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Oakmont Country Club: This Month's Featured Course
 Our current Featured Project is the renovation work completed at Oakmont Country Club, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Oakmont will host the 107th U.S. Open
(www.usopen.com) in June 2007. The club is rich with history, as it has hosted more major Championships than any other in the U.S., including seven U.S. Opens, five U.S. Amateurs, three PGA Championships, and one U.S. Women’s Open. The course was designed by Henry Fownes in 1903. Mr. Fownes’ only design still stands today as one of the most penal and challenging tests of golf in the U.S. with its narrow fairways, thick rough, 200 bunkers, and lightning fast greens.
McDonald & Sons was hired in 2005 to respectfully add or rebuild new tees on more than half of the holes, reconstruct all bunkers, rebuild drainage ditches, and extend a couple greens to their original size and shape. We worked along side architect Tom Marzolf (of Fazio Golf Course Designers), John Zimmers (Oakmont CC’s Golf Course Superintendent), and the club’s maintenance staff to complete the renovation. With the additions by McDonald & Sons and the hard work of the golf course staff, the course is prepared to host the world's elite golfers in what promises to be one of the toughest tests of golf all year. The major tasks of this renovation project were:
Constructing New Tees
Because of the greater distances today’s players can achieve, back tees were relocated or added in an effort to lengthen and make the course play true to Fownes’ original design intent. Other tees were also rebuilt for member enjoyment. Care was taken to make sure these tee additions blended in with their natural surrounds. Over 200 yards was added to the course, which now plays around 7,220 yards.
Rebuilding the Bunkers
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Another task McDonald & Sons took on was the renovation of all the bunkers of the course. All bunkers received new drainage and sand, and many bunker floors had to be deepened because of the accumulation of sand over the years. Greenside bunkers were restored to the original shapes and locations of Henry Fownes. A few of the fairway bunkers were also relocated to come more into play for today’s game.
One fairway bunker that had to be redone was the famous “church pews” bunker. This bunker sits between the 3rd and 4th fairways and is one of the most distinct bunkers in all of golf. McDonald & Sons met the challenge of restoring this bunker by staying true to its original form, while updating it to challenge today’s players. The floor was lowered and two pews added on each end of the bunker. The pews were capped with old bunker sand and sodded with fine fescue to achieve the rugged look that Fownes intended.
Rebuilding the Drainage Ditches
Another feature of Oakmont that had to be updated was the drainage ditches. Since the course does not have water hazards, these ditches serve as functional hazards that provide a great source of drainage for the course. Ditches were deepened and cleaned out to a consistent depth, capped with old bunker sand, and planted with fine fescue grass to again achieve a rugged look. Under-drainage was installed to keep the ditches dry and allow playability.
Extending the Greens on #2, 17
The stage is set for the 2007 U.S. Open to be an unforgettable event that will prove to be a challenge for the world’s best golfers. McDonald & Sons, Inc. was proud to be a part of the renovation team, whose work will play a considerable role in the championship. Our knowledge and commitment to quality brought us to Oakmont, as well as many other Top 100 Courses.
Other
McDonald & Sons clients to host tournaments are:
What
will be our next Featured Course?
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Baltimore
Country Club (East):
Baltimore, Maryland
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Check
back soon to see this feature story...
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