Congressional Country Club (Blue Course)

It's U.S. Open Time

Courtesy of GolfStyles

lmost every hole is different from the 1997 Open and several have been tweaked since the last AT&T National.

As if Congressional Country Club needs more validation as to its greatness, it comes this month when the club's Blue Course hosts its third U.S. Open. That number is significant because it means only six courses have hosted more Opens since World War II. Congressional has now staged the Open more often in the modern era than other great classic courses like Canterbury, Riveria, Inverness, Hazeltine and even The Country Club. Three Opens seem to be the benchmark for greatness. It's the number of Opens held at Shinnecock Hills, Medinah, Merion, Oak Hill and Southern Hills. The only clubs to host more are Oakmont (6), Pebble Beach (5), Olympic (4), Baltusrol (4), Oakland Hills (4) and Winged Foot (4).

A Long Time Coming

Few designers have a project that goes on for 20 years, but Rees Jones' association with Congressional Country Club has now extended past that mark. In 1989 Jones, then known for his crafty renovation work on classic courses that host the U.S. Open, was hired by Congressional to rework the club's Blue Course with the intention of attracting the U.S. Open. His work paid off and the USGA awarded the club the 1995 U.S. Senior Open followed by the '97 Open. Both events were highly successful, but it was clear his job wasn't finished. To attract a third Open, the closing par-3 18th would have to be dealt with. It was an anticlimactic finish and with a great Open closing hole sitting right next to the par 3, the solution was to flip No. 18, make it the 10th hole and make the par-4 17th the closing hole.

Most Tour players have seen that change, having played in Tiger's AT&T National (2007-09), but in the nearly two years since that event temporarily moved up to Philadelphia, Jones has done more work. Almost every hole is different from the 1997 Open and several have been tweaked since the last AT&T National.

"We've done a lot of work on the layout over the last 22 years," Jones says. "As it stands, it's essentially a brand-new course."