BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI — Oakland Hills Nation Membership has opened an imposing metal constructing to exchange the 100-year-old clubhouse that was destroyed by fireplace greater than 4 years in the past.
The clubhouse overlooks the South Course, which Ben Hogan known as the “monster” after profitable the 1951 U.S. Open. The clubhouse is the centerpiece of the undertaking, which value almost $100 million, and appears much like the earlier facility, together with a 10-pole lanai.
“What’s behind me is new, however what it represents is timeless,” Oakland Hills normal supervisor Mark Ray mentioned Monday whereas standing in entrance of the Hogan Lounge, a dark-paneled room that connects to a cocktail bar. “This clubhouse is not only a rebuild; it has been purposefully reimagined, guided by historical past and impressed by the generations that got here earlier than us.
“It feels acquainted as a result of that’s what it was meant to be.”
Oakland Hills has hosted six U.S. Opens, with a seventh scheduled for 2034. Positioned roughly 20 miles from Detroit, the membership has hosted quite a few different important skilled and newbie occasions, together with three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup.
The membership has created a brand new technique to honor previous champions by making a glass case containing photographs, golf equipment, footwear and different memorabilia. These instances honor gamers comparable to Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Andy North, who gained his second U.S. Open at Oakland Hills in 1985.
About 10 precious artifacts have been misplaced within the fireplace, however the stock was rebuilt thanks to assist from former gamers like Nicklaus and an public sale.
Surveillance digicam footage confirmed upkeep staff utilizing propane torches earlier than the hearth ripped by means of the clubhouse. The brand new clubhouse was constructed as a part of a undertaking that included new inexperienced area and floor amenities, a observe vary and infrastructure enhancements.
