Oakland Hills Country Club

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oakland Hills Country Club, a private golf club in Bloomfield Hills, Oakland County, Michigan, has hosted many prestigious professional golf tournaments throughout its history. The Oakland Hills grounds crew maintains two superb courses, designated the North and South Course. The South Course has hosted all the tournaments played at Oakland Hills (one round of the 2002 U.S. Amateur was played on the North Course). The South Course, designed by Donald Ross, opened in 1918, with Walter Hagen as the club's first professional. The South Course, sometimes called "The Monster", is consistently rated among the top ten courses in the United States, some would say the world. The North Course opened for play in 1924 and served, as it does today, as a second course for members. For economic reasons, it became a separate semi-private club open to the public. Robert Trent Jones redesigned the course and it opened again for members in 1969. Before this club hosts the 2008 PGA Championship, the course will be reworked by Rees Jones, Robert Trent Jones' son. Renovation started Aug. 1 on Holes 1,2, and 7. The course will completely close October 1 for further renovations. Major renovations include more bunkers (which will come into play for the PGA Tour Players), more water and moving tees. Both ponds on the course (7,16) are being expanded and the total water on the course will be almost double that of the current configuration. The renovation will bring the course to over 7300 yards. Oakland Hill's South Course is notorious for its rough. The rough is not necesarilly long, but the south course has some of the thickest rough in the country. The first thing most guests notice is that the rough is more than rough, it's impossible to hit more than 150 yards out. The two courses are connected by the world’s largest arched aluminum pedestrian bridge.

In 1916, Printer Joseph Mack, who was also Henry Ford's ad-man and Norval Hawkins, the accountant and first sales manager for Ford, purchased a parcel of farmland on Maple Road - 25 miles northwest of Detroit - in Bloomfield Township. Construction began in 1917. Mack was elected first president of the club.

On October 21, 1916 article in the Pontiac Press Gazette read:

"A group of Detroit men headed by Joseph Mack this week formed an organization which has 60 charter members," the story continued. "They have purchased the Spicer and Miller farms of 250 acres and have options on 160 acres more comprising the German and Leach farms."

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/091204/loc_20040912051.shtml