A view of the green at the sixteenth at Oakland Hills South.
I recently had the opportunity to play a round at the legendary Oakland Hills South, ahead of the 116th US Amateur Championship. The US Amateur will be contested August 15 – 21 on both the North and South Courses at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Both the North and South courses at Oakland Hills were designed by Donald Ross. The South opened in 1918; the North, in 1924. Robert Trent Jones renovated the South in 1950. Rees Jones updated it again in 2006. This year marks the centennial of the club.
The USGA has set up the South Course for a course rating of 77.5, and a slope of 146. The North will play to a 75.1/142. The South course will play at 7, 334 yards with a par of 70, The North will be at 6, 849 and also a par of 70.
The South course normally is a par 72, but two of the par fives were redesignated as lengthy par fours.
My Oakland Hills South Photo Tour is below, along with the yardages given by the USGA for the US Amateur Championship:
The first at Oakland Hills is a 431 yard par 4.
A view from the fairway of the 431 yard par 4 first
The second at Oakland Hills is a 525 yard par 5
A view from the fairway on Oakland Hills’ second.
The third at Oakland Hills South is a 192 yard par 3.
The fourth at Oakland Hills South is a 445 yard par 4.
A view of the green on Oakland HIlls’ South’s fourth hole.
The fifth at Oakland HIlls is a 486 yard par four.
A view of the fifth green from the fairway at Oakland HIlls South.
Oakland Hills’ sixth is a 387 yard par 4.
A view from the fairway on the sixth hole at Oakland Hills South.
A panorama of the course at Oakland HIlls South, from the sixth green.
The seventh at Oakland Hills is a 446 yard par 4.
The eighth at Oakland Hills South is a 485 yard par 4.
The ninth at Oakland Hills South is a 253 yard par 3.
The tenth at Oakland Hills is a 454 yard par 4.
Oakland Hills South’s eleventh is a 453 yard par 4.
A view of the approach and green at Oakland Hills’ eleventh
The 12th at Oakland HIlls is a 592 yard par 5.
A view of the greens complex from the 12th at Oakland Hills South.
The thirteenth at Oakland HIlls is a 154 yard par 3.
The fourteenth at Oakland Hills South is a 500 yard par 4.
The fifteenth at Oakland HIlls South is a 397 yard par 4.
A view of the green from the fairway at Oakland HIlls South Hole 15
The sixteenth at Oakland Hills is a 401 yard par four.
A view of the green at the sixteenth at Oakland Hills South.
A plaque commemorating the spot from which Gary Player hit is famous nine iron to the green at the 1972 PGA
The seventeenth at Oakland Hills South is a 237 yard par 3.
The eighteenth at Oakland HIlls South is a 496 yard par 4.
The Oakland Hills South Photo Tour was first published July 16, 2016.
