Oakland Hills (South)
Oakland Hills (South)
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Course Type
Private -
GOLF Top 100 World Rank (2023-24)
27 -
Year
1917 -
Architects
Donald Ross -
Par
72 -
Yardage
7,445
Course Overview
Through the years, Oakland Hills — the famed “monster” that Ben Hogan slayed in the 1951 U.S. Open — became long, narrow and hard, which fit the descriptive of other American championship courses. That was never meant to be the course’s fate — this was Donald Ross’s parkland thought-provoking magnum opus. Happily, all of Ross’s glories, and then some, were brought back in 2020 when Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner and team restored Ross’s width and playing angles. The greens were expanded a whopping 35 percent, and the bunkers themselves were restored to their previous immense scale. Fescue grasses blow in the wind and the undulating site, no longer hidden by trees, optimizes parkland golf’s regal offering with some of its greens like the 1st and 14th among the best in the game. (Photo: LC Lambrecht)
3 things to know
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Hole everyone talks about
No. 11, par-4, 455 yards. It’s a dogleg and the perfect drive will roll down the hill and add mega yards to your tee shot. The green is one of the best on the course and will funnel many shots that land on the corners. -
Best non-golf amenity
A massive fire destroyed the historic clubhouse back in February 2022, but work is already underway to rebuild the new one, which will be a semi-replica of the previous version and cost more than $80 million to build. It could be completed by 2026. -
Insider tip
Few U.S. courses not named Augusta National have this kind of major pedigree. Oakland Hills has hosted six U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships, a Ryder Cup and a U.S. Amateurs. Four more U.S. Opens (two for the men, two for the women) are already scheduled for the future.
