It’s a golf tradition unlike any other; players complaining about the U.S. Open setup ahead of the event. The course is either too long, too dried out, the rough too long, the greens too fast, or some combination of all those factors. And golf fans relish in hearing the complaints. It’s one of the few times each year when the best players in the world make fools of themselves when competing against par.

There’s something different about how players talk about this year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, though. When they talk about the setup, or how how difficult the course is, there’s legitimate fear in their eyes. Every year the media, course members and players predict an over-par winning score, but at Oakmont you can sense that everyone is serious about it.

What makes Oakmont so difficult? I traveled there to find out, and asked the fans what they believe makes the course so treacherous.

What bunkers?

A look at the “Big Mouth” bunker guarding No. 17 green. You can’t even tell there’s sand in it!

“The biggest problem is that you can’t even see some of these bunkers they’re so deep,” one fan said.

While U.S. Open contestants will know where all the bunkers are located, they won’t be able to see many of them from the tee or from the fairway. And the bunkers they can’t see are some of the deepest, most penalizing bunkers on the course.

“I’d be stuck in some of these bunkers and would never get out,” a fan said.

And when you do see the bunkers, like the Church Pews on the left of Nos. 3 and 4, or the Church Pews on the left of No. 15 — actually most, of the 200-plus bunkers on the course — you wish you hadn’t.

The green complexes are… complex

The green at hole No. 18.

On No. 2 green, I watched players, caddies, coaches and whoever else was in the practice-round entourage gather at the center of that green, rolling and dropping golf balls to see how they would react. On multiple occasions, I watched someone drop a golf ball in the center of the green only to watch it slowly funnel off of the green down into the fairway.

“One second you’re putting, and then all the sudden you’re chipping,” one fan told me. “For me, I’d be putting, putting and then chipping,” his friend responded.

Another coach in disbelief of the speed of No. 2 green.

The green complexes are firm, diabolical, and just purely fast. They’re rumored to be running at a 14 on the Stimpmeter. That’s unheard of for any golf course that isn’t named Augusta, which doesn’t release its green speeds.

A fan putts on the replica of Oakmont’s 18th green, while a caddie gives him the read.

To give fans an experience of the greens at Oakmont, the USGA set up an exact replica of the 18th green for fans to test out their strokes. Oakmont caddies were stationed at the greens to help out.

“It’s like putting on a sloped basketball court,” one fan told me.

Maybe Rory McIlroy wasn’t kidding when he said he’d rather have a 30-footer uphill than an 8-footer downhill.

Where art thou iron byron?

“I could bring a portable Iron Byron out here and not hit every fairway,” a fan told me.

Hole No. 3. The tee box sits roughly 100 yards behind where I took this photo.

Oakmont is long, a par-70 that will play around 7,200 yards depending on the tees, but it’s not THAT long compared to some of the other U.S. Open venues, or even regular Tour stops. It’s how tight some of the landing areas are that makes it play longer. It’s a must that players keep their ball in the fairway due to long rough and deep bunkers. That’s why you’ll hear many of them saying they’ll only use driver off the tee 4-8 times each round, opting for more control with long irons, fairway woods woods and hybrids off the tees.

“It’s one of those courses where if you drink a few too many beers, you could be walking in the fairway, stumble just a little, and end up in the rough. The fairways are just stupid tight,” said one fan.

He may have already had a few beers that day, as well.

The blind leading the blind

“I didn’t realize how much elevation change was at this place,” a fan said. “You can hardly see anything on some holes.”

A look at No. 9 fairway from across the road. The players can see even less from the tee box.

Like the bunkers, it’s difficult to see many of the landing areas from the tees at Oakmont, especially on Nos. 1, 5, 9, 15 and 17. That means players must put their ultimate trust in their preparation and the target lines they’ve established prior to the event.

The Hardest Hole

I got a different answer to the question “What do you think is the hardest hole out here?” from nearly everyone I asked, but the most common answers were holes 1, 2, 7, 8 and 18.

No. 1 (Par 4, 482 yards)

Why not? A 118-yard putt on the first hole at #Oakmont. pic.twitter.com/GRU0E29Zvu

— Guy Cipriano (@GCIMagazineGuy) April 25, 2016

This video says it all.

No. 2 (Par 4, 340 yards)

See above: One second you’re rolling balls onto the green, the next, you’re following the balls as they roll off the green.

No. 7 (Par 4, 479 yards)

“That hole seems too unfair from all the way back where they need to play from,” said a fan, shaking his head.

I’m sure some of the players agree, especially when you consider how the green slopes hard from left-to-right.

No. 8 (Par 3, 288/250 yards)

“I’d probably hit driver-6 iron here, and then have a short chip on.”

This 288-yard par 3, or 250 yards, depending what tee box the USGA uses that round, is cause of terror for most fans who collect on that tee box. But the truth is, most of the players hit hybrids and long irons. Angel Cabrera hit a 6-iron (gasp) during Monday’s practice round.

“The ball gets a nice ground hook once it lands in front of the green, so you only have to carry it about 250,” one caddie said.

A 250-yard 6-iron is still a big hit, regardless.

No. 18 (Par 4, 484 yards)

It may be the most difficult finishing hole in golf. In 2007, only 43 percent of the players hit the green in regulation, and it was statistically the most difficult hole on the course in relation to par.

“I’m not sure whether the hole itself is that hard, or it’s just because you’ve been beaten to shreds on the previous 17,” a fan hypothesized.

Probably a bit of both.

The rough is longer than…

A rake, enveloped by the rough, sitting greenside on hole No. 18.

There’s been plenty of talk, visuals and Twitter videos from players and media about how long the rough is at Oakmont. But none more hilarious than this interaction between a couple in their mid-twenties.

“This rough is longer than my…” said the man.

“Yea, a lot longer,” says the woman.

Ouch.

No. 18 at Oakmont, looking back from the grandstands behind the green.

So what makes Oakmont so difficult? It’s the combination of not just one thing, or a few of these things, but ALL of these factors. Oakmont might very well be the most difficult test of golf in the U.S., and we may very well see a winning score in the black.

When asked if he would cherish the opportunity to play a course like this, a 4-handicap golfer answered “Ain’t nothin’ fun about not breaking 90.” We may just see a U.S. Open participant fail to break 90 this week, as well.

Thanks to all of the fans who put up with my questions during the practice rounds!