Oakland Hills Country Club (South)

Overall Thoughts

Golf architects love to give quotes about how great a certain site is, often overselling the quality of a strong but not supreme piece of land. At Oakland Hills, however, Donald Ross was not exaggerating when he said, “I rarely find a piece of property so well suited for a golf course. Its topographical formation could hardly be surpassed, and the area available is so extensive that I was able to lay out a very open and roomy course.”

Indeed, the property for the South Course at Oakland Hills is exceptional. Some portions of it feature dramatic terrain reminiscent of Shinnecock Hills, and other portions have the kind of subtle rolls and manageable ridges that make for great golf. Ross rose to the challenge of this land by building arguably his best set of green complexes, a collection that should be considered among the best in the world. Because of these two elements—excellent terrain and terrific green designs—Oakland Hills is one of the greatest inland courses in the United States.

What I find the most interesting about the South Course is its versatility. With short rough, it could play as a tremendously fun member course; with the rough grown out and the pins tucked, it equitably tests the skills of elite players at a level that very few championship venues can match. The only other course I have seen with a better mixture of fun factor and championship capabilities is Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course.

This versatility is largely the result of Gil Hanse’s 2021 renovation. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hanse crew, along with Director of Agronomy Phil Cuffare, was able to pull off a dramatic and impactful transformation that restored much of the character of the South Course’s Ross design. This project should serve as a model for blending historical fidelity with the requirements of hosting modern major championships.

3 Eggs

The design of the South Course at Oakland Hills is absolutely sensational, and after Hanse’s work, it ranks among the finest American inland courses. I do wonder, however, what this renovation would have looked like if championship golf hadn’t been such a big consideration. Perhaps we would have seen more short grass, particularly around the greens. At the end of the day, though, this is a quibble. The South Course’s architecture is presented expertly, and the fairways have the requisite width to give players a reward for driving the ball well. This is one of the few U.S. Open venues that I would gladly play every day.

Course Tour

No. 1, par 4, 443 yards

The opening act at the South Course introduces you to two of its leading characteristics: rolling topography and stellar green complexes. The first fairway tilts right to left, giving an advantage to a fade up the right side. Placed right there, however, is a fairway bunker. Laying up short of this bunker results in a longer approach into a stellar green. I love how the high left side of this green flows in from the back side of the slope from the fronting left bunker.

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No. 2, par 5, 592 yards

All of the tee boxes here except for the back one require a blind drive, forcing players to pick their lines over a bunker to a fairway that snakes from left to right. The green is the star on the second hole: it has a central peak from which everything falls off. The back bunker is a particularly treacherous—and easy place to miss when the pin is in the back.

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No. 3, par 3, 216 yards

Gil Hanse had to completely rebuild the third green, as its contours had been lost over the years. Now a marvelous piece of design, it features two big wings that funnel balls to the middle.

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No. 4, par 4, 482 yards

One of the most fun shots on the South Course is the approach to the fourth green. Front pins require a shot that bounces in when it’s firm, while the back part of the green possesses a more traditional back-to-front slope.

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No. 5, par 4, 491 yards

Ideal tee shots on the fifth hole skirt the left fairway bunker and tumble down toward a creek that bisects the fairway. This sets up an approach to one of the finest greens anywhere. The left half of the green, which has distinct bottom and top tiers, accepts shots that feed in from the right. The right half is far more difficult to access, given the left-to-right cant of the fairway and the green contours that repel balls to the left. This green sits on some of Oakland Hills’ flattest terrain but fully compensates for that fact.

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No. 6, par 4, 361 yards

The cross bunkers on this short par 4 pose an interesting question off the tee. It’s ideal to reach the flat on top of the hill that the fairway runs up, but a tee shot that lands on top may lead to an awkward bunker shot from 60 yards. The other option is to lay back on the upslope, leaving a difficult wedge shot from a severely uphill lie. The green is another incredibly impressive one. The right side has a fun bowl between two big knobs, and the back portion features a smaller knob that influences all shots around it.

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No. 7, par 4, 421 yards

This is perhaps the most stunning hole at Oakland Hills, and it was completely wiped off the course during the tenures of Robert Trent and Rees Jones as consulting architects. The now-restored creek winds through the hole, creating a triangular fairway. Finding the small right portion of the fairway gives you the best angle into the green. Making the carry over the creek is an option for long hitters but comes with the risk of a water ball.

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No. 8, par 4/5, 476 yards

A stout par 4 for tournaments and a gettable par 5 for member play, the eighth returns players to the mesmerizing landforms near the clubhouse. This hole plays dramatically to the top of the main ridge at the western end of the property. Approaching this green requires care, as it features a devastating false front that can send balls racing 60-plus yards backwards. It’s the start of a run of holes, including Nos. 10 and 11, that play around and into this ridge and have similarly devastating false fronts.

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No. 9, par 3, 253 yards

A gargantuan par 3 framed by Oakland Hills’ famous clubhouse (which burned down in 2022 but is in the process of being rebuilt). Although there is no written record of it, Gil Hanse believes Ross understood the plans for the clubhouse and didn’t want the ninth hole to be upstaged by the structure, so he made sure to give this par 3 some of the course’s most visually striking bunkers.

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No. 10, par 4, 496 yards

When he returned to the finished South Course, Ross declared that the 10th and 11th holes were the two best consecutive par 4s he had ever designed. Each runs directly over sublime terrain, which generates a wide range of outcomes and looks on the approaches. On the 10th hole, a ridge cuts along the left portion of the fairway, creating high and low sides for the approach to the elevated green.

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No. 11, par 4, 451 yards

The 11th traverses two ridges, the first providing a perch for the tee and the second shortening the landing area for drives and continuing all the way up to the green. The fairway snakes through these massive landforms and offers a bite-off-as-much-as-you-can-chew proposition. Long hitters may play left, carrying the ridge and a large bunker to reach a low flat and earn a shorter approach. Playing right will result in a longer approach and bring a second set of bunkers into play. The green, the smallest on the South Course, shares a high point with the eighth.

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No. 12, par 5, 580 yards

This dramatic hilltop tee shot makes judging distance difficult: the ball carries a fraction longer, so finding the fairway is slightly tougher. Hitting your second shot from short grass and having a chance to get on or around the green is a huge advantage. Protected by deep bunkers, the green is divided into left and right sections by a large spine. This is one of the best birdie opportunities at the South Course.

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No. 13, par 3, 181 yards

The green on this short par 3 is defined by a front thumbprint, which creates a fun, gettable pin position but also makes getting to every other pin more difficult. This is another hole that you feel you must take advantage of in order to score. From here on out, the test stiffens.

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Favorite Hole

No. 14, par 4, 504 yards

Two things I’m a sucker for in golf architecture: obscured (either blind or semi-blind) shots and fallaway greens. This brawny par 4 has both. The tee shot calls for a fade, ideally finding the fairway so that you can control your ball into an amazing green that runs away from the player. A trough which cuts diagonally across the green, forming three distinct sections.

What I love most about the 14th hole is the fun factor of approaches from the rough. Without the control and spin that a fairway lie provides, this recovery shot requires players to judge the jump and spin and to bounce the ball down the slope in front of the green to the hole.

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No. 15, par 4, 396 yards

This short par 4 forces a decision off the tee: lay back short of the bunkers for a 160-yard-plus shot into a challenging green or attempt to push past the bunkers into a narrower section of fairway. The latter play is uncomfortable for many of today’s elite golfers, who tend to favor a left-to-right ball flight with the driver. What really makes the hole is the outstanding Robert Trent Jones green, distinctive and challenging because of three puffs arranged in a right-to-left line. Lag putts are difficult enough to make players think twice before laying up off the tee.

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No. 16, par 4, 425 yards

While this green, too, retained its RTJ form, Gil Hanse brought back the strategy of the 16th hole by reestablishing the right side of the fairway and providing another option off the tee. The layup leaves 150 yards or longer into a small green with water short and bunkers long. When the rough is up, however, this is the play. When the rough is down, the favored play is driver, allowing players to keep left and avoid the subsequent carry over water.

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No. 17, par 3, 237 yards

One of the most intimidating par 3s in the world, the 17th at the South Course asks everything of players. The elevated green, with its false front and daunting front bunkers, will reject any ball struck less than beautifully. Getting to the green is one challenge; putting is another. A giant furrow cuts the green in half, so lag putts are ultra-difficult whereas anything within 10 feet is a good look.

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No. 18, par 4/5, 504 yards

The South Course’s closer plays as a par 4 for championships and a 5 for members. The green, unsurprisingly, is outstanding: shallow and raised up, a tough target to reach in two. As on the 17th, a spine bisects the green into right and left halves, and fronting bunkers make the putting surface challenging to access from the rough.

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