At 10 a.m., a fire broke out in the clubhouse of Oakland Hills Country Club, Michigan, for unknown reasons. Despite the large-scale deployment of the fire brigade, the fire could not be extinguished in time, so that the roof collapsed. A firefighter described the clubhouse as “almost a total loss” several hours after the fire broke out.
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 US Opens and two US Senior Opens. With such a history of the club, irreplaceable memorabilia from golf tournaments as well as works of art accumulated in the clubhouse, all of which were sadly destroyed by the uncontrollable fire. The clubhouse was completed in 1922 and was the pride of the golf club. The next two US Women’s Opens are planned for 2031 and 2042 at the Oakland Hills Country Club, for which the South Course was 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 no member or staff were injured, we lost our iconic clubhouse,” said club president Rick Palmer of the clubhouse burn. Despite the sad incident, he is looking ahead and wants to pay special tribute to all those who were 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 in the history of American golf,” said Hanse. Former golf pro Andy North describes the situation as “incomprehensible”, but is certain that a “great clubhouse” will be built on the traditional golf course again.
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