Oakland Hills Has Closed

Oakland Hills Has Closed

No, not THAT Oakland Hills. The Oakland Hills near Battle Creek.

I was on my way to a Senior PGA Championship media day in Benton Harbor when I noticed this sign along the highway.

Oakland Hills. Farewell and Thank You.

Their website says

We’ve completed our 50 year mission of presenting “The Best Greens Anywhere” and we’ll miss you!

I played Oakland Hills in July 2020, and enjoyed my round. You can read the Oakland Hills review at the link.

My conclusion:

Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Hills is internationally famous. Oakland Hills near Battle Creek? Not so much.

That said, Oakland Hills Battle Creek is still worth playing. It’s a pleasant parklands course that’s well-cared-for, and boasts the “best greens anywhere.”

From Battle Creek Enquirer

Reader Brian K. has pointed me to a real estate page for the course, listing its 120 acres for sale for $749,000.

Some more Googling has led me to a 2017 Battle Creek Enquirer piece reflecting on the life of Oakland Hills’ owner George Vello Nickolaou, who passed away March 19, 2017. An immigrant from a war-torn Greece, he was a serial entrepreneur, but it seems as though the course was one of the loves of his life.

Nickolaou’s most notable work is for the design and operation of Oakland Hills Golf Club in Emmett Township, not to be confused with Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills. It is an 18-hole golf course consistently honored throughout its history as one of the area’s best.

It opened in 1973 near Battle Creek’s Sackrider Farms property.

Nickolaou’s most notable work is for the design and operation of Oakland Hills Golf Club in Emmett Township, not to be confused with Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills. It is an 18-hole golf course consistently honored throughout its history as one of the area’s best.

It opened in 1973 near Battle Creek’s Sackrider Farms property.

Battle Creek Enquirer, March 22, 2017

Firekeepers hotel, which is only two miles away, should buy the place and operate it as an amenity for their guests.