“A shot poorly played should be a shot irrevocably lost.” That philosophy guided Henry Fownes when he designed Oakmont Country Club in 1904. And as we gear up for the 2025 U.S. Open (June 12-15), it’s the perfect time to revisit one of Oakmont’s most terrifying historical features—the infamous Devil’s Back Scratcher. No, it’s not some terrifying hazard still lurking today. But back in Oakmont’s early days, it was a brutal reality that made even the best pros sweat.

When Fownes built Oakmont, he skipped water hazards and instead filled the course with hundreds of bunkers, around 300 to 350 in total. But it wasn’t just the quantity that rattled players; it was how those bunkers were maintained. Enter the Devil’s Back Scratcher: a heavy steel rake, weighing up to 100 pounds, with sharp, four-inch tines that carved deep furrows into the sand. If your ball found one of those trenches, forget hero shots. The only realistic option was a sideways blast, often turning one mistake into a multi-shot disaster.

For decades, these furrowed bunkers stirred controversy. Players protested as early as the 1935 U.S. Open, but club president W.C. Fownes dismissed complaints with a simple: “Tough. You play the ball where it lies.” By the 1953 Open, players threatened to boycott unless changes were made. The compromise? Flat raking for fairway bunkers, while greenside traps kept their devilish furrows.

Finally, after Jack Nicklaus won the 1962 U.S. Open, Oakmont retired the Devil’s Back Scratcher for good. But its legacy still echoes every time Oakmont hosts a major. As Ben Hogan once said, “You can’t attack Oakmont. If you try, you’ll get more double bogeys than birdies.” The Devil’s Back Scratcher may be gone, but its legend remains firmly etched in Oakmont’s sand. And fittingly, one of Oakmont’s most legendary champions, Ben Hogan, had already written his own chapter of golf immortality just a decade earlier, a season that would forever be known as his Triple Crown.

Ben Hogan’s 1953 Triple Crown: A season for the ages

Ben Hogan’s 1953 season stands as one of golf’s most iconic achievements—a campaign that redefined greatness and earned him the nickname “The Hawk.” That year, Hogan captured three major championships: The Masters, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship—a feat now known as golf’s “Triple Crown.” At the Masters in April, Hogan delivered a masterclass at Augusta National, shooting a then-record 274 (-14) to win by five strokes. Just two months later, he dominated the U.S. Open at the notoriously brutal Oakmont Country Club, leading wire-to-wire and winning by six shots over Sam Snead. Then, crossing the Atlantic for his first and only Open Championship appearance, Hogan conquered Carnoustie, adjusting to the smaller British ball and challenging links conditions to win by four strokes.

The only reason Hogan didn’t contend for the modern Grand Slam was scheduling—the PGA Championship overlapped The Open that year, making it impossible for him to play both. Still, winning three majors in six starts, all while recovering from a near-fatal car accident just four years earlier, remains one of the most remarkable seasons in sports history. Hogan’s precision, grit, and resilience in 1953 continue to inspire golfers to this day.