Oakmont has been rated among the best golf courses in the US
This week's 125th US Open will feature the longest par-three hole in major championship history at 301 yards.
It has been called "ridiculous" by Collin Morikawa, who hit a driver off the tee in practice, and "silly" by Viktor Hovland, but will the eighth at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania prove to be a gimmick or psychological masterstroke?
John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer at the United States Golf Association (USGA), wants players to "get every club dirty, all 15 of them - 14 in their bag and the one between the ears" at a course which "prides itself on being America's sternest test of golf".
The eighth was the first 300-yard par three when Angel Cabrera triumphed at Oakmont in 2007. The Argentine holed a 20ft putt for a two in the final round and was the only one of the leading contenders to make birdie.
