Golf’s Legendary Oakland Hills Country Club Badly Damaged by Morning Fire

It wasn't just a country club, but a place filled with golf history that went up in flames Thursday morning in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Firefighters from several areas were called  Thursday morning to put out a massive blaze at the clubhouse of the historic Oakland Hills Country Club. According to Fox 2 Detroit, the call came the massive fire came in around 10 a.m. As of the time of this story, the extent of damage to the 110,000-square-foot clubhouse is unknown, although there are reports circulating on social media that the building has been destroyed.

The multi-story clubhouse, which was finished in 1922, was filled with irreplaceable golf tournament memorabilia and art going back a century.  The club, which is home to two 18 hole coursed, has been the sight of many major tournaments and events.

The South Course has played host to 17 Major Championships including six U.S. Opens; two U.S. Senior Opens; U.S. Women’s Amateur; two U.S. Men’s Amateurs; Western Open; the Carling World Open; the 35th Ryder Cup in 2004; and three PGA Championships--including the 90th PGA Championship in 2008.

The club recently was awarded two U.S. Women's Opens, in 2031 and 2042. It also remains on the U.S. Golf Association's shortlist to be awarded another U.S. Open, for the first time since 1996 according to the Detroit News.

Oakland Hills Country Club was founded by Joseph Mack and Norval Hawkins at a meeting of 47 friends and associates at the Detroit Athletic Club on October 17, 1916.  It was decided that there will be 140 charter memberships at a cost of $250 apiece. The clubhouse was modeled after Mount Vernon, George Washington's plantation home in Fairfax County, Virginia.

No injures or cause for the fire have yet to be reported.

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