HR
June 8 · Ball Ground, GA
Hawks Ridge Golf Club
Hawks Ridge is the late Bob Cupp's "consummate achievement," in his own words — a 550-acre exercise in dramatic Cherokee County, Georgia elevation, towering pines, and routing decisions that draw frequent comparisons to Augusta National. Founded in 1999 by childhood friends Mike Nixon and Joe Jillson, the club was acquired by Fort Worth-based Escalante Golf in 2024, an ownership change that has translated into noticeably elevated conditioning ahead of 2026.
The signature hole is the 15th — a 308-yard drivable par 4 with a cascading waterfall running the length of the right side of the green. It's photo-shoot material on any sunny morning and, when the pin is back-right, an exercise in nerve. The closing stretch climbs back toward the clubhouse with three demanding par 4s.
Hawks Ridge has hosted U.S. Open Final Qualifying eight times before 2026 — making this its ninth selection. That track record matters: the USGA returns to sites that perform, and the conditioning team here knows the U.S. Open setup standards.
Elevation reads. Cherokee County's rolling terrain means you'll be hitting from above and below the ball constantly. Trust your numbers — the elevation changes alter carries materially, sometimes a full club.
The 15th. Don't be a hero on the par 4 unless conditions are perfect. The waterfall right is a card-wrecker; the smart play is a tee shot to 100 yards and a wedge to the meat.
Heat plus humidity. Georgia in early June will be 85–95°F with significant humidity. Ice towels, electrolytes, and shade between holes are not optional.

LAMBTON
June 8 · Toronto, Canada
Lambton Golf & Country Club
Designer
Bendelow / Rees Jones
Style
River valley parkland
Lambton G&CC is one of golf's quiet cathedrals north of the border. Founded in 1902 and routed in 1903 by Tom Bendelow, it sits along the Humber River valley on the west side of Toronto. Over the next century, nearly every major architect of consequence touched the place: A.W. Tillinghast, Harry Colt, Donald Ross, Stanley Thompson, Robbie Robinson, and Graham Cooke. Rees Jones completed a comprehensive three-phase restoration in 2012, sharpening the Bendelow/Ross bones and modernizing the conditioning.
The course hosted the Canadian Open four times — 1907, 1910, 1925, and 1941, with Sam Snead winning the latter. Lambton's first captain, George S. Lyon, won Olympic gold in golf at the 1904 St. Louis Games; the club's 9-hole Valley Course, completed in 1904, is reputed to be among the first courses designed specifically for women golfers.
For 2026 Final Qualifying, Lambton represents the lone Canadian venue and the natural gateway for Ontario, Quebec, and Maritimes amateurs who can't easily reach a U.S. site.
River-valley wind. The Humber valley funnels wind unpredictably — a hole that plays into wind in the morning can play downwind by afternoon. Track wind on every hole.
Greens recovery. Rees Jones rebuilt the green complexes with subtle modern contours layered over classic-era bones. Pin position matters more than slope; many greens have multiple distinct shelves.
Border logistics. American players: bring your passport, allow extra time, and confirm any equipment customs requirements. Canadian players: standard registration.
LAKES
June 8 · Westerville, OH
The Lakes Golf & Country Club
The Lakes G&CC in Westerville, Ohio, just north of Columbus, is one of the more interesting design stories in the rotation. The course was designed by Ed Sneed — yes, that Ed Sneed, the PGA Tour pro who came one stroke from winning the 1979 Masters before losing a sudden-death playoff to Fuzzy Zoeller. Sneed turned to course design later in his career, and The Lakes (1990) is one of his marquee credits. The course rates 74.1 with a slope of 134, making it one of the more demanding tests in the Columbus area.
True to its name, water hazards come into play on multiple holes, with bentgrass running tee-to-green and strategic bunkering that punishes tee shots placed on the wrong side of the fairway. The Lakes has been one of the OGA's most reliable Final Qualifying sites for nearly two decades.
Tee shot strategy. Sneed designed The Lakes with a strong-side / weak-side philosophy. Find the correct side of every fairway and the approach opens up; miss to the wrong side and you're playing recovery.
Water mentality. Multiple forced carries — the smart play is often to lay back and wedge in rather than try to clear hazards from awkward distances.
Ohio June weather. Storm risk is real. Final Qualifying has been delayed by weather here in past years. Plan a flexible logistics window.
WCC
June 8 · Rockville, MD
Woodmont Country Club (North)
Designer
Tull / Hills / Weiman
Style
Mid-Atlantic parkland
Woodmont Country Club opened its North Course on July 26, 1950, designed by Alfred Tull. Arthur Hills handled a comprehensive 1999 renovation that replaced all 18 greens, and Joel Weiman returned in 2018–2020 to redesign the 18th hole and rebuild every bunker on the property. The result is a Maryland parkland test that retains its mid-century character while playing to contemporary U.S. Open Final Qualifying standards.
Woodmont has hosted Final Qualifying since 1987 — among the longest tenures of any current FQ site. The club has its own significant history: it was founded by Jewish business leaders barred from other Washington-area clubs of the era, and that founding story has informed its identity for three-quarters of a century.
The new 18th hole — a Weiman creation completed in 2020 — has become the conversation piece of any round at Woodmont. Players finishing their second 18 typically have one hard, do-or-die finishing hole that decides whether they're packing for Shinnecock or for home.
Greens speeds. Hills's 1999 green rebuild produced surfaces that hold approach shots when softened but get fast-and-firm when the USGA dials up the championship setup. Expect 12+ on the Stimpmeter for FQ.
Bunker rebuild. The 2018–2020 Weiman bunker work tightened the strategic risk-reward across the course. Long-time qualifiers will need to re-scout bunker placements; old assumptions don't hold.
The 18th. Save energy for it. Whatever your number is on 17, the 18th will demand a complete swing.
BI
June 8 · Palm Beach Gardens, FL
BallenIsles Country Club (East)
Designer
Wilson & Lee / Nicklaus
The BallenIsles East Course is a layered story: opened in 1964 as the PGA National Golf Club's Champions Course, designed by Dick Wilson and Joe Lee, host of the 1971 PGA Championship that Jack Nicklaus won (his second PGA title), and then — five decades later — comprehensively renovated by Nicklaus Design and unveiled in January 2023. The architect who won here in 1971 returned to reshape the place he conquered, expanding the championship yardage to a beefy 7,474.
The course was originally commissioned by developer John D. MacArthur as the PGA of America's headquarters layout. The PGA later moved to PGA National's Champion Course when relations soured, and the property was renamed BallenIsles in 1988. Beyond the 1971 PGA, the East hosted the 1971 World Cup, the Senior PGA Championship from 1966 to 1973, and the first-ever PGA Tour Q-School.
Water comes into play on roughly half the holes; palm and pine framing creates dramatic visual corridors. The Nicklaus 2023 rebuild reshaped greens and bunkering throughout, with particular attention to the closing stretch.
Length is real. 7,474 from the tips with Florida humidity in early June — this is one of the longest layouts on the Final Qualifying schedule. Plan club selection accordingly; even firm fairways won't bail out a short hitter.
Water management. The Nicklaus rebuild tightened margins on several water holes. Conservative tee shots beat hero shots in 36-hole stroke play.
Heat & afternoon storms. South Florida in June means classic afternoon thunderstorms. Weather delays are common; the qualifier may stretch deep into Monday evening.
C+P
June 8 · Purchase, NY
Century CC & Golf Club of Purchase
Designers
Colt & Alison / Nicklaus
Par / Yardage
71/72 · 6,807/6,876
Style
Westchester parkland
The Purchase, New York Final Qualifying site is unique on the 2026 schedule: two clubs hosting jointly. Century Country Club, a Harry Colt and Charles Hugh Alison classic opened in 1926, sits across the road from Golf Club of Purchase, a Jack Nicklaus modern opened in 1996. Players will see one of each in the 36-hole format — a Golden Age design and a contemporary one, separated by 70 years and a stretch of Westchester County roadway.
Century plays par 71 at 6,807 yards. The signature stretch includes a 563-yard par 5 at the 11th and a daunting 451-yard par 4 at the 5th, the No. 1 handicap. Golf Club of Purchase plays par 72 at 6,876 yards, with strong closing par 4s that have decided more than one qualifier over the years.
Walter Travis recommended the 175-acre Fairchild property purchase for Century back in 1922, and the pairing of his vision with Jack Nicklaus's modern design makes this stop arguably the most architecturally diverse single Final Qualifying site on the entire schedule.
Two designs, one mind. Century is a strategic, classic-era puzzle that rewards angles and short-game artistry. GCP is a power-and-precision modern test. Players who can shift gears across rounds will outperform those who can't.
Walking distance. The clubs are close but not adjacent. Confirm your transit plan between the two — running tight on a shuttle is a real risk.
Westchester rough. June rough in the New York metro grows fast. Both clubs will have penal rough by Monday morning of FQ.
GCC
June 8 · Gastonia, NC
Gaston Country Club
Designer
Ellis Maples / K. Spence
Opened
1958 (restored 2003)
Gaston Country Club is a hidden Donald Ross school — Ellis Maples, the original 1958 designer, worked under Ross before launching his own practice, and his Ross-rooted strategic principles run through every hole here. In 2003, Kris Spence — a noted Ross restoration architect based in Greensboro — brought the course back toward its Golden Age character with a restoration that re-established broad fairways and re-articulated bunkering. Three reachable par 5s define the round.
The course has hosted the 57th NC Open (Carolinas PGA), the 59th NC Amateur Championship in 2019, and Wells Fargo Championship qualifying, among other events.
Reachable par 5s. Three of them. Eagle opportunities exist for the bold; bogey opportunities also exist for the imprecise. Course management here is about playing to your strengths on the 5s and surviving the 3s.
Ross-school greens. The Spence restoration emphasized classic Ross green-complex characteristics: short-grass surrounds, run-off areas, and pin placements that punish the wrong miss. Lag putting matters more here than on most southeast venues.
Piedmont heat. Mid-North Carolina in early June will be hot and humid but typically not extreme. Standard preparation suffices.
DP
June 8 · Sacramento, CA
Del Paso Country Club
Designer
J.L. Black / Kyle Phillips
Del Paso Country Club is the oldest country club in Sacramento, founded in 1916 by Scotsman John L. Black. Herbert Fowler — the same Herbert Fowler who designed Walton Heath — added enhancements around 1922. Rick Phelps did work in 1998. But the transformation that defines the modern Del Paso is Kyle Phillips's comprehensive 2006 reimagining: a strategic, ground-game-friendly layout that's widely regarded as one of the best classic-course modernizations of the 2000s in California.
Del Paso has one of the deepest USGA championship pedigrees of any Final Qualifying site. The club hosted the 2015 U.S. Senior Open, the 1957 U.S. Women's Amateur, the 1960 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur, the 1976 U.S. Women's Amateur, and the 1982 U.S. Women's Open — five major USGA championships before the Senior Open made it six. Multiple U.S. Open Final Qualifiers round out the résumé.
The Phillips-rebuilt par 3s have drawn particular praise. Mature oaks frame the routing, but the greens contours and short-grass surrounds make the place play firmer and more strategic than its California parkland peers.
Ground game. Phillips designed Del Paso to reward players who can run a ball onto a green. Standard high, soft American flight will work — but the player who can also play a chase-up has a meaningful advantage.
Par-3 set. Don't waste energy on the 3s. They're individually demanding and collectively where Del Paso most often separates the field.
Sacramento heat. June heat in the valley can spike into the high 90s by afternoon round two. Bring the right gear.
SCC
June 8 · Springfield, OH
Springfield Country Club
Style
Classic Ross parkland
Springfield Country Club is one of the most original and largely unaltered Donald Ross designs in the country — and one of the shortest tracks on the Final Qualifying schedule. The club itself was founded in 1898, but the current Ross routing dates to 1922, draped across a hilly Clark County site with strong par 3s and a dramatic finishing stretch. Don't let the 6,684 yards fool you; the Ross greens and the elevation changes mean par is a genuine test here.
Springfield has hosted U.S. Open Final Qualifying since 2008. It's one of Ohio's two FQ sites in the 2026 rotation, sharing that honor with The Lakes in Westerville.
The course is famous for what locals call "one of the wildest first holes in Ohio golf" and a par-3 set that routinely decides qualifiers. Length isn't the test here; precision is.
Short, not soft. 6,684 yards from the tips. Players will hit a lot of shorter clubs into greens — but the Ross greens punish the wrong miss as severely as any modern track.
The par 3s. Local lore holds that the par 3s decide the qualifier. Plan your strategy around making par on every one and looking for birdies elsewhere.
Tee selection on par 4s. Many of the par 4s offer "drive-it-or-don't" tee strategies. A confident long-iron tee shot can be the smarter play on holes where the fairway tightens at driver distance.
EV
June 8 · Creswell, OR
Emerald Valley Golf Club
Designer
Bob Baldock / Dan Hixson
Opened
1968 (revised 2002)
Style
Willamette Valley parkland
Emerald Valley sits in Creswell, Oregon, on the west bank of the Coast Fork of the Willamette River, draped across what was originally a 160-acre dairy farm. The clubhouse is converted from the original dairy barn. The course was built by Eugene developers James Russell and Marv Ruby starting in 1967 (front nine), with the back nine opening in 1968; the architect of record was Bob E. Baldock. Dan Hixson — who would later design Bandon Crossings and Wine Valley — refined the layout in 2002.
It is, for a long stretch, the home course of the University of Oregon men's golf program. It has hosted the Oregon Open and PNW PGA events. It is also the westernmost Final Qualifying site on the entire 2026 schedule — the last to start, the last to finish, and the venue from which "Golf's Longest Day" earns its full literal name.
River-side holes on the back nine are the visual highlight. Tall fir and pine framing defines the corridors. The Willamette Valley microclimate means cooler temperatures and the real possibility of rain even in early June.
Cool-weather prep. June in Creswell is typically 60–75°F, with morning fog and afternoon clearing. Layers matter. Bring rain gear.
River wind. The Willamette valley funnels wind down the river corridor. Wind direction will likely be consistent throughout the day, which actually simplifies club selection if you scout it.
Late finish. As the westernmost site, Emerald Valley typically finishes after most other Longest Day venues. Pace yourself for what could be a 14-hour day.
How to Watch & Track Final Qualifying
Golf Channel has historically provided live televised coverage of Golf's Longest Day, typically beginning in the late morning Eastern time and continuing into prime time as the Western sites finish. USGA.org provides live scoring across all sites simultaneously — the only way to follow leaderboards at all 13 venues in real time.
For amateur-specific coverage, AmateurGolf.com publishes site-by-site recaps within hours of conclusion, with full amateur tracking, alternate-position playoffs, and post-qualifier reporting on storylines from the day.
The first wave on May 18 — Walton Heath and Dallas Athletic Club — typically doesn't receive television coverage, with results aggregated by the USGA and partner outlets in the evening. The Hino site on May 25 similarly relies on written coverage. Television is reserved for the June 8 main event.
The Path to Shinnecock
From the 13 Final Qualifying sites, the USGA will fill roughly 60–70 spots in the 156-player field at Shinnecock Hills. The exact allocation per site depends on field strength: a site with more entries above a certain handicap threshold typically earns more qualifying spots.
Historically, only two players have won the U.S. Open after surviving both local and final qualifying: Ken Venturi in 1964 and Orville Moody in 1969. Many more have won after advancing through final qualifying alone — Gene Littler, Julius Boros, Jerry Pate, Steve Jones, Michael Campbell, and Lucas Glover among them.
Recent success stories at the championship from qualifiers include Carlos Ortiz (T4 at Oakmont 2025 after qualifying), Chris Gotterup, Matt Wallace, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Victor Perez, and Emiliano Grillo. The dream of going from a Monday qualifier to a Sunday-at-Shinnecock contention remains very real.
Shinnecock Hills itself will play 7,434 yards at par 70 for the 2026 championship. This is the club's sixth U.S. Open, and it remains the only course to have hosted the championship across three different centuries: 1896 (James Foulis), 1986 (Raymond Floyd), 1995 (Corey Pavin), 2004 (Retief Goosen), 2018 (Brooks Koepka), and now 2026.
"The road to Shinnecock starts in April. And it starts everywhere."— AmateurGolf.com
By the time the final group walks up Shinnecock's 18th on the evening of Sunday, June 21, every player in the field will have a story that traces back through one of these 13 venues. Some, like Walton Heath and Dallas Athletic Club, are storied. Others, like Hawks Ridge and Emerald Valley, have built their reputations exactly by being the kind of place where this day, every year, comes to mean something. All of them will be at the center of golf's calendar on June 8.
The dream is wide open. The dream starts everywhere. The dream runs through these 13 courses.