Inside Oak Hill Country Club

<em>This week hosting its third US PGA Championship, Oak Hill Country Club is undoubtedly one of the most historic facilities in the United States. <strong>europeantour.com</strong> gives you the lowdown on the famous Rochester layout…</em>

Oak Hill, located in the northernmost reaches of New York State close to the Canadian border, has a rich and storied history, inextricably entwined with the premier golf events held in America.

When the club’s East Course hosted the Senior US PGA Championship in 2008, it became the only facility in the United States to have hosted the six big men’s tournaments held stateside, namely the US PGA Championship, the US Open, the US Senior Open, the US Amateur Open and The Ryder Cup.

This year playing host to the 95th edition of the US PGA Championship, Oak Hill also hosted this event in 2003, when Shaun Micheel prevailed, and 1980, when Jack Nicklaus won his fifth US PGA.

It has three times hosted the US Open: in 1956 (won by Cary Middlecoff), 1968 (Lee Trevino) and 1989 (Curtis Strange), while in 1995 The Ryder Cup was won here by Bernard Gallacher’s Europe.

It is interesting to look at the scoring averages on the East Course in the two previous US PGAs to have been held at Oak Hill. In 1980, when Nicklaus won $60,000 for his troubles, the Golden Bear finished with an aggregate total of 274 while the course average for the week was 74.82.

In 2003, Micheel’s year, meanwhile, the course average was marginally lower at 74.31, while the relative unknown won $1,080,000 with a total of 276.

<strong>KEY COURSE FACTS</strong>

<strong>Course Architect</strong><br />Donald Ross, 1926

<strong>Course record</strong><br />64 – Ben Hogan and Curtis Strange

<strong>Course Manager</strong><br />Jeffrey Corcoran

<strong>Par/Length</strong><br />70; 7,163 yards<br /><br /><strong>Shortest hole/Longest hole<br />
</strong>Sixth - 175 yards/13th - 598 yards

<strong>Trees</strong><br />Countless pine, maples and more, while the number of oaks that bestow the club with its name is estimated somewhere in the region of 80,000

<strong>Bunkers</strong><br />84

<strong>Water hazards</strong><br />2

<strong>Rounds per year</strong><br />20,000

<strong>Acres of fairway</strong><br />27

<strong>Acres of rough</strong><br />70

<strong>Grasses</strong><br />Tees/Fairways/Greens: entgrass; poa annua<br />Rough: Kentucky bluegrass; fescue

<strong>Wildlife</strong><br />Blue heron, Canada goose, coyote, deer, fish, fox, groundhog, hawk, mole, muskrat, rabbit, raccoon, red fox, snakes, squirrel, turkey, turtle, woodpecker plus hundreds of different bird species…