[Andrew Cunningham]

A quick search on Oakland Hills Country Club produced very little mention or discussion on what I consider to be - after a recent fall visit - one of the preeminent parkland courses in the United States.  Earlier in the year Rees Jones added a little over 300 yards and numerous new bunkers and some mild fairway shaping in preparation for next year's PGA Championship.  

Oakland Hills should also be applauded for their tree removal program which has produced an array of eye pleasing vistas, highlighted the wonderful topography, and created the opportunity for a recovery shot even after the most wildly struck shot.  Below are several pictures highlighting these changes and the overall feel of one of America's greatest golf courses.

The opening tee shot.
 #3 tee shot.
Approach from fairway bunker on #4
Deeper greenside bunker on #5 - note the swales in this heavily undulating green.
The imposing tee shot on the short sixth.
One of the most challenging par 3's in Championship golf.
#10 fairway - note the extremely large knob that forces the ideal line towards the deep hazards on the right.
#11 tee shot - the hardest hole on the course IMHO
#11 approach for a drive that doesn't carry the hill - good luck!
#11 approach for a drive that carries the hill.
#11 green looking down from the right side.  It is very easy to spin your approach right off the green attempting to get to this back pin.  What the picture doesn't show is just how close the #9 cart part and tee block are behind this pin location.  Maybe 15 yards.
#13 with its bowl shaped green.
#15 tee shot with bunkers splitting the middle of the fairway.
#15 approach.
#16 Tee shot around the pond.
#16 approach from the left rough.
#16 left of the green.  The green is mown tight to the water making putting into the water a real possibilty with a front pin.
#17 tee shot uphill extremely well guarded and only 240 yards or so from the new back tee.
#18 tee shot.  A great finishing hole.
#18 second shot after a average drive.
#18 second shot after a 300 yard drive.
#18 green short and right.

[Matt_Cohn]

I know #18 has been somewhat controversial.

Just for perspective, can someone describe what the ideal line would be from the tournament tees for a 275 yard carry; a 300 yard carry; and a Tiger/Vijay 325 carry?

Thanks.

[Mike_Cirba]

Andrew,

Those are possibly the most compelling pictures of Oakland Hills I've seen.   Thanks for posting them.

Other than the drive on 18, most of the holes look to setup in interesting ways.   Bill Vostinak had really good things to say about OH after a recent visit, and from your pics it does seem that we undervalue the course, most likely because of the consistent fairway bunker theme on too many holes.

[Kalen Braley]

I really love that 11th hole with all the different things going on there and the potentional strategies to play it.  Theres seems to be a lot of mis-direction going on with the tee shot and even if you hit a good one you have a tough shot to an uphill green.

[David Stamm]

I know someone who just played there recently who's got some good pics as well.  


That was your cue Jon.

[Jon Spaulding]

Great pics. I played there 2 weeks ago for the first time and was planning to post some pics over the weekend. So thank you AC for saving some time .

The course is excellent and the toughest examination of golf I've played. Having said that, I would not choose to play there all that often (or join). There are some laughable areas, and the course plays overly monotonous. What's not posted here are the lame church-pews on 12, and the constant lack of strategy. One hits driver all day to 20 yard wide fairways with hazards on either side at the same distance. Allegedly the North course is a bit more enjoyable, but I did not have time to see or play it.

MC; 18 plays as a par 5 for members. I played the "old" tips, which is still the rear tee for 18. They move up 25-30 yards for tournament play and reset as a par 4. The first bunkering you see on the LH side is 280ish from the tips. They were about done redoing these when I was there (GUR). The second set on the left is maybe another 60 yards to clear. The "cluster" on the RH side is roughly the same carry but starts a bit earlier.

[Andrew Cunningham]

Jon,

I would agree there is some repeativeness in the narrow fairways with bunkers or hazards left and right, but I found the rolling topography gave each hole it's own feel despite similar shot values.  No question there is a premium placed on driving the ball accurately.  But even from the back tees you need to work the ball both ways to have the best angle into the green.  6 and 16 might be the only holes where driver is not the best play.  I think this course deserves a lot more respect than it receives.  And I hope the 18th plays all the way back for the PGA - if not those boys will have their way with it.

Andrew

[Ben Stephens]

Andrew,

Awesome pics which really shows the undulating topography of the course.

Any chance of a pic of the revised 7th hole with its enlarged pond on right side of fairway and redesigned bunkering on left side of fairway?

Ben

[Andrew Cunningham]

Ben,

Here you go:

#7 tee shot.  As Jon alluded to, you really only have one option on this shot - hit the fairway.

#7 approach uphill over water - very tough.

Unfortunately I didn't get a close up of the green complex which would have shown the depth and difficulty of this green - not to mention the ever present bunkers.

Here is the aformentioned "church pew" look bunkers on the left hand side of #12:

[Jon Spaulding]

AC; I fully agree that this course is overly "dissed". But, with RJ's recent changes that should only get worse. I was surprised by the rolling nature of the terrain that the property has, it is great. Perhaps this is the ultimate study in making a course up for tournaments while reducing member enjoyment?

The bunkering is excessive for the commoner. A number of holes, if we play away from the hazard protecting the preferred line to the hole, the approach into the green is tough enough to the point that the bunkering is simply there to make the pro struggle and add infinite difficulty to the amateur's day.

I personally prefer to have choices and differing shots throughout a round. At OH, the only choice is..."hit the damn fairway with the driver". The greens are something else and place demands on the approaches, which are often lengthy and out of rough/bunkers. Couple of extra photos:

#7 greensite


#10 teeshot


#12 teeshot


#14 green

[Andrew Cunningham]

Jon,

I would agree with you that when these magestic courses are "enhanced" to challenge the best professionals on the planet, they tend to lose a significant chunk of the 99.9% of players who the course was primarily designed for.  In spite of its difficulty I was impressed how one can negotiate the course using only one ball.  How many newer designs can offer the unique mix of challenge and playability?

Your photo of #7 green shows that getting to this green is only half the battle.  Clearly your day was blessed with considerably better weather.  Very nice.  Thanks for the additional pics.

[Mike Boehm]

Jon & Andrew -

Thank you for posting these pictures.  I had the good fortune to play Oakland Hills a last weekend and agree with both of you that the course is under-valued on this website.  I think the routing is brilliant and 11 is my favorite hole I've ever played (though I am not as well-traveled as most on this site).  The greens are spectacular - I wish I knew them a little better as my host was able to use the ridges and sideboards to play chips and pitches well away from the hole to get the ball close.  A lot of fun to watch.  I could gladly play Oakland every day.  I enjoy being able to freely hit driver and having the opportunity to recover should I spray it a bit. Plus, I think my handicap would travel a lot better if it was built up at Oakland.

That said, the course is extremely difficult, and Jon, based on a couple members I have spoken with, I think you are right about there being some declining member enjoyment after Rees' changes.  With the narrow playing corridors and extremely thick rough/deep bunkers, the course is simply too much for a lot of golfers to handle.  One thing that might be helpful for the course is to build a set of men's tees shorter than 6500 yards - there are no boxes between this distance and the ladies tees at 5600.

Mike

[Jon Spaulding]

We teed off to a 10-15MPH breeze and sun. When we reached 12 the wind stiffened and the rain showed up for the balance of the round. No complaints here; just a tough round made a bit tougher! 16 playing into the breeze required a full drive and a mid-iron into that green....quite stressful .

I loved the one-ball option and the use of trees as definition only, save a couple of holes. You could hit it in a couple of the lakes, but no OB in play, or lost balls. Our caddy mentioned that RJ proposed leveling the 4th fairway so the pros could "see" the bunkering. Thankfully he was shot down.

[Mark_F]

It's always fantastic to see pictures of a famous course that otherwise doesn't get talked up much.

I can't quite see the purpose of many of the fairway bunkers, however - it appears that you wouldn't go in them unless you hit into them on the fly?

How does this course differ from Oakmont?

[cary lichtenstein]

I played Oakland Hills once and what my memory tells me is that it had the most undulating Donald Ross greens I had ever encountered.

I am correct on this?

[Andrew Cunningham]

Cary,

Not only do they contain amazing undulations they are also kept extremely fast.  Perhaps not Oakmont fast but even with the rain on the day I played they were easily running 10 maybe 10.5.  Combined with the slopes it made for some very creative putting.  Frankly I expected a far more subdued and subtle set of greens ala some other classic Donald Ross creations.  But in spite of some potentially treacherous pin placements I loved every one of them.  I now understand why Oakland Hills is a perennial favorite to host major championship golf.  Does anyone know if a lot of these are RTJ's creations or true (restored) Donald Ross originals?

 

[PThomas]

great pics , thanks for posting guys

more undulation and movement in the fairways than I thought

I think Jack once said they are they second most difficult set of greens he's played - Augusta's being first

[Jon Spaulding]

It's always fantastic to see pictures of a famous course that otherwise doesn't get talked up much.

I can't quite see the purpose of many of the fairway bunkers, however - it appears that you wouldn't go in them unless you hit into them on the fly?

How does this course differ from Oakmont?

The fairway bunkers are perfectly placed for decent length amateurs with a second set awaiting the tour player. There are a few that one could roll into if he got to bold off the tee (#10 comes to mind). In reviewing the round during a long drive afterward, I could not believe how well placed they were, all seemingly made an attempt to catch the 13 drivers I hit.

[Jon Spaulding]

OH has a great set of greens, with a fair amount of space around the pinnable area to have a decent looking putt. So for the amateur player, really not that bad. Fairly intense if you miss your approach. As AC said, the day I played it rained all morning yet they were still perfect and quick. I could not imagine having to play this place with USGA rough!

Regarding the difficulty of the greens, I doubt Jack ever made it upstate ....now them some greens which I would rate tougher for the amateur that can't hit his irons with anywhere near the accuracy required.

[Mike_Cirba]

My oh my...those new pics really show what the original set with the picture of the drive on the 18th only hinted at.

That Rees Jones is a virtual Dalai Llama of aesthetic and strategic golf, isn't he?

[Jeff_Brauer]

Cary,

Not only do they contain amazing undulations they are also kept extremely fast.  Perhaps not Oakmont fast but even with the rain on the day I played they were easily running 10 maybe 10.5.  Combined with the slopes it made for some very creative putting.  Frankly I expected a far more subdued and subtle set of greens ala some other classic Donald Ross creations.  But in spite of some potentially treacherous pin placements I loved every one of them.  I now understand why Oakland Hills is a perennial favorite to host major championship golf.  Does anyone know if a lot of these are RTJ's creations or true (restored) Donald Ross originals?

 

Andrew, I believe RTJ kept the Ross greens, and added wings and extensions to them, creating the little plateau variations and tucked pins.  So, they are a combination of the two, with the centers generally being Ross, and the edges being RTJ.

I have told this story before, but I stopped by OH maintenance building one day, after trying to set up a tour and failing to connect by phone. No one was in the maintenance building when I got there.

There were original copies of the Ross 1951 plan for the course, and some other old RTJ plans.  The Ross plan was surprisingly close to the RTJ plan.  Apparently, there was pretty good consensus about what needed to be done to make the course Open ready.

But the point of the story, which shames me, is that I was never so tempted to steal something in all my life!  They really should keep those babies under wraps!

[Andrew Cunningham]

Jeff,

I bet it was incredibly tempting.  I remember playing a very exclusive club in California a few years back when the Pro V1 was just introduced and upon my arrival I found the range loaded with about 20 large baskets of Pro V1's - and nobody was around.  I've never been more tempted to steal a few "range" balls, especially given the fact that they weren't even logoed.

[Chuck Brown]

Thanks for some very fine pictures of the Rees Jones updates.

Indeed, there were more extensive revisions discussed (moving #2 green, moving #3 altogether, and the aforementioned adjustment of #4), and the ONLY reason for most of those changes is the length generated by tour players.

Holes 6, 7 and, to some extent, 12, have been the only holes on the course that required improvement from an aesthetic point of view.  6 is a very short uphill par 4 that suffered greatly from the loss of one of the most majestic elms on a course that had too many majestic elms to count.  And the next hole, #7, has long been a bastardized, committee-led screwup of a hole.  I would be the first to say that the wholesale revision to #7 by Rees Jones & co. was a welcome change to a frankly bad-looking hole.  I actually wish the changes to 7 had been more ambitious.  Personally, I'd have redesigned the entire green complex as well as the water hazard.

But this must be said about OHCC;  if any "major" (as in "major-championship-hosting) club membership in America ought to be campaigning for better regulations of golf ball distance, it ought to be OHCC.  They have no more room to make 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 or 18 ANY LONGER.  They have run out of room.  They have borrowed and squeezed as much, if not more, distance than they should have, and now they are done, unless they start demolishing what is already good and historic about the course just to satisfy the needs of tour distances.

[Andrew Cunningham]

You make a great point.  At 7100 yards this course offers all the challenge even the best amateur can handle.  Why jeopardize such a great historic golf course for one professional event every six years or so?  Make them play Tour Balata's and save sport in the process.

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()