Dornick Hills Golf & Country Club
Dornick Hills Golf & Country Club
519 Country Club Rd
Ardmore, OK 73401-1019
United States
Overview
Dornick Hills was the first course Perry Maxwell built, and it is the course where he tinkered and honed his architectural chops while switching careers to golf design (he was previously in banking). It was his home course, as he lived on property, and owned the land it's built on. The design retains a charming, experimental, rough-edged character that's been polished out of other courses like Southern Hills and Colonial, as fine as they are, through endless rounds of investment and improvement. Over the decades, Dornick Hills, in the southern part of the state near the Texas border, rarely had the resources to invest in upgrades, so it still feels (and plays) like it might have in the 1920s and '30s. Nevertheless, it remains a fine, extraordinarily distinctive collection of early Maxwell holes on a unique property that features one of golf's great holes, the par-5 16th, with a green on top of a 40-foot high sheer cliff wall. Tom Doak and his team at Renaissance Golf renovated the course in 2021, clearing brush and trying to imitate the putting contours that Maxwell originally built, though no existing plans remain for what those might have looked like. How close they got will never be known, but their work and the overall setting make Dornick Hills a must-see museum piece for fans of Maxwell and classical era architecture.
About
Awards
ranking history:
Best in State: Top 5 in state 1979-'83 & 1987-'93. Top 10, 1997-'01, 2005 & 2025-'26. Top 15, 2023-'24.
Previous ranking: 13th.
2025-'26 ranking: 10th.
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
“Perry Maxwell's first design and resting place has incredible routing, weaving through undulating topography, and incorporating streams, ponds, and natural rock walls and rock formations. There are a number of risk-reward holes where shot options are high, including the drivable short par 4 16th hole with backboarded green perched high above the fairway and bunkers, but very close to a considerable dropoff to the following fairway. The par 5 16th's rockwall is another risk-reward, not just for the long driver who might go for it, but also for anyone laying up. The wall is 40 ft tall and the green above, while large, is elevated against the surrounds, creating a very challenging shot. High scoring on the shot options elsewhere throughout the course"
Read More2025
Review
“Perry Maxwell's first design and resting place has incredible routing, weaving through undulating topography, and incorporating streams, ponds, and natural rock walls and rock formations. There are a number of risk-reward holes where shot options are high, including the drivable short par 4 16th hole with backboarded green perched high above the fairway and bunkers, but very close to a considerable dropoff to the following fairway. The par 5 16th's rockwall is another risk-reward, not just for the long driver who might go for it, but also for anyone laying up. The wall is 40 ft tall and the green above, while large, is elevated against the surrounds, creating a very challenging shot. High scoring on the shot options elsewhere throughout the course. With it's routing and classic design features, some generous benefactors could adopt this course, and turn it into a top 200 course again with the right conditioning."
Read More2025
Review
“The renovation has brought life back to Perry Maxwell's first golf course. Green complexes restored requiring precise placement to greens to score well, and risk-reward is abundant throughout the course with its short Par 5s and driveable Par 4, however, the risk may not be worth the reward on the Par 5 16th "Cliff" hole with danger lurking below and over the green. Very neat piece of property especially knowing this was Maxwell's first design and he's buried in a ridge above the 7th fairway. Tree removal really has changed stuffy corridors to more open areas allowing for more width and angles into greens."
Read More2023
Review
“Good classic design with nice elevation changes and interesting green complexes. A short course by modern standards that rewards shot-making and accuracy. Worth playing if in the area."
Read More2022
Review
“The Perry Maxwell primer!"
Read More2022
Review
“Greens renovation has made this historical course enjoyable to play, The general area of the golf course is not up to the quality of the greens and bunker complexes, Still a nice walk and an interesting variety of shots,"
Read More2022
Review
“The overall course condition was poor. Fairways, rough and tee boxes were in very poor shape for a course of Dornick Hills stature or any course one would consider rating. The staff indicated they had been in a prolonged drought. Regardless even with what was to be an upgraded irrigation system, you couldn't tell that they had the ability to even water tee boxes and around greens. The renovation work that Tom Doak did was fine. Greens were much improved in both condition and complexity. Lots of excellent subtle contours on the new green complexes rather than the previous dramatic slopes many of the previous greens had. There were still a few holes with more dramatic sloping, but overall he seemed to have "softened" the greens in terms of sloping. The new green complexes will make for many solid pin placements and force the player to hit to smaller spots while paying close attention to the pitch of the green from various approach angles. Run offs around the greens would have been a great design element, but course conditioning around the greens prohibited that from happening to the extent possible. Bunkering around the greens and in the fairways was effective, appropriate, and in very good condition. The fairway bunkers on the 16th (Cliff Hole) were outstanding additions to that hole. The routing changes made on holes #1 and #2, which were two of the most significant routing changes were both adversely affected by the condition of the course and the practice facility which really encroached on the first fairway from a playability standpoint. The other significant routing change involved the 11th hole. The added bunkering (fairway and greens) and the completely new green complex, made for a very good par 4 hole, especially when played into a prevailing south wind. In closing, I was disappointed not so much in the work that Doak led, but rather in the overall condition of the course since the renovation was completed. My hope is that perhaps the club is still trying to adjust to the work that had been done, and perhaps in the late spring and summer of 2023 things will be much improved. This wonderful gem in southern Oklahoma is worthy of a return to its previous glory."
Read More2022
