BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI — Oakland Hills Nation Membership has opened an imposing metal constructing to switch the 100-year-old clubhouse that was destroyed by hearth greater than 4 years in the past.
The clubhouse overlooks the South Course, which Ben Hogan known as the “monster” after successful the 1951 U.S. Open. The clubhouse is the centerpiece of the challenge, which value almost $100 million, and appears just like the earlier facility, together with a 10-pole lanai.
“What’s behind me is new, however what it represents is timeless,” Oakland Hills common supervisor Mark Ray stated Monday whereas standing in entrance of the Hogan Lounge, a dark-paneled room that connects to a cocktail bar. “This clubhouse isn’t just 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. Situated roughly 20 miles from Detroit, the membership has hosted quite a few different vital skilled and novice occasions, together with three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup.
The membership has created a brand new approach to honor previous champions by making a glass case containing pictures, golf equipment, footwear and different memorabilia. These circumstances honor gamers resembling Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Andy North, who received his second U.S. Open at Oakland Hills in 1985.
About 10 worthwhile artifacts had been misplaced within the hearth, however the stock was rebuilt thanks to assist from former gamers like Nicklaus and an public sale.
Surveillance digital camera footage confirmed upkeep staff utilizing propane torches earlier than the fireplace ripped by way of the clubhouse. The brand new clubhouse was constructed as a part of a challenge that included new inexperienced house and floor services, a apply vary and infrastructure enhancements.
