Oakland Hills' Brighter Days Ahead to Include 2034, 2051 U.S. Opens
Under normal circumstances, a press conference to announce golf championships, especially those still years down the road, is only necessary, not particularly compelling.
But circumstances are not normal at Oakland Hills Country Club. The venerable property northwest of Detroit lost a big piece of its past a few weeks ago. Fire swept through its iconic clubhouse, swallowing treasured artifacts and causing unimaginable damage.
So on Tuesday morning at Detroit Athletic Club, a USGA press conference to announce the scheduling of more championships at Oakland Hills wasn’t only necessary, it was compelling, emotional and renewing.
"Wow," club president Rick Palmer said, upon stepping to the microphone, “What a great day to be a member at Oakland Hills Country Club."
The sentiment was impossible to express a month ago. The flames that ripped through the 100-year-old, 90,000-square-foot structure on Feb. 17 suggested those days were gone. And my, they were days that carried such luster. Eleven USGA championships, six U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup have been conducted at Oakland Hills. The roster of champions include Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.
Oakland Hills Country Club will rebuild the 100-year-old clubhouse gutted in a fire on Feb. 17.
Kelly Jordan and Mandi Wright/USA Today
All of it lay in the Bloomfield Township rubble, $80 million worth of charred memories. If Hogan were here, he might say the fire that started on a patio brought the monstrous clubhouse “to its knees,” and left those who cherished it in a tortured place. The past became painful and the future uncertain. It was a terrible day to be a member of Oakland Hills.
But on Tuesday, as Palmer suggested, the past could once again be celebrated and the future joyous to contemplate. USGA chief championship officer John Bodenhamer formally announced the association has committed its calendar to four more Oakland Hills events — the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 2029 U.S. Women's Amateur and, the brightest baubles of all, the 2034 and 2051 U.S. Opens.
The dates are added to ones the club previously secured, including the 2031 U.S. Women’s Open, 2038 U.S. Girls’ Junior, 2042 U.S. Women’s Open and 2047 U.S. Amateur. Add it up and you have eight USGA championships assigned to the club over the next 29 years.
They are championships for women and men. They are the toughest championships in golf and they are now part of the fabric of the toughest club in golf. These arrangements have been in the works for some time, long before last month’s tragedy. These arrangements could have been sabotaged by recent events, reshuffled the USGA cards.
But the club wasn’t having it. Fire or no fire, Oakland Hills is still standing.
“Given the breadth of these championships today, it's just remarkable,” Bodenhamer said. “Given everything the club has been through in the last few weeks, we are honored they wanted to move forward with this announcement and this run of championships in the years that we originally discussed. It's quite amazing."
Some of us might not be around when the USGA celebrates the 110th anniversary of that 1924 U.S. Open with its 2034 edition at the club. We might not be here in 2051, when they commemorate Hogan’s win in 1951, i.e. “the greatest test of golf I have ever played and the toughest course.”
Doesn’t matter. It’s enough to know Oakland Hills will be here, with Gil Hanse’s restoration of Donald Ross’ design, with paintings and trophies restored, with a new art clubhouse and an undeterred spirit. Under the leadership of Palmer and general manager Christine Pooler, the Oakland Hills membership plans to build a $50 million, state-of-the-art replica of its historic white clubhouse. Coming in 2024, better than ever.
“I'm pretty humbled today,” Palmer added. “I kind of feel like the offensive lineman that recovered a fumble in the end zone, and the referee blew a whistle and said, ‘Hey, we won the game!’ Because there are so many people that have made this moment possible.”
Although it was inadvertent, Andy North might have put it best, in terms that certainly apply. North won the 1985 U.S. Open on the South Course at Oakland Hills, after winning in 1978 at Cherry Hills. On Tuesday, he explained that when he woke up on Sunday morning of that ’85 championship, the ball-striking mojo he had enjoyed for three rounds was gone. He had nothing for 11 holes and the championship was slipping away. But from a fairway bunker on the 12th hole, his groove suddenly returned.
He played solid down the stretch and finished the championship 1-under par, the only player in red, the U.S. Open winner for a second time. At a press conference to announce more major championships at fire-ravaged Oakland Hills, it all made sense.
“It's funny in this game how you can completely lose it and you can get it back somehow,” North said. “That’s what makes it magical.”
Oakland Hills, it’s a magical place.