Historic Oakland Hills Country Club in Detroit experienced a nightmare on Thursday, February 17th. A fire destroyed a large section of the 110,000 square foot clubhouse.
Oakland Hills boasts two Donald Ross designs. The South Course opened in 1918 and play began on the North Course in 1923. Six U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships, the 2004 Ryder Cup, plus the 2002 and 2016 U.S. Amateur were all held on the iconic South Course. It is one of only five clubs to have hosted a U.S. Open, a U.S. Women’s Open, a U.S. Amateur and a U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Walter Hagen was the first Head Professional at Oakland Hills and Ben Hogan won the 1951 U.S. Open on the South Course and dubbed it “The Monster.”
Lost in the fire were portraits of past champions at Oakland Hills, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Members were saddened by the loss. Everyone expressed the sentiment that the clubhouse could be rebuilt, but the golfing mementos lost to the fire could not.
The last big events held at Oakland Hills were the 2008 PGA Championship, won by Padraig Harrington and the 2016 U.S. Amateur, won by Curtis Luck.
In an effort to attract more prestigious tournaments to the famed South Course, it recently underwent an extensive renovation by Gil Hanse. The USGA announced in January that both the 2031 and 2042 U.S. Women’s Opens would be held at the club.
