U.S. Open 2025: This local rule will benefit players at Oakmont, but could lead to a DQ if not followed properly

OAKMONT, Pa. — The uniqueness of Oakmont Country Club is a big part of its allure, the course having developed a mystique all to itself. Think the dastardly rough, the slick greens, the Church Pew bunker, the Pennsylvania Turnpike running through it.

Another lesser-known Oakmont eccentricity—but one that could create an intriguing rules discussion during this week’s U.S. Open—is the club’s use of a portion of its massive ninth green as a practice putting surface. The ninth green’s location adjacent to the clubhouse and a short walk to the first and 10th tee makes it an ideal spot to hit a few final putts before teeing off.

That will be the case for competitors in the 2025 U.S. Open as well, thanks to a local rule the USGA has in place this week.

Why the local rule? Well, technically, the entirety of the putting surface—all 22,000 square feet—is the ninth green. And Rule 5.2b prohibits players from practicing “on the course” before a round. In stroke play, a player who makes a stroke on the course before a round would receive a one-shot penalty on his first hole. If the player made another additional stroke, it would result in disqualification.

The local rule allows for half of Oakmont's ninth green closest to the clubhouse, the back half if playing the hole, to be used before a round without penalty. That section of the green—which is still considered part of the ninth green from a competition standpoint—is defined with blue stakes and a blue dot at roughly the halfway point.

That back section, as is usually the case for everyday play at Oakmont, will have more than a dozen holes cut into the green for players to practice on. That could create some interesting scenarios if a golfer playing the ninth hole in the championship should hit an approach shot long and wind up having his ball on the back portion where players are practicing.

Indeed, what happens if a practice hole gets in the way of play on the course? Or what if a player actually hit his ball into one of the practice holes? According to the USGA, if a ball ends up with interference from one of the practice holes, whether the hole is on the line of play or the ball falls into a hole, the player can take free relief under Rule 16.1d by placing a ball at the nearest point of complete relief.

OK, so that seems simple enough. But one thing that players will have to monitor for themselves—and something that has been very specifically spelled out to players with signage and in a memo they received up registering for the championship—is to make sure that when they’re practicing on the green they DO NOT cross over to the front section of the green beyond the blue stakes/dot. If that were to happen, they would then be subject to the discipline for breaking Rule 5.2b and could find themselves potentially DQ’d from the tournament.