one’s approach play is going to be key.

“I like a tough test,” Koepka explained. “I like something that’s usually around par winning. This golf course is a second-shot golf course. You’ve really got to control your iron play. The position off the tee is really important.”

Having played a few practice rounds this week, Koepka believes the course will be more gettable than it was in 2018.

“It’s very easy to say it’s a second-shot golf course is kind of what I think, but when it was so firm in 2018, you couldn’t get above the hole,” he added.

“Now that it’s a little softer, you can kind of get above the hole. Ask me that on Thursday or Friday, and I might give you a better answer on that.”

Who will win the US Open? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage from the opening round begins on Thursday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.

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