What It Was Like to Caddie in the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Rugged Oakmont

Morning Read's Colin McDonald was on the bag for his brother-in-law and got a first-person look at how good these guys really are.

This past week I had the good fortune of strolling around famed Oakmont Country Club and avoiding the punishment that awaits on just about every shot. This is because I was on the bag for Robbie Ziegler, former University of Oregon player, one of the 312 contestants in the 121st U.S. Amateur and my brother-in-law. This is what it was like in and around the Steel City.

Many high-profile championships are all about “the draw.” Whether it’s morning-afternoon or the other way around being on the right side of the conditions can go a long way in determining a player’s success that week. Per usual, the tournament featured two courses during the stroke play portion, Longue Vue Club and of course the main attraction, Oakmont Country Club.

Our week started on Monday afternoon at the more generous Longue Vue and that left an entire morning to kill before getting started. What better way to loosen the legs up than a light gym session? Staying at the host hotel, the Westin in downtown Pittsburgh, off to the fitness center I went and this is where one of many differences between future Tour pros and weekend warriors started to shine through. Top college players and emerging juniors filled the fitness center to capacity, a far cry from the routine of a breakfast sandwich in the car, nine swings on the range, two-putts-and- go of many players.

Longue Vue

Driving up to Longue Vue the clubhouse (above, from the club's Facebook page) looks more like a medieval castle than a grill and pro shop and the old-school feel continued inside where the floors creaked and hallways brimmed with artifacts from the club’s history.

With activated glutes and a full stomach it was time to warm up under clear, sunny skies and amidst climbing temperatures. On the range there was a hum of small talk and pleasantries before entering the pressure cooker only interrupted by the piercing sound of crisp irons -- the ones that most of us hope to hit one out of six times. Our range neighbor happened to be Nick Dunlap, winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur just a few weeks ago. Two swings and it was easy to see how he won that trophy.

The first hole at Longue Vue is a par-4 straight up the hill which would turn out to be a theme for the day. Looking back, I’m quite certain that none of the 6,600-yard layout was flat and this generated elevated heart rates and incredible views throughout the afternoon. With three birdies against one bogey over the first five holes we were off to the races and enjoying ourselves while half the field was hanging on for dear life at Oakmont. 

One had to scroll quite a way down the board to find anyone at Oakmont around even par and this scoring discrepancy made for a fascinating dynamic. Our day ended with an 18-foot par putt to close out an even-par 70 and a tie for 43rd with the knowledge that a much different test awaited in the morning. For as much time as there was to kill before round one, such was not the case as we returned to the hotel room around 9:00 p.m. ET with an early morning tee time at Oakmont awaiting.

Tuesday at Oakmont

Rain sprinkled over Oakmont the night before which made for, dare I say scoreable conditions early on. After starting our day on the 10th and hitting wedges into the first two greens I joked to Robbie, “Seems like an easy enough track to me.” In fact the back-nine did yield several scoring opportunities along with a few spurts of rain but it was as if someone cranked up the difficulty the moment we made the turn. For the next two hours it seemed there wasn’t a tee shot where a shoulder height bunker or ravine waited patiently on either side of the fairways. No. 3 was a prime example as Robbie’s tee shot trickled into a fairway bunker in an almost taunting fashion, calling for that same wedge I joked about hours earlier to pitch back into the fairway.

While a few bogeys had slid us outside of the projected match-play cut line, one of our playing partners using a local caddie who was far more helpful reading greens than me, was firmly in the mix at two-over par for the tournament heading into our final four holes of the day. After hitting what I now refer to as the best iron shot I’ve ever witnessed in person and tapping in for birdie on the par-3 6th (playing 220 yards down wind) our new friend had a golden opportunity in front of him that would unfortunately end with three consecutive bogeys, one shot outside of the playoff.

As for our final three holes, Robbie finished with a stretch many would have signed for if offered in advance. The par-4 7th played nearly 490 yards straight into the teeth of the wind and presented me my most challenging rake job of the week after finding the back left bunker. This would lead to a bogey five followed by consecutive pars at the 253-yard par-3 8th hole and one more near 500-yard par-4 straight up the hill to the clubhouse. Approaching our final green two thoughts dawned on me. What a treat to walk the historic grounds of Oakmont and thank goodness that wasn’t me playing out there today.

After witnessing the test that Oakmont presented I was perfectly content with my round of 68 which I shot nearly a decade ago playing the course in the EA Sports Tiger Woods 2012 video game, a reference which Robbie was undoubtedly tired of hearing about. Just for fun I checked my course handicap at Oakmont from the championship tees which turned out to be 10 but on this day I would have joyfully skipped out of the parking lot with my 95.

Shortly after finishing the round, thunderstorms rolled into the area which would largely wash out play for the next 24 hours. Having plenty of time before our flight on Wednesday, I headed out to watch the 12-for-1 playoff for the final spot in match play which included our range neighbor from day one, Nick Dunlap. Moments before the first shots went in the air, players were called off the course due to more severe weather which gave me plenty of time to explore the Oakmont clubhouse which as you would imagine, is laced with history. Did you know that Johnny Miller once shot a 63 there at the U.S. Open?

Some of my takeaways from the week at Oakmont.

- A walk around any course is only as good as the company you have around you

- I saw exactly two putts to be aggressive with

- One has to have a certain enjoyment of punishment to embrace playing there

- Really good players actually want their ball to jump in a bunker rather than the rough

- Caddie bibs are the perfect fit for a bag of Haribo gummy bears