The Five Best U.S. Open Venues

This week's U.S. Open will be played at beautiful Congressional Country Club. The course has been toughened and tightened, and while it is a wonderful track, does it make our top-five list for best U.S. Open venues? Read on ...

5.) Olympic Club -- This gem set in wonderful San Francisco isn't the longest of the tracks, but it makes people play different types of golf shots, and ends on arguably the smallest green west of the Postage Stamp. It hasn't hosted the USGA's crown jewel since 1998 (hello Lee Janzen), but will next year, and it will sure be fantastic.

4.) Bethpage Black -- A late addition to the U.S. Open rotation, the public course in New York is everything you want in a tough test of golf, and that's exactly why it makes this event so great. The battle between David Duval and Lucas Glover two years ago was great, and from start to finish you realized why this will be a mainstay for years to come with this event.

3.) Winged Foot Golf Club -- Oh, what a brut! Winged Foot ain't easy, but that's what this is all about. People will remember the '06 disaster on the 18th for years to come, but what made that so great was Geoff Ogilvy made a par on 18 while everyone else was making double-bogey, and that is what you need with a golf club for this event.

2.) Pinehurst, No. 2 -- Slick greens that promote precise iron shots and deft chipping, Pinehurst is old-school U.S. Open, but still lovely, and can produce some incredible drama (think Payne vs. Phil).

1.) Pebble Beach Golf Links -- If the world had a contest and every country had to submit one golf course in hopes of winning, I'm fairly certain we'd push Pebble Beach out and be very confident we'd take down the rest of the world with the prettiest track. Also, it can be a beast, as we saw last year, and there is nothing better than a pretty girl with a little bit of a tough side to her.

Getty Images