Oakland Hills hosted the 1937 U. S. Open, a seminal event in golf history as it was the first U. S. Open set to be played on a course measuring over 7,000 yards.
There's a gap in the record as to who did the work to extend the course from its original length, and exactly how comprehensive that work was in altering the original Donald Ross 1917 layout. The following quote is taken from the club's website regarding preparations for the event:
"Prior to the ‘37 Open, noted golf architect Albert W. Tillinghast is asked to look over the South Course and offer advice for improvements. Tillinghast reports, “
This course needs nothing more to prepare it for the Open. What it needs is to be left alone.” He also observes, “
Oakland Hills is one of the finest golf courses, not alone in this country, but in the world.”"
What is left unsaid is that the course Tillinghast saw had already been altered, and the man responsible for these changes was its original designer, Donald Ross.
The following April 11, 1937 Ogden Standard-Examiner article goes into a bit of detail regarding the changes made by Ross, and lays out a hole by hole description of the course.
This step in the evolution of the course receives little mention in the historical record. It is not noted on the club's online history page, and none of the various high-level sources for the work of Donald Ross note a remodel, focusing solely on his original design work.
There has been a bit of discussion over the years as to whether or not Oakland Hills South should be restored, and if so to what version of the course should the architects look to recapture. The work done by RTJ prior to the 1951 U. S. Open has great historical significance, particularly in light of Ben Hogan's masterful performance "bringing the course to its knees." This work is cited as the invention of the modern championship course, and the scores put up during the event attest to the USGA's ongoing attempts to defend par over the years.
But how much of the character of the 1951 course owes its genesis to the work done by Ross in the '30's? During the 1937 event, officials decided not to play the course at its full length. Imagine the scores if they had, and would we be talking about the 1937 championship in the same terms of the one in '51? Was it this version of the course that was truly the monster, and perhaps deserving of the title later bestowed?