Oakmont: The Shrinking Of Short Grass

Ryan Farrow did an aerial overlay of the famed Oakmont Country Club from 1938 vs. 2017 and found that more bunkers have been added while there has been a huge drop in fairway acreage and width.

The club's tree removal program undoubtedly impacts the turf shift to rough, but that's not the entire story. Something else has happened in that time. Oh, right, the top players are hitting it about 80 yards longer.

Here are the results: Oakmont CC 1938 vs. Today:
# of Bunkers:
1938 = 155 Today = 174
Avg. Fairway Width (around landing areas):
1938 = 46 yds Today = 29 yds
Fairway Acreage:
1938 = 37.8ac Today = 23.6ac pic.twitter.com/bX8NADZXxW

— Ryan Farrow (@FarrowGolf) January 19, 2018