Is It a Classic Ruined?

Like many prominent pre-World War II courses, Oak Hill Country Club is often cited as a classic work of a famous Golden Age architect, in this case Donald Ross. But 77 years after the layout’s 1926 opening, is such billing still accurate?

Ross laid out all 36 of the club’s holes, his plans showing a 6,538-yard, par-71 East course flanked by the frequently overlooked 6,503-yard, par-71 West course. Both were considered strong, regionally prominent layouts in their day, though certainly not in the class of such Ross standards as Seminole, Pinehurst No. 2 or Oakland Hills. But beginning with the 1949 U.S. Amateur, Oak Hill, located in Rochester, N.Y., wanted to be host of national championships, resulting in the East undergoing nearly half a century of changes on a scale much larger than many observers may realize.

The first great wave of modernization came in preparation for the 1956 U.S. Open, when Robert Trent Jones lengthened nine holes, removed more than 40 of Ross’ bunkers, dramatically expanded many others and added about 40 new ones. Jones also made minor alterations in preparation for the 1968 U.S. Open, though his changes would pale in comparison to those soon to follow.

By the mid-1970s, having fallen out of favor as a major championship site, Oak Hill took drastic measures, retaining George Fazio and his nephew, Tom, to toughen things further. Their work in 1976 resulted in new green complexes at Nos. 15 and 18 and new holes at the fifth and sixth. At the 15th, a 180-yard par three whose bunker-ringed design was a Ross favorite, a new putting surface was built, angling left to right behind a man-made pond. The revised 18th and new sixth looked similarly contemporary, but it was the obliteration of the old sixth -- a 440-yard par-four Lee Trevino said was “one of the best holes I ever played” -- that caused the most concern.

Ross’ sixth was the epitome of strategic design, tempting the player to drive dangerously close to Allen’s Creek on the right to minimize the hazard’s intrusion on their second. The Fazio version (now the fifth hole) is about 35 yards shorter but has a green flush against another modern pond, making the hole more penal than strategic.

“It’s hard to believe that anybody would tear up one of the best holes in the country in order to make a redesign scheme work,” wrote architect Tom Doak of the changes in 1996, “but it was done here.”

Not every alteration to Oak Hill has been as obvious. Like most older layouts, the East course has seen the gradual reshaping of nearly all of its putting surfaces, some to accommodate renovated or new bunkers, others through the inadvertent alteration of mowing lines over many years. Another less apparent difference stems from several generations of tree growth; today many of the strategic options inherent to Ross’ wide fairways have been minimized by trees planted -- by the thousands -- well after the course’s opening.

When one combines these more subtle changes with the new holes, new hazards and wholesale alterations of Ross’ green complexes, it can be argued that fewer than five shots per round present challenges reasonably consistent with those originally created by the Scotsman. Or, as normally staid Golf Digest asked in its preview of Oak Hill’s 1980 PGA Championship: “Have they ruined a classic course to make it tougher?”

By any measure, the East course has become more difficult. Despite the four holes in one on the new par-three sixth in one day during the 1989 U.S. Open, the modern layout is long, tight and demanding -- important traits for any major championship course. But does this emphasis on difficulty come at too high an architectural price?

Many courses, both championship venues and lesser-known clubs, have felt the need to modernize to keep up with equipment advances. Such “tuneups” at sites of major championships have become as commonplace as the installation of bleachers and a shortage of member parking during tournament week. Naturally, such updating represents an attempt at keeping a layout “current,” and it is interesting to note that such clubs generally do experience a bump in their national rankings in the aftermath of playing host to a major. But here is a ratings-oriented fact that might be more pertinent: Of the 22 Golden Age layouts currently ranked among Golf magazine’s top 25 American courses, two -- Augusta National and Oakland Hills in Michigan -- have engaged in the sort of thorough post-war transformation undertaken at Oak Hill. Some, such as Pebble Beach or the Country Club, have made a few substantive changes, and others, such as Pinehurst No. 2 and Winged Foot, have simply added length while making few strategic alterations. Still others, such as Pine Valley, Cypress Point, Seminole and the National Golf Links of America, have ignored the big money of major championship play altogether, sparing their legendary layouts the character-reducing changes so common to more frequent tournament venues.

And their point, it seems, is a good one: Is it worth altering a time-honored classic simply to “keep up with the Joneses?” Does it make sense to permanently disfigure any fine layout simply to accommodate four days of professional golf played once every 10 or 15 years?

The elite among American courses have answered “no” to both of these questions. At places such as Oak Hill however, where decades of alteration have made classic architecture more a historical apparition than a playable entity, the major championship beat goes on.

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Daniel Wexler is a Southern California-based golf writer and author of “Lost Links: Forgotten Treasures of Golf’s Golden Age.”

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

HOLE BY HOLE

A look at Oak Hill Country Club, site of the 85th PGA Championship, which starts today:

NO. 1, 460 YARDS, PAR 4

The tee box has been moved back 20 yards, but a big drive can catch a slope at 260 yards and roll another 40 yards. Still a tough tee shot, with out-of-bounds down the right side and trees on the left.

NO. 2, 401 YARDS, PAR 4

A long iron off the tee will keep the ball short of deep bunkers on both sides of the fairway. Approach shots will need to stay below the hole, although a bunker guards the right front section of the green. The putting surface is quick from behind the hole.

NO. 3, 214 YARDS, PAR 3

Deep bunkers guard both sides of this small green. Very difficult to get up-and-down from long and right. This usually ranks as one of the toughest holes at Oak Hill.

NO. 4, 570 YARDS, PAR 5

The best birdie chance at Oak Hill, reachable in two by the majority of players. The key is a long tee shot with a fade over two deep fairway bunkers, with out-of-bounds on the right. Anything in the bunker will leave 160 yards for a third shot. Hole location, on a narrow knob in the back center, is tough.

NO. 5, 428 YARDS, PAR 4

Tee shot must travel through a chute of trees for 215 yards, then avoid a creek that winds into the landing area at the 250-yard mark. Heavy rough on the left side. A good drive will leave a short iron into a green fronted by the same creek. Should be more bogeys than birdies on this hole.

NO. 6, 175 YARDS, PAR 3

Four players made a hole in one during the first 90 minutes of the ’89 U.S. Open, and two players made an ace during the Ryder Cup in 1995. The green has a deep bunker on the right side and a creek that winds around the green on the left and front. Back right is the toughest hole location.

NO. 7, 461 YARDS, PAR 4

About 30 yards added, making it a tight driving hole with the fairway about 22 yards wide. A creek on the right side comes close to the fairway. A safe drive will leave a mid-iron into one of the smallest greens on the course.

NO. 8, 428 YARDS, PAR 4

A straight hole, with fairway bunkers on the left side that are so deep, players might not be able to reach the green. Trees loom on the right side of the fairway. The green is relatively large, offering some interesting hole locations, especially when placed in back right.

NO. 9, 452 YARDS, PAR 4

An uphill, dogleg right that has been beefed up with an extra 35 yards. Any drive that misses right will go into deep rough. The left side slopes away, kicking drives into rough. The fairway is 25 yards wide and looks much narrower. Approach is uphill to a green that is smaller in the back.

NO. 10, 429 YARDS, PAR 4

Downhill hole that plays shorter than its yardage, although some players will hit iron off the tee because a small green requires approach shots to be struck from the fairway. Slopes in the fairway make the landing area tighter than it looks, especially with a bunker on the left and a creek on the right. The green has a small slope in the middle that makes it tough to get close to the hole.

NO. 11, 226 YARDS, PAR 3

An extra 30 yards has turned one of the easier par threes at Oak Hill into one of the most difficult. A creek winds to the right of the green, which is surrounded by bunkers. A typical left-to-right wind will make it tough to get it close on some days.

NO. 12, 372 YARDS, PAR 4

A subtle downhill slope will allow some to get within 50 yards of the green, although trees guard both sides of the fairway. The smart play is to use a long iron off the tee, followed by a wedge or short iron.

NO. 13, 598 YARDS, PAR 5

Tough to reach in two, but one of the big hitters will be able to run his second shot onto the green. Drive should be kept short of the creek that bisects the fairway at 300 yards. The creek meanders down the right side, and fairway bunkers right and trees to the left make the layup no picnic. Approach should be kept below the hole, because green is quick from back to front.

NO. 14, 323 YARDS, PAR 4

A short par four will tempt some to go for the green. Most players will opt for a long iron to get in the fairway for a second shot that is uphill to a two-tiered green.

NO. 15, 181 YARDS, PAR 3

Downhill tee shot to a narrow green. The biggest fear is water on the right side, especially when the wind blows in that direction. Two bunkers guard the left side.

NO. 16, 439 YARDS, PAR 4

Most players can carry tee shots far enough to catch a slope and pick up an additional 30 yards. Fairway is narrow in the landing area, with a slope on the left that kicks most balls into the deep rough. Green is guarded by a bunker to the right.

NO. 17, 495 YARDS, PAR 4

Start of brutal finish. Trees protect both sides of fairway, and the ideal drive moves from left to right. Undulating green makes it difficult to get the approach close to the hole with a long iron, and the green is well-protected by bunkers on both sides. Hole usually gives up the fewest number of birdies.

NO. 18, 482 YARDS, PAR 4

Best tee shot is left-to-right on the dogleg right. Deep bunkers are on the right, and tall trees catch anything to the left. The green is set right at the base of a steep hill, so anything short will not make it to the green. This is where Nick Faldo saved par from 95 yards to help Europe win the Ryder Cup in 1995.

Associated Press