Oakland Hills Country Club
Designed by Donald Ross
History
A group of Detroit businessmen went looking for land in 1916, the kind of rolling farm country that lay northwest of the city in what was then still open country in Oakland County. They found it in Bloomfield Township, and they brought in Donald Ross to make a golf course out of it. Ross was, by that point, the busiest architect in America, but Oakland Hills received an uncommon share of his attention. He walked the property himself and laid out what would become the club’s South Course, finishing his work in time for the club to open in 1916.
Ross found in the Bloomfield Township land a rugged, glacially formed terrain — ridges, hollows, and a natural roll that he shaped rather than fought. The South Course he built there hosted its first U.S. Open in 1924, and by 1951 had earned a reputation formidable enough that Ben Hogan, after winning that year’s Open there, remarked that he had “brought this course, this monster, to its knees” — a nickname, “the Monster,” that has followed the South Course ever since. That 1951 Open followed a significant renovation by Robert Trent Jones Sr., commissioned by the club specifically to toughen the course ahead of the championship, narrowing fairways and repositioning bunkers to punish anything but the most precise shot-making.
The club added a second course, the North, and continued to host championship golf across the decades that followed, including additional U.S. Opens, PGA Championships, and Ryder Cup and U.S. Amateur competitions. Further restoration work in the early 21st century, guided by architect Rees Jones, aimed to return elements of Ross’s original design intent to the South Course while preserving the teeth Trent Jones had given it in 1951 — a layering of eras that today’s membership plays over as a single, continuous course rather than a patchwork of decades.
Playing Notes
Bring your entire bag and your patience — this is a shot-making test from tee to green, with tight, tree-lined corridors that punish anything sailing off the intended line and bunkering positioned to catch the shots you thought were safe. The rough runs thick and high, so accuracy off the tee matters more here than raw distance; a controlled 250-yard drive down the middle beats a wild 300-yarder every time. Greens run fast and firm, often sloped to reject approach shots that come in without the right spin or angle, so club selection into the pin becomes as important as the swing itself. Walking is possible but many opt for a cart given the scale of the property and the distance between greens and the next tee. Expect firm turf conditions that reward low, running approaches over high, soft ones, and pack extra balls — the bunkers and native areas have a way of collecting anything struck with hesitation. This is a course that punishes indecision, so come with a plan for each hole and the discipline to stick to it even when the flag looks closer than it plays.