L.C. Lambrecht/Oakland Hills
L.C. Lambrecht/Oakland Hills
L.C. Lambrecht/Oakland Hills
L.C. Lambrecht/Oakland Hills
L.C. Lambrecht/Oakland Hills
L.C. Lambrecht/Oakland Hills
L.C. Lambrecht/Oakland Hills
L.C. Lambrecht/Oakland Hills
Oakland Hills Country Club: South
Bloomfield Hills, MI•Private
Awards
Panelists Score
Oakland Hills Country Club: South
3951 W Maple Rd
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301-3221
United States
Overview
Donald Ross felt his 1918 design was out of date for the 1951 U.S. Open and was prepared to remodel it. Sadly, he died in 1948, so Robert Trent Jones got the job. His rebunkering was overshadowed by ankle-deep rough, and after Ben Hogan closed with a 67, one of only two rounds under par-70 all week, to win his second consecutive Open, he complained that Jones had created a Frankenstein. Seventy-plus years later, Oakland Hills is even longer, but its bite wasn’t severe when it hosted the 2016 U.S. Amateur. In 2019, the South course closed as Gil Hanse and his team significantly renovated the course with the intention of removing the Jones-era influences and restoring its Ross feel. They did that by expanding greens to recapture what are some of Ross's best contours, removing trees to show off the rolling landscape and shifting bunkers back to where Ross, not RTJ (or RTJ's son Rees, during previous remodels), placed them. The course re-opened in Spring 2021, and though a crippling fire destroyed the club's iconic clubhouse, the USGA delivered some kind news to the club, bringing the 2034 and 2051 U.S. Opens to Oakland Hills—as well as a number of upcoming USGA championships.
About
Golf Digest Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 Greatest / Best In State Scores
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“A classic Donald Ross design ready to host a major at any time. A challenging golf course in exceptional condition."
Read More2025
Review
“A classic Donald Ross design ready to host a major at any time. A challenging golf course in exceptional condition."
Read More2025
Review
“Open expanse of the entire course visible from No. 1 and 10 tees perched in front of clubhouse location/construction. Usually open with minimal trees limits challenge, but not so here. Bunkering, rolling terrain and green contours provides more than adequate torture throughout."
Read More2024
Review
“Big Ballpark! You feel so small walking the grounds. A definite bucket list course."
Read More2024
Review
“Big Ballpark! It just looks and feels massive and like it should hold major events. Immaculate conditioning. Very difficult but mostly fair. Very difficult to pick a line off several tees. It's a bucket list course."
Read More2024
Review
“Firm turf and bold bunkering with exceptional land movement. A great challenge that rewards well placed approaches and tee shots with favorable shots into the greens. New update has larger greens with significant contouring. If you hit the wrong part of the green it can easily turn into a 3 putt."
Read More2023
Review
“Oakland Hills South is a gem of a golf course, and perhaps the best golf course in Michigan. In the style of many US Open hosts, a recent renovation/restoration by Gil Hanse has the course playing perhaps the best in its long history. Tree removal has restored the expansive nature of the property, and positive renovation decisions have provided more approach shot variety than before, especially with the newly-reimagined 7th hole, and the brilliant downhill approach to #14. Many courses like OHS are boring back-and-forth slogs with rough as a main defense, but this is a brilliant golf course that is anything but boring!"
Read More2023
Review
“Golden Age Donald Ross design that that Gil Hanse recently brought back to its Ross roots. Challenging and difficult even for the greatest players. Course has held 17 Major Championships in its history and has more on the way. One of golf's greatest courses is not to be missed if you're offered the opportunity to play here."
Read More2023
Review
“Great challenge & conditioning. Front pin placement on #11 made a wedge from the fairway tricky & an up and down near impossible. A sort of eerie feeling walking up holes 8 & 18 without the clubhouse. Looking forward to this being redone & the future for Oakland Hills."
Read More2023
Review
“One of the most conditioned courses I have been on, so much attention to detail. Incredible variety of holes, difficult greens with approaches and challenging rough if you miss the fairway. Amazing to see an older course find the distance for todays game and have it feel natural to the course."
Read More2023
