Probably not as hard as you might think. And definitely not as difficult (or expensive) as, say, getting Masters tickets.
"U.S. Open golf tickets are easy to get," said Brian Talbot of the ticket broker TickCo Premium Seating. "In fact, it's one of the easiest major U.S. events to get into, even if you missed your chance to get tickets through the box office. Tickets are relatively cheap on the secondary market. A Sunday Trophy Club ticket (giving access to an exclusive, air-conditioned, furnished pavilion) might fetch $250 on a high day on the secondary market."
That price isn't even in the same neighborhood as Masters tickets, Super Bowl tickets or World Series tickets, to name a few, on the secondary market (meaning tickets re-sold by brokers or individuals).
Even better, there's a decent chance you won't even have to turn to the secondary market to get your U.S. Open golf tickets.
U.S. Open Golf Tickets at the Box Office
Each year, the United States Golf Association (USGA) conducts a lottery to award U.S. Open golf tickets. To take part in the lottery, fans must fill out a General Public application, which is posted online at usga.com. The general public (meaning persons not members of the USGA) is usually allowed to apply from mid-June through mid-August of each year.
Fans requesting tickets through the USGA lottery certainly aren't guaranteed to get them, but the odds are much better than in the similar Masters lottery.
There is a way, however, for fans to all but ensure themselves U.S. Open golf tickets ...
Become a USGA Member
In addition to the public lottery, the USGA also conducts a lottery for USGA members only. USGA members have a much greater success rate at getting tickets.
"You’re all but guaranteed to get these tickets straight from the U.S. Open if you sign up for the USGA Membership and enter the lottery for members," Talbot said.
USGA membership costs as little as $15 per year. For information, visit members.usga.org.
But what if you've missed out on the lotteries? Can you still find U.S. Open golf tickets, and at reasonable prices?
U.S. Open Golf Tickets on the Secondary Market
A reputable ticket broker is the next-best thing to getting the tickets directly from the USGA through the box office lotteries.
As Talbot pointed out at the start, U.S. Open golf tickets are one of the least-expensive tickets among major U.S. sporting events.
And here's an insider tip from Talbot: If it's practice round tickets you want, it might actually be cheaper to start by shopping reputable ticket brokers than it is to fill out the USGA application. The brokers sometimes sell practice round tickets at below face value.
Auction sites are another option, although the tickets often sell for a premium at such sites. But if you do find a bargain price in an auction, be sure to only purchase from sellers who have high feedback ratings.
On-site scalping varies from year-to-year depending on how heavily the site is being policed. You probably can't count on getting a ticket the day of the event (and then there's that whole breaking-the-law thing to consider ...).
Here are links to a few individual ticket brokers:
Coast to Coast Tickets
GoTickets.com
TickCo
TicketCity
TicketsNow
WeHaveSeats.com
(Please note that these links are provided for readers' convenience and do not constitute a recommendation by About.com Golf; you can find many more ticket brokers with a Web search.)
Summary
So, to summarize: U.S. Open golf tickets are among the easiest and least-expensive tickets to get for major American sporting events. The lotteries for the general public, and especially for USGA members, conducted by the USGA box office, are good bets. But reputable ticket brokers are good fall-back options - and sometimes the first option when it comes to practice-round tickets.
