Firestone Country Club
Designed by Robert Trent Jones
History
Rubber built Akron, and rubber built Firestone. The course opened in 1929, the creation of Harvey Firestone, who wanted his tire company’s executives and clients to have grounds worthy of the industry the city had come to dominate. It was a corporate club at heart from the very beginning, born of the same ambition that filled Akron’s factories, and that origin has never quite left it — Firestone remains a place where business and golf have always shared the same table.
The original design work fell to a firm associated with the Firestone name in its early years, but it was Robert Trent Jones who gave the club the identity it carries into the history books. Jones’s renovation, undertaken as the club’s reputation grew beyond Akron’s borders, brought his signature muscularity to the South Course — length, demanding angles, a firmness of design that suited a golf world entering its television age. His work transformed Firestone from a comfortable executive retreat into a course capable of testing the finest players alive.
That transformation proved lasting. Firestone became a fixture of professional golf in the second half of the twentieth century, hosting the PGA Championship in 1960, 1966, and 1975, and serving for decades as home to the World Series of Golf and later the Bridgestone Invitational, a World Golf Championships event that kept the club on the PGA Tour calendar into the 2010s. Jack Nicklaus won at Firestone repeatedly across different decades, and the South Course’s reputation as one of America’s genuine championship tests was built shot by shot, tournament by tournament, long after Harvey Firestone’s original vision had given way to something far bigger than he likely imagined.
Playing Notes
We don't have hole-by-hole details to pass along here, so let's stick to the basics you'll need before you show up. Firestone sits on tree-lined terrain typical of Akron's rolling hills, meaning you should expect elevation changes and tighter driving lanes rather than wide-open sightlines. Bring your full bag's worth of shot-shaping options — fades and draws will matter more than raw distance off the tee. Ohio weather is a factor most of the season, so check wind conditions before you go; mornings tend to be calmer than afternoons. Comfortable walking shoes are worth packing even if you plan to ride, since the layout's contours can make for a long day on foot. Beyond that, call ahead for tee times, cart policy, and current green speeds, since specifics on the course's exact yardage and hole layout weren't available for this write-up.