Oakland Hills Country Club
 |
|
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Location |
Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan |
| Established | 1916 South Course: 1918 North Course: 1923 (ready for play in 1924) |
| Type | Private |
| Total holes | 36 |
| Website | oaklandhillscc.com |
| South Course | |
| Designed by | Donald Ross |
| Par |
72 (70 for majors) Par-5 holes 8 and 18 are reduced to par-4 for majors |
| Length | 7,445 yards (6,808 m) |
| Course rating | 76.9 |
| North Course | |
| Designed by | Donald Ross |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 6,660 yards (6,090 m) |
| Course rating | 72.9 |
72 (70 for majors)
Oakland Hills Country Club is a private golf club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. It consists of two 18-hole courses designed by Donald Ross: the South Course (1918) and the North Course (1923).
Oakland Hills has hosted many prestigious professional golf tournaments throughout its history, including six U.S. Opens and three PGA Championships, the 2004 Ryder Cup and the 2002 and 2016 U.S. Amateur on its South Course.
In 1916, two Ford Motor Company executives, advertising head Joseph Mack and chief accountant and first sales manager Norval Hawkins, purchased a parcel of farmland on Maple Road – 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Detroit in Bloomfield Hills. Construction began in 1917 and Mack was elected as the first president of the club. When the South Course of Oakland Hills was formally opened on July 13, 1918, it enjoyed prestige because of its designer - Ross, the foremost golf course architect of his day – and its first club pro, U.S. Open champion Walter Hagen. The clubhouse was the Miller farmhouse on the North side of Maple Road and the old chicken coop served as Hagen's pro shop. One hundred-forty memberships were sold at $250 each.
The current clubhouse was completed and formally opened in August 1922 at a cost of $650,000 unfinished. The original structure had accommodations for 48 overnight guests, as it was not uncommon in that era for members to stay at the Club for weeks at a time. Modern roads and nearby motels obviated the need for overnight accommodations and the need for space to meet the needs of expanded membership saw the last rooms eliminated in a 1968 renovation.
A full social program was in effect in the early days of the club, with informal dances every Wednesday and Saturday night. Hagen, who broke the barriers of social ostracism against golf professionals, attested to the friendly atmosphere that prevailed when he said that the treatment he had received at Oakland Hills had spoiled him and made him accustomed to being treated as any golfer, pro or amateur, should be. Guest play was most popular in the early days. In 1923 there was more guest play on our South Course than any other course in the Midwest.
Work on the North Course began in 1922, completed in late 1923, and ready for play in 1924. For the first several years it was operated as it is today, i.e., a second course for the members. During the depression, however, it became necessary to operate it as North Hills, a semi-private Club open for daily green fee play. It was redesigned by Robert Trent Jones and reestablished as a second private course for the members at the beginning of the 1969 season. The barrier which Maple Road presented between the two courses was effectively overcome by installation of the world's largest arched aluminum pedestrian bridge. The bridge connecting the two courses is 210 feet (64 m) long, 11 feet (3.4 m) wide, and weighs 40,000 pounds (18,000 kg). It was delivered to the site already assembled and erected in less than 2 1/2 hours early one morning.
...
Wikipedia