US Open's 15th hole to provide interesting quirk for golf's third major

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In a week when brawny 400-yard drives could be de rigueur, it’s an itty-bitty hole that may cause fits for golfers at this week's U.S. Open.

The 15th hole at Los Angeles Country Club is listed at 124 yards. That's unquestionably short by modern standards but for at least one day this week tournament officials are expected to adjust the hole to measure as short as 78 yards — making it the shortest hole in the living memory of major championship golf.

"Even though it's short on the card, it still requires an amazing shot," architect Gil Hanse recently told Fox News. "And that level of precision ultimately is how we challenge the best players in the world."

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The US Open logo at the Los Angeles Country Club ahead of the golf championship in Los Angeles, California, US, on Thursday, June 8, 2023. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hanse was part of a design team that renovated the course more than a decade ago and is deeply interested in how it will stand up to the best players in the world.

 "It's one of those things where the accuracy required there, even though it's a short club the margin for error is so small because that green is literally, I think, seven paces wide," Hanse said.

Promotional materials provided by the United States Golf Association dedicate significant space to the longest holes and courses in the tournament's 123-year history. There's been much discussion lately about the ability of modern golfers to hit the ball great distances leading golf's stewards like the USGA to propose limitations on how far golf balls can or should travel. This same material makes