Golf Course Architecture - Issue 65, July 2021

63 EYEBROW – NAME OF COURSE of the fairway. No matter the tee shot, the infinity edge green presents further demands of precision given how the surface falls off in multiple directions and makes perimeter hole locations a very dicey matter. When Oakland Hills South reopened in early July 2021, director of agronomy Phil Cuffare said the membership was “awestruck” by the restored course – “as if they had gone through a powerful emotional experience.” At 7,509 yards (77 rating/145 slope) the newly restored course is only marginally longer than its predecessor (7,445 yards, 76.9 rating/145 slope). The major difference is how well the revitalised South course connects organically to the ground. Players can now scan the horizon line and spot options and pathways that had not revealed themselves in 70 years. For too long, for example, the opening hole, a lengthy par four, played like a sand-filled minefield that slowed down play to the point where golfers awaiting their tee time were backed up from the start. Now, the restored ground allows for players to get a running start on the course without golfers feeling choked. Perhaps the most dramatic new moment in a round comes on the new back tee of the par-five second hole. What used to be a desultory straightway par five of 529 yards (a drive and a middle- or short-iron for elite players) now can play 592 yards from an entirely new elevated back tee swung way to the right and actually sharing ground with the back tee for the par-three ninth hole. From there, the new tee shot on the second hole calls for a carry of 260 yards across a diagonal bunker complex that echoes Ross’s original plan. What used to be straight ahead, army golf with punishment awaiting wayward play has now (once again) become an exercise in width, angles and optional paths. No wonder the club’s PGA head professional, Steve Brady, sounded so enthusiastic after his maiden round on the restored South course. “I played it this morning,” he wrote in an email, “and it was one of the best days of my life on a golf course… And I have played in five majors.” Chances are with this restoration, there will be more majors ahead for Oakland Hills South. GCA 160 -acre golf course site 20.8 miles of HDPE irrigation pipe 2,096 irrigation heads 103 bunkers ( 200,000 square feet) 3,628 tons of sand 144,000 square feet of greens (was 106,000 square feet) 8,758 tons of greens mix 3,482 tons of greens gravel 38 acres of fairway (was 32) 13 acres of bentgrass sod 42 acres of rough sod $12 million cost In numbers – the Oakland Hills South course restoration Hanse has removed front bunkers on a dozen holes, including the eighteenth, to open entrances and recreate Ross’s ground game options Photo: Larry Lambrecht