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It certainly wasn't the
stuff that picture postcards are made of, but it was a functional,
satisfactory piece of property, those 85 acres comfortably nestled next
to the Genesee River that served as home to Oak Hill when club was
formally incorporated in 1901.
The leased land was mostly barren, there were only nine
golf holes laid out, and the clubhouse was a converted farmhouse lit by
kerosene lamps. However, for the 137 members who began playing this
intriguing sport, which was relatively new in America, it was a haven
of social activity and recreation, and it was all theirs.
Over the next 20 years, the members - whose original
financial commitment to the club consisted of a $25 initiation fee and
yearly dues of $20 - watched with glee as Oak Hill grew to become one
of the centerpieces of Rochester, a clear reflection of the prosperity
the city was enjoying.
In 1905 the members decided to buy the property at a cost
of $34,000; in 1910 another nine holes were constructed; in 1911 a new
clubhouse was built; and by the end of World War I, Oak Hill was
churning out some of the finest golfers in Western New York, a
testament to the increasing maturity and difficulty of the golf course.
With its membership growing, golf gaining rabid popularity,
and the course beginning to take on some character through careful
landscaping and nurturing, Oak Hill was a club its members - who
counted some of the most powerful men in the city's history - were
extremely proud of.
Thus, in 1921, when the University of Rochester first
proposed a land swap whereby the university would build its new "River"
campus on the banks of the Genesee where Oak Hill was situated, with
the club being relocated to a 355-acre plot of farm land in the town of
Pittsford, the members were understandably skeptical.
However, these men did not achieve their lofty financial,
business and community status without being blessed with intelligence,
foresight and civic awareness. Though they loved their club, they
recognized a golden opportunity that would ultimately benefit Oak Hill,
the university and the city.
The university, originally located on Prince Street, was
growing in stature, not only locally but nationally and
internationally. It needed an expansion, especially after talk that
Kodak's George Eastman, the school's most generous and influential
patron, was interested in funding the building of a music school and a
medical center. By allowing the small arts and sciences college a
chance to grow into the prestigious institution it is to day, the
quality of life in Rochester would only improve.
  As
for Oak Hill, moving to Pittsford presented an opportunity to start
anew, and the club could do so with the university chipping in $360,000
as part of the deal. With its acreage more than quadrupled, there was
room for two 18-hole courses that would be designed by world-famous
architect, Donald Ross.
Also, a stately Tudor-style clubhouse would be built
providing first-class amenities and accommodations for the members,
their families and guests. It was a win-win situation, like trading Joe
DiMaggio for Ted Williams, and final ratification of the historic
agreement came in April, 1924.
The members continued to play on the old course while the
Pittsford site was being prepared, and they officially moved to their
new home in 1926. It was then that Dr. John R. Williams surveyed the
new playground and concluded that Ross' wonderful designs would be
enhanced by trees - thousands upon thousands of oaks, maples,
evergreens and elms, but of course, mostly oaks.
The majority of the Pittsford land was barren, much the way
the original riverside Oak Hill site was in 1901. The soil had been
beaten badly by more than 100 years of farming, and there were very few
trees, giving the two courses a cheerless look to them. So Dr.
Williams, already a leading research physician who had pioneered the
use of insulin to treat diabetes, took up botany and horticulture as a
hobby aimed at transforming Oak Hill into the landmark it has become.
He once said, "The Almighty was the greatest landscape
architect of all. It was his plan to have oaks at Oak Hill." And Dr.
Williams implemented that plan. He said he lost count at 75,000, the
number of seedlings he planted, and as you walk the grounds of Oak Hill
today, you can't help but gaze skyward at the majestic trees that
dominate the landscape. They soar to the heavens, lending both an
unmatched beauty and a treacherous detriment to one's scorecard.
It boggles the mind to think that nearly all of these
wonders began as little acorns - collected from all over the world - in
the small backyard garden of Dr. Williams' home at 388 Monroe Avenue.
As the trees began to grow, it became obvious that the
combination of Ross' and Williams' skills had created a masterpiece,
and the time to put it to the test arrived in 1934. As a dual
celebration of Rochester's Centennial and the 20th anniversary of
native son, Walter Hagen's first U.S. Open triumph, the Hagen Centennial
Open was contested on the East Course, the more demanding of the two
courses. Leo Deigel posted a four-round total of 276 and took home the
first prize of $600.
 Seven
years later, the Times-Union newspaper put up a $5,000 purse, and a
star-studded field of 138 players came to town, led by Hagen, Sam Snead,
Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen. The tournament belonged to Snead who shot
277 and won by seven over Hogan. Despite the ease of his victory, the
course had tested Snead, and he said, "This course is certainly one of
the finest I have ever seen, fit for either an Open or a PGA."
Hogan loved the course, too, and he vowed to return in
1942. He did, and he won, shooting a 64 in the first round, which
remains the course record. His 278 total was three better than Craig
Wood.
By now, Oak Hill was gaining momentum and recognition
nationwide, and its reputation as one of the best courses in America
was cemented when the USGA decided to hold the 1949 U.S. Amateur there.
Charlie Coe of Oklahoma City defeated Rufus King of Texas 11-and-10,
and when the event concluded, Joseph Dey, then executive director of
the USGA, asked of Oak Hill, "Where have you been for 20 years?"
The USGA returned in 1956 with its biggest tournament, the
U.S. Open, and Dr. Cary Middlecoff outlasted Hogan, who missed a
30-inch putt on the 71st hole and ultimately lost by one stroke.
Twelve years hence, the Open was back and Lee Trevino won
his first professional tournament, becoming the first man in history to
shoot four rounds of sub-70 golf in an Open.
Jack Nicklaus joined the list of Hall of Fame winners on
the East Course when he rolled to a record seven-stroke victory in the
1980 PGA Championship. Miller Barber was victorious in the 1984 U.S.
Senior Open and Curtis Strange made history when he won the 1989 Open
at Oak Hill, becoming the first man to repeat as champion since Hogan
put back-to-back victories together in 1950 and 1951.
Six years later, 1995 Ryder Cup was contested over three
days on the East Course. It was blessed with yet more dazzling golf and
another nerve-jangling finish. It was a tale of more battling
comebacks but, unlike at The Belfry two years earlier, this time it was
the Europeans who snatched a dramatic victory over the final holes. It
was left to Irishman Philip Walton to seal the glory. Three up, with
three to play against Jay Haas, Walton lost the next two but amazingly
secured victory even with a bogey five on the last. The Ryder Cup
trophy returned on the Concorde to Europe.
In 1998, 50 years after its first Amateur, the tournament
returned, having not been contested in New York State since it was at
Oak Hill in 1949. Hank Kuehne wowed the massive galleries with booming
drives and won on the 35th hole over Tom McKnight.
While the professional majors certainly carry honor and
prestige, Oak Hill's membership was every bit as excited about playing
host to the finest amateur players in the world. After all, tournament
chairman and Oak Hill member Bill Westerfeld said, "We are about
amateur golf, that's the game that we play, so to have the national
championship is really pretty terrific".
The 2003 PGA championship featured 100 of the best players
in the world. Contested over the pristinely groomed East Course, it
provided a challenge that the best golfers in the world could not
conquer. Tiger Woods proclaimed the East Course the hardest, fairest
golf course the players have ever played and Ernie Ells agreed saying,
"It is the best, fairest and toughest championship golf course I've
ever played in all my years as a tour professional." Shaun Micheel was
the eventual champion and one of only three people to tour all 72 holes
under par.
How good is Oak Hill? In the five stroke play championships
contested at Oak Hill, only 10 players have been under par. Not too
bad for a grand old tract of land that has evolved into one of the
golf’s hidden gems.
The 2008 Senior PGA Championship was a true test of golf
for the world's greatest senior players. Yielding only 12 sub-par
rounds over some grueling spring weather, the golf course once again
was the champion. However there was another great champion that week
in Jay Haas. His 7-over was the highest winning score in relation to
par in the 69-year history of Senior PGA, shattering the previous high
of 2-over set by Sam Snead in 1970 at PGA National at Palm Beach
Gardens, Fla.
Haas entered Sunday at 3
over, tied with Hometown favorite Jeff Sluman and a shot behind Bernard
Langer. On Saturday, Haas was five shots off the lead when he carded
an eagle-2 on No. 17 by holing a shot from 162 yards to vault into
contention. His shot-making wasn't as magical on Sunday, and he
particularly struggled with his putter. Haas missed a 3-footer for par
on No. 11, and a 12-footer for par on 17. Haas took the outright lead
when he holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 5th. With the rest of
the field collapsing behind him, Haas led by as many as three shots,
but fell back after missing a 15-foot par putt on 13. Memories
flooded back to his final match of the 1995 Ryder Cup matches as he
reached the 18th tee.
Oak Hill is no stranger
to wild finishes and late-round collapses. This was the place where
the European Team rallied from a 2-point deficit on the final day to
beat the United States 14-13 in the 1995 Ryder Cup. And Haas played a
role in that loss, muffing the 18th hole to lose his singles match to
Philip Walton, the decisive point for European victory.
This championship
allowed Oak Hill to lay claim that no other golf club in the world can
make. It is the only club to have hosted the PGA Championship, the
Ryder Cup, the United States Open, the United States Amateur, the
United States Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championship! And we did
this in only 24 years. Not a bad claim for a golf club in upstate New
York!
The future holds yet another championship. The great
relationship that has been fostered over the past 30 years between the
PGA of America and Oak Hill remains bright and the 2013 PGA
Championship will be contested over the East Course once again.
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