This week marks U.S. Open week. Augusta and the Masters are awesome. The PGA Championship is my association’s event. The British Open is wonderful for the entire world. But the U.S. Open is special.

The U.S. Open is a captivating event. Usually, it is held on historically great golf courses and the history surrounding the event itself is awesome. The interesting thing is that, when watching the U.S. Open, a few things jump out. The first of these is length. The golf course will be very long. There will be some numbers that you cannot wrap your head around, such as a 500-yard par 4 or a 300-yard par 3. The golf course is a monster of length.

The second interesting thing is the rough. It will be high; it will be difficult to find golf balls and advancing the golf ball from that rough will be a battle. Tour players are used to advancing every second shot to the green, but not this week. Getting the ball into play, getting the ball to the fairway, that will be the norm.

The third interesting item is green speed. These guys will have a headache by the fourth hole. The speed, the undulations and the pin placements will drive players to the brink of their patience and reality. Tour players are not used to being challenged on every putt. Each golf course has interesting pin placements or putts, but the U.S. Open is set up so putts, all greens and all attempts will be super challenging.

Finally, just watch and enjoy. The challenges, the difficulty, the length and the speed are all so much more enjoyable than the regular Tour event. Couple that with the history. Win this event and your name is on a trophy with the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Bobby Jones. Not winning a U.S. Open has left gaping holes in players’ resumes, most notably Phil Mickelson and West Virginia native son Sam Snead.

Enjoy the U.S. Open, it is unique viewing and the most interesting golf of the year. There is a saying that players do not win the Open, it wins you. I, for one, cannot wait to see who the U.S. Open wins this year.

Rich Conwell is the General Manager & PGA Head Golf Professional at Wheeling Country Club and can be reached with questions or comments at rconwell@wheelingcountryclub.com or 304-232-2000.