Course Guide: Shinnecock Hills is one of the most traditional golf courses in North America. Built in 1892, the golf club, located close to Southampton on Long Island, New York State, is one of the oldest in the United States. An inland links-style golf course, it’s famous for being the first links golf course in the United States. Whether it is a genuine links is up for debate, but assume that those with a liking for coastal golf will feel right at home here.
With ever-changing routing, the real challenge of Shinnecock for the players is thinking about the wind and understanding how to hit relatively small and well-defended Poa Annua with Bentgrass green complexes. A commonly held view is that Shinnecock Hills feels more like Scotland than almost any other golf course in the United States. At 7,440 yards playing as a Par 70, this is a long Major set-up featuring only a pair of par-5s.
Shinnecock Hills Golf Course, Southampton, Long Island, New York: Designer: William S Flynn, 1937, with Crenshaw & Coore renovation 2012; Course Type: Technical, Classical, Inland Links, Long; Par: 70; Length: 7,440 yards; Holes with Water Hazards In-Play: 1; Number of Bunkers: 160; Fairways: Bentgrass and Poa Annua; Rough: Bluegrass, Rye and Fescue; Greens: 6,000 sq.ft average featuring Poa Annua with Bentgrass.
Fairway Widths (yards): Below are the fairway widths for Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and how they compare to recent courses that we’ve seen on Tour:
- Shinnecock Hills: 45 yards at 300 yards.
- TPC Toronto: 35-37 yards at 300 yards.
- Muirfield Village: 24 yards at 300 yards.
- Colonial: 25-30 yards at 300 yards.
- TPC Craig Ranch: 25-28 yards.
- Aronimink: 30 yards.
- Quail Hollow: 28 yards.
- Blue Monster, Doral: 25-40 yards.
- Harbour Town: 22-25 yards.
- Augusta National: Average 50 yards.
- Oaks Course: 25-30 yards.
- Memorial Park: 30–40 yards.
- Copperhead: Average 20 yards.
- TPC Sawgrass: Average 28 yards.
- Bay Hill: Average 30 yards.
- PGA National: Average 28 yards.
- Riviera: Average 27 yards.
- Pebble Beach: Average 30-33 yards. Spyglass Hill: 25-30 yards.
- TPC Scottsdale: Average 38 yards.
- Torrey Pines South: Average 24-27 yards. Torrey Pines North: Average 24-27 yards.
- Pete Dye Stadium: Average 33 yards.
Course Scoring Average + PGA Tour Difficulty Rank:
- 2018: 74.65 (+4.65), Tour Difficulty Rank 1 of 51 courses
Course Designer Links: For research purposes other Coore/Crenshaw designs include:
- Pinehurst Number 2 – 2014 & 2024 U.S. Open
- The Plantation Course at Kapalua – The Sentry
- Trinity Forest Golf Club – 2018/19 AT&T Byron Nelson
- Yokohama Country Club – 2025 Baycurrent Classic
Course Overview: Shinnecock Hills is an inland links-style golf course, famous for being the first links golf course in the United States. One of the founding courses of the USGA and certainly an iconic United States golf course, Shinnecock Hills was re-designed in the 1930s by William S. Flynn design.
An open property set in rolling hills, Shinnecock features plenty of long fescue grass, the likes of which players love to take images of their balls disappearing into before the tournament. However the course is actually pretty wide off the tee for a U.S. Open venue. Significantly changed prior to the 2018 U.S. Open by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw – think Pinehurst Number 2 – in a 2012 renovation that saw hundreds of trees removed, green sizes increased, and over 400 yards added in length. With ever-changing routing, the real challenge of Shinnecock for the players is thinking about the wind and understanding how to hit relatively small, pronounced and well-defended green complexes. A commonly held view is that Shinnecock Hills feels more like Scotland than almost any other golf course in the United States.
Shinnecock Hills is undoubtedly a United States classic. The club has hosted U.S. Open’s across the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and golf history is absolutely everywhere in the clubhouse. A faux- links golf course, the course has a true Scottish feel to it and across the 1995 U.S. Open won by Corey Pavin, the 2004 renewal won by Retief Goosen, and the most-recent 2018 U.S. Open won by Brooks Koepka, it yielded winning scores of Even/280, -4/276 and +1/281. 2018 highlights the well-known fact that links golf is inextricably linked to weather conditions. +30mph gusting winds on Thursday allied to uncontrollably fast greens on Saturday saw no players break par across 72 holes.
In their quest to take the course back to its 1930s William Flynn roots, Coore and Crenshaw widened the fairways to over 40 yards in lots of circumstances. Now the USGA in their quest to make the course more of a challenge replaced some significant chunks of fairway with rough. But Shinnecock’s fairways play on average at 45 yards wide in the championship landing areas. To add a little detail, the 13th hole features the thinnest fairway at 19 yards at 275 yards from the tee. But apart from that all holes feature fairways which are a minimum of 30 yards wide, with the 8th at a huge 62 yards wide. No matter how you look at this set-up, power is sure to be a huge advantage and even inaccurate drivers will find plenty of short grass. First cut at about 3 – 4 yards wide is quoted up to 3 inches in depth, and from there knee- to waist-high Fescue grass takes over.
Secondly the renovation also saw green sizes grow a little, so green complexes at 6,000 sq.ft average are more generous than those we saw in 2004. Putting surfaces are predominantly Poa Annua, which we know are not to every player’s taste, but they are a mix of 80% Poa Annua with 20% Bentgrass, varying to potentially 50%-50% on some greens.
A set of 4 par-3s which include the 252 yard 2nd Hole are mentioned in the highest regards from a global standpoint. The short 157 yard 11th is a brute of hole, despite having a wedge in hand. 7 of 12 par-4s are over 450 yards, with the 3rd and 14th playing over 500 yards. As you would also expect with a U.S. Open venue, the par-5s are no pushovers either at 592 yards (5th) and 614 yards (16th) from the tips.
US Open Winners: 2025: J.J. Spaun (-1); 2024: Bryson DeChambeau (-6); 2023: Wyndham Clark (-10); 2022: Matt Fitzpatrick (-6); 2021: John Rahm (-6); 2020: Bryson DeChambeau (-6); 2019: Gary Woodland (-13); 2018: Brooks Koepka (+1); 2017: Brooks Koepka (-16); 2016: Dustin Johnson (-4); 2015: Jordan Spieth (-5); 2014: Martin Kaymer (-9); 2013: Justin Rose (+1); 2012: Webb Simpson (+1); 2011: Rory McIlroy (-16); 2010: Graeme McDowell (E); 2009: Lucas Glover (-4).
- 2025: J.J. Spaun 66-72-69-72 -1/279.
- 2024: Bryson DeChambeau 69-67-69-71 -6/274
- 2023: Wyndham Clark 64-67-69-70 -10/270
- 2022: Matt Fitzpatrick 68-70-68-68 -6/274
- 2021: Jon Rahm 69-70-72-67 -6/278
- 2020: Bryson DeChambeau 69-68-70-67 -6/274
- 2019: Gary Woodland 68-65-69-69 -13/271
- 2018: Brooks Koepka 69-63-66-66 -16/264
- 2017: Brooks Koepka 67-70-68-67 -16/272
OWGR of U.S. Open Winners: 2025: Spaun 26; 2024: DeChambeau 38; 2023: Clark 32; 2022: Fitzpatrick 18; 2021: Rahm 3; 2020: DeChambeau 9; 2019: Woodland 24; 2018: Koepka 9; 2017: Koepka 22.
Datagolf Ranking U.S. Open Winners: 2025: Spaun 25; 2024: DeChambeau 10; 2023: Clark 11; 2022: Fitzpatrick 10; 2021: Rahm 1; 2020: DeChambeau 12; 2019 Woodland 20.
Path to Victory: Below are end of round positions for US Open winners:
- 2025 – J.J. Spaun: Round 1: 1st, Round 2: 2nd, Round 3: 2nd.
- 2024 – Bryson DeChambeau: Round 1: 4th, Round 2: 2nd, Round 3: 1st.
- 2023 – Wyndham Clark: Round 1: 3rd, Round 2: 2nd, Round 3: 1st.
- 2022 – Matt Fitzpatrick: Round 1: 7th, Round 2: 13th, Round 3: 1st.
- 2021 – Jon Rahm: Round 1: 5th, Round 2: 5th, Round 3: 6th.
- 2020 – Bryson DeChambeau: Round 1: 14th, Round 2: 2nd, Round 3: 2nd.
- 2019 – Gary Woodland: Round 1: 8th, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 1st.
- 2018 – Brooks Koepka: Round 1: 46th, Round 2: 4th, Round 3: 1st.
- 2017 – Brooks Koepka: Round 1: 4th, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 2nd.
- 2016 – Dustin Johnson: Round 1: 2nd, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 2nd.
- 2015 – Jordan Spieth: Round 1: 7th, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 1st.
- 2014 – Martin Kaymer: Round 1: 1st, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 1st.
- 2013 – Justin Rose: Round 1: 16th, Round 2: 3rd, Round 3: 5th.
- 2012 – Webb Simpson: Round 1: 23rd, Round 2: 29th, Round 3: 8th.
- 2011 – Rory McIlroy: Round 1: 1st, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 1st.
- 2010 – Graeme McDowell: Round 1: 10th, Round 2 1st, Round 3: 2nd.
Shots From the Lead: Below are the US Open winners since 2010 and where they were positioned in terms of shots from the lead during the tournament:
- 2025 – J.J. Spaun: Round 1: 1 ahead, Round 2: 1 back, Round 3: 1 back.
- 2024 – Bryson DeChambeau: Round 1: 2 back, Round 2: 1 back, Round 3: 3 ahead.
- 2023 – Wyndham Clark: Round 1: 2 back, Round 2: 1 back, Round 3: level.
- 2022 – Matt Fitzpatrick: Round 1: 2 back, Round 2: 3 back, Round 3: level.
- 2021 – Jon Rahm: Round 1: 2 back, Round 2: 2 back, Round 3: 3 back.
- 2020 – Bryson DeChambeau: Round 1: 4 back, Round 2: 1 back, Round 3: 2 back.
- 2019 – Gary Woodland: Round 1: 3 back, Round 2: 2 ahead, Round 3: 1 ahead.
- 2018 – Brooks Koepka: Round 1: 6 back, Round 2: 5 back, Round 3: level.
- 2017 – Brooks Koepka: Round 1: 2 back, Round 2: level, Round 3: 1 back.
- 2016 – Dustin Johnson: Round 1: 1 back, Round 2: 1 ahead, Round 3: 4 back.
- 2015 – Jordan Spieth: Round 1: 3 back, Round 2: level, Round 3: level.
- 2014 – Martin Kaymer: Round 1: 3 ahead, Round 2: 6 ahead, Round 3: 5 ahead.
- 2013 – Justin Rose: Round 1: 4 back, Round 2: 1 back, Round 3: 2 back.
- 2012 – Webb Simpson: Round 1: 6 back, Round 2: 6 back, Round 3: 4 back.
- 2011 – Rory McIlroy: Round 1: 3 ahead, Round 2: 6 ahead, Round 3: 8 ahead.
- 2010 – Graeme McDowell: Round 1: 2 back, Round 2: 2 ahead, Round 3: 3 back.
Incoming Form of U.S. Open winners since 2010:
- J.J. Spaun: MC Memorial/6th Colonial/37th PGA/17th Truist.
- Bryson DeChambeau: 18th LIV Houston/2nd PGA/27th LIV Singapore/26th LIV Adelaide.
- Wyndham Clark: 12th Memorial/MC PGA/1st Quail Hollow/24th Mexico.
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 10th Canada/MC Memorial/5th PGA/2nd Wells Fargo.
- Jon Rahm: WD Memorial/8th PGA/34th Byron/MC Quail.
- Bryson DeChambeau: 25th Tour Champ/50th BMW Champ/MC Northern Trust/4th PGA.
- Gary Woodland: 52nd Memorial/8th PGA/MC Quail Hollow/32nd Augusta.
- Brooks Koepka: 30th TPC Southwind/2nd Colonial/11th TPC Sawgrass/42nd Quail.
- Brooks Koepka: 37th TPC Southwind/31st Memorial/50th TPC4S/16th TPC Sawgrass.
- Dustin Johnson: 5th TPC Southwind/3rd Memorial/12th TPC4S/28th TPC Sawgrass.
- Jordan Spieth: 3rd Memorial/30th TPC4S/2nd Colonial/MC TPC Sawgrass.
- Martin Kaymer: 12th Wentworth/29th TPC4S/1st TPC Sawgrass/18th Quail.
- Justin Rose: 8th Memorial/50th Wentworth/MC TPC Sawgrass/15th TPC Louisiana.
- Webb Simpson: MC Memorial/MC TPC Sawgrass/ 4th Quail/13th New Orleans.
- Rory McIlroy: 5th Memorial/24th Wentworth/MC Quail/3rd Kuala Lumpur.
- Graeme McDowell: 1st Celtic Manor/4th Madrid/28th Wentworth/26th TPC Sawgrass.
Tournament Stats: We’ve published some key player statistics for this week’s event that are well worth a look. Naturally they’ll help to shape a view on players who could go well this week: Current Form | Tournament Form | First Round Leader | Combined Stats | Recent Majors Stats.
My published predictor is available here. Top 10 of my published predictor are: 1) Scottie Scheffler; 2) Jon Rahm; 3) Tommy Fleetwood; 4) Matt Fitzpatrick; 5) Rory McIlroy; 6) Cameron Smith; 7) Si Woo Kim; 8) Russell Henley; 9) David Puig; 10) Xander Schauffele.
Our brand new predictor model is running alongside, where you can build your own rankings in live time, using the variables listed on the left hand side.
US Open Winners & Prices: 2025: Spaun 125/1; 2024: DeChambeau 20/1; 2023: Clark 66/1; 2022: Fitzpatrick 25/1; 2021: Rahm 10/1; 2020: DeChambeau 25/1; 2019: Woodland 80/1; 2018: Koepka 25/1; 2017: Koepka 45/1; 2016: Dustin Johnson 16/1; 2015: Spieth 9/1; 2014: Kaymer 40/1; 2013: Rose 28/1; 2012: Simpson 80/1; 2011: McIlroy 22/1; 2010: McDowell 80/1. Past 5 Renewals Average: 50/1; Average: 38/1.
Weather Forecast: The latest weather forecast for Shinnecock Hills, New York is here.
Mother Nature looks like she will throw up a fascinating mix of weather conditions for the US Open this week. Shinnecock Hills has been dry throughout April, May and June to date, so conditions should be firm. 0.15 inch of rain (4mm) on Sunday night into Monday morning won’t have done much to worry the Course Superintendent and there’s no more than 40% chance of rain throughout tournament week. Expect firm, fast running fairways and green speeds that you see will be at the total discretion of the USGA.
Temperature-wise, the U.S. Open will be pleasant enough at 21-23 degrees Celsius – 70-73 degrees Fahrenheit. But on an exposed golf course with plenty of elevated tees and green complexes, the strength of the wind will be critical when it comes to scoring. Both Thursday and Friday will see prevailing south-westerly gusts approaching 30 mph. The weekend looks a tad calmer at 20-25 mph.
Player Strokes Gained Rankings: These top 25 in the field rankings are based on an 8-tournament window that stretches back to the China Open which includes PGA Tour and DP World Tour events, where recorded. Player rankings are based on performance relative to the rest of the field:
- Top 25 SG Off The Tee: 1) Joaquin Niemann; 2) Jon Rahm / Neal Shipley; 4) Rory McIlroy; 5) Ludvig Aberg; 6) Xander Schauffele; 7) Scottie Scheffler / Gary Woodland; 9) Kristoffer Reitan; 10) David Puig / Jordan Spieth; 12) Tommy Fleetwood; 13) Michael Brennan / Cameron Young; 15) Alex Fitzpatrick / Johnny Keefer; 17) Kurt Kitayama / Keith Mitchell; 19) Ryan Fox; 20) Sudarshan Yellamaraju; 21) Pierceson Coody / Ugo Coussard / Min Woo Lee / Jimmy Stanger / Justin Thomas.
- Top 25 SG Approach: 1) Patrick Reed; 2) Cameron Smith; 3) Joaquin Niemann; 4) Scottie Scheffler; 5) Matt Fitzpatrick / Tyrrell Hatton / Sepp Straka; 8) J.J. Spaun; 9) Tom Kim; 10) Patrick Cantlay / Dustin Johnson / Aaron Rai; 13) Ryan Gerard / Kurt Kitayama; 15) Ludvig Aberg / Viktor Hovland; 17) Jackson Suber; 18) Padraig Harrington; 19) Bud Cauley / Cameron Young; 21) Rory McIlroy / Alex Smalley / Justin Thomas; 24) Andrew Novak; 25) Kristoffer Reitan.
- Top 25 SG Around The Green: 1) Jon Rahm; 2) Jason Day / Patrick Reed; 4) Cameron Smith; 5) Nick Hardy; 6) Matt Fitzpatrick; 7) Andrew Putnam; 8) Adrien Dumont de Chassart; 9) Maverick McNealy / J.J. Spaun; 11) Si Woo Kim; 12) Harry Hall; 13) Justin Thomas; 14) Ben Griffin; 15) Akshay Bhatia; 16) Patrick Cantlay; 17) Sam Burns / Min Woo Lee / Hideki Matsuyama; 20) Bud Cauley / Sahith Theegala; 22) Nick Taylor; 23) Adam Scott; 24) Padraig Harrington; 25) Sungjae Im / Shane Lowry / Andrew Novak.
- Top 25 SG Tee to Green: 1) Jon Rahm; 2) Patrick Reed; 3) Joaquin Niemann / Scottie Scheffler; 5) J.J. Spaun; 6) Matt Fitzpatrick; 7) Justin Thomas; 8) Patrick Cantlay / Rory McIlroy; 10) Aaron Rai / Kristoffer Reitan; 12) Cameron Young; 13) Si Woo Kim / Kurt Kitayama; 15) Ludvig Aberg; 16) Cameron Smith; 17) Bud Cauley / Tommy Fleetwood; 19) Russell Henley; 20) Nathan Kimsey; 21) Min Woo Lee / Alex Smalley / Jackson Suber; 24) Ryan Fox; 25) Tom Kim / Shane Lowry / Adam Scott.
- Top 25 SG Putting: 1) David Puig; 2) Cameron Smith; 3) Chris Gotterup; 4) Ben Griffin; 5) Maverick McNealy / Alex Smalley; 7) Wyndham Clark; 8) Michael Kim; 9) Sam Burns / Pierceson Coody; 11) Kurt Kitayama / Ben Silverman; 13) Nick Taylor; 14) Rory McIlroy; 15) Bud Cauley / Andrew Putnam; 17) Harris English; 18) Akshay Bhatia / Jon Rahm; 20) Daniel Berger / Tommy Fleetwood / Brian Harman; 23) Collin Morikawa / Alex Noren / Xander Schauffele.
- Top 25 SG Total: 1) Jon Rahm; 2) Cameron Smith; 3) Scottie Scheffler; 4) Patrick Reed; 5) Rory McIlroy; 6) Justin Thomas; 7) Kurt Kitayama; 8) Ludvig Aberg; 9) Joaquin Niemann / David Puig; 11) Wyndham Clark / Alex Smalley; 13) Patrick Cantlay / Aaron Rai / Cameron Young; 16) Tommy Fleetwood / Chris Gotterup; 18) Si Woo Kim; 19) Maverick McNealy / J.J. Spaun; 21) Sam Burns / Bud Cauley; 23) Matt Fitzpatrick / Jackson Suber; 25) Ben Griffin / Min Woo Lee.
First Round Leader Analysis: First round leader(s), their wave and winning score since 2010. Full First Round Leader stats are here.
- 2025 – Spaun – AM -4/66 – 90/1.
- 2024 – Cantlay/McIlroy – AM/PM Split -5/65 – 55/1 & 22/1.
- 2023 – Fowler/Schauffele – Both AM -8/62 – 55/1 & 35/1.
- 2022 – Hadwin – PM -4/66 – 125/1.
- 2021 – Henley/Oosthuizen – AM/PM Split -4/67 – 100/1 & 45/1.
- 2020 – Thomas – AM -5/65 – 25/1.
- 2019 – Rose – PM -6/65 – 40/1.
- 2018 – Henley/D Johnson/Piercy/Poulter – 2AM/2PM -1/69 – 125/1, 16/1, 200/1 & 100/1.
- 2017 – Fowler – AM -7/65 – 40/1.
- 2016 – Landry – AM -4/66.
- 2015 – D Johnson/Stenson – Both AM -5/65.
- 2014 – Kaymer – PM -5/65.
- 2013 – Mickelson – AM -3/67.
- 2012 – M Thompson – AM -4/66.
- 2011 – McIlroy – PM -6/65.
- 2010 – Casey/de Jonge/Micheel – All PM -2/69.
For the record, here’s the breakdown of pure Poa Annua and Bentgrass/Poa Annua mix PGA Tour victors in the field since 2008:
- 11 – Dustin Johnson.
- 5 – Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm.
- 4 – Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa.
- 3 – Patrick Reed, Justin Rose.
- 2 – Harris English, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Nick Taylor, Gary Woodland.
- 1 – Ludvig Aberg, Daniel Berger, Akshay Bhatia, Jacob Bridgeman, Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Ryan Fox, Ryan Gerard, Emiliano Grillo, Padraig Harrington, Tom Hoge, J.B. Holmes, Billy Horschel, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Graeme McDowell, Joaquin Niemann, Andrew Putnam, Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Sahith Theegala, Justin Thomas.
Recent U.S. Open history features a new breed of champions with first-time Major winners galore. Indeed, going back to 2009, 13 of the last 17 champions had never captured a Major title.
So for me it’s interesting to look at the prices of first-time Major winners going back to Danny Willett wining the 2016 Masters:
- 2026 PGA Championship Aaron Rai 175/1
- 2025 U.S. Open J.J. Spaun 125/1
- 2024 U.S. Open Xander Schauffele 18/1
- 2023 Open Championship Brian Harman 110/1
- 2023 US Open Wyndham Clark 66/1
- 2022 Open Championship Cam Smith 28/1
- 2022 US Open Matt Fitzpatrick 25/1
- 2022 Masters Scottie Scheffler 16/1
- 2021 US Open Jon Rahm 10/1 Fav
- 2021 Masters Hideki Matsuyama 45/1
- 2020 US Open Bryson DeChambeau 25/1
- 2020 U.S. Open Collin Morikawa 35/1
- 2019 Open Championship Shane Lowry 70/1
- 2019 US Open Gary Woodland 80/1
- 2018 Open Championship Francesco Molinari 33/1
- 2018 Masters Patrick Reed 50/1
- 2017 U.S. Open Justin Thomas 45/1
- 2017 US Open Brooks Koepka 50/1
- 2016 U.S. Open Jimmy Walker 150/1
- 2016 Open Championship Henrik Stenson 33/1
- 2016 US Open Dustin Johnson 16/1
- 2016 Masters Danny Willett 66/1
Overall it’s well worth noting that the average price for U.S. Open winners for the past 5 renewals is 50/1. Jordon Spieth won at 9/1 in 2015, fresh from a Masters win, and since then the winning prices have been 16/1 (2016 – Johnson), 45/1 (2017 – Koepka), 25/1 (2018 – Koepka), 80/1 (2019 – Woodland), 25/1 (2020 – DeChambeau), 10/1 (2021 – Rahm), 25/1 (2022 – Fitzpatrick), 66/1 (2023 – Clark), 20/1 (2024 – DeChambeau) and 125/1 (2025 – Spaun).
J.J. Spaun and Aaron Rai have won maiden Majors within the past 4 Majors held at 125/1 and 175/1 respectively. Wyndham Clark was another maiden victor of this United States Open Championship in 2023 at 66/1, so it might well be worthwhile looking at a couple of not so obvious angles this week in New York State.
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