George:
Oakland Hills is really a beautiful piece of property for golf. There are twenty-foot rises and falls, some gentle and others abrupt.
Sean:
The main difference is that Oakmont is a one-off design by Mr. Fownes, whereas Oakland Hills [despite its great set of greens] is much more similar to other Golden Age courses, and of course it was designed by a guy who did 400 others.
Tom
That is an interesting observation I hadn't thought of - value in one off and less value in production line. I spose it makes sense, but in the end, are the courses really all that different in terms of presenting a high quality design? Also, do you spsoe people actually think in terms of Ross being dime a dozen stuff and Fownes being a one off when they evaluate the designs?
Looking further at the bunkering I notice that OCC is more varied in its bunker style and how they are generally placed around greens even if the concept tends toward quite/very penal in the overall design.
I would like to know more about the par 3s. OHCC are good without being outstanding, but neither has a truly short par 3 - a real design flaw imo.
Ciao
Sean, and Tom --
Tom is exactly right about the terrain at OHCC South.
I think the biggest difference is that OHCC has become rather landlocked in the Pro V era, while Oakmont (it reminds me of Muirfield in this regard) is settled onto an unusually generous piece of property, with room to move more tees, etc. (The 9th at Muirfield a notable exception, although Muirfield's generous plot is what allowed them to trade for more 9th tee room...)
They are very similar in the amount of movement with the land.
Sean, I'd argue that OHCC does have a serviceable (as a "short") Par 3... 13. What you do is put the flag in a touchy spot (there are lots of them) and move the tee up. They did that one day at the Ryder Cup. And as for short Par-4's, we all know about Oakmont's; it is one of the small handful of best short Par 4's in the world. OHCC has Number 6. And the emphasis on Number 6 being a short Par 4 has only increased with equipment technology, and with the loss of the biggest and most magnificent elm on the course. (In the driving area to the left of 6 fairway.)