At 10 a.m., a fire broke out for unknown reasons in the clubhouse of the Oakland Hills Country Club in the US state of Michigan. Despite a large-scale firefighting effort, the fire could not be extinguished in time and the roof collapsed. Several hours after the fire broke out, a firefighter described the clubhouse as “almost a total loss”.
President Rick Palmer: “A painful day for Oakland Hills”
Oakland Hills Country Club has hosted 14 golf majors in the past, including six men’s U.S. Opens and two U.S. Senior Opens. With such a history of the club, irreplaceable golf tournament memorabilia as well as artwork accumulated in the clubhouse, all of which has now sadly been destroyed with the uncontrollable fire. The clubhouse was completed in 1922 and was the pride and joy of the golf club. The next two U.S. Women’s Opens are planned for 2031 and 2042 at the Oakland Hills Country Club, for which the South Course was even recently renovated by the two architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner.
Images from the current fire at Oakland Hills CC are chilling. Building dates back to 1922. Awful.
Video submitted from an individual on the ground: pic.twitter.com/UdiP8G0D7i — Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) February 17, 2022
“This is a painful day for Oakland Hills. While we know that none of the members or staff were injured, we have lost our iconic clubhouse,” Club President Rick Palmer said of the burnt clubhouse. Despite the sad incident, he said he was looking forward and wanted to pay special tribute to all those involved in the construction and maintenance of the building. Architect Gil Hanse also mourns the loss of the iconic Oakland Hills Country Club clubhouse. “This is a truly sad day for the history of American golf,” Hanse emphasised. Former professional golfer Andy North describes the situation as “unbelievable”, but is sure that a “great clubhouse” will be built again at the traditional golf course.
The clubhouse before the fire:
The clubhouse during the fire:
BREAKING: Oakland Hills Country Club clubhouse in Bloomfield Township catches on fire. More to come on @freep. pic.twitter.com/UAO8w6SSJm — Detroit Free Press (@freep) February 17, 2022