Oak Hill Country Club

Oak Hill Country Club is a country club located in Pittsford, New York, a suburb southeast of Rochester. Founded in 1901 and best known for its golf course, the club has hosted multiple major championships.

Oak Hill Country Club

Club information
Location in the United States
Location	Pittsford, New York
Established	1901
Type	Private
Total holes	36
Website	oakhillcc.com
East Course
Designed by	Donald J. Ross
Par	70
Length	7,145 yards (6,533 m)
Course rating	76.7
Slope rating	147 [1]
West Course
Designed by	Donald J. Ross
Par	71
Length	6,649 yards (6,080 m)
Course rating	72.3
Slope rating	127 [2]

The club has a rich history of golf, starting out in 1901 as only 9 holes on 85 acres (0.34 km²) on the banks of the Genesee River in Rochester. The clubhouse was no more than a converted farm house. However, at the time golf was a relatively new sport in America, and as popularity of the sport grew, so did the country club. By 1921 Oak Hill had doubled in size and had a new clubhouse, so when the University of Rochester proposed a land swap in 1921 it was a tough decision for members. However, the country club decided to take the university up on their offer, and moved the club to a 355-acre (1.44 km²) plot in nearby Pittsford. This decision ended up benefiting Oak Hill, the University of Rochester, and the City of Rochester. Now with triple the land of the old country club, Oak Hill had room for two 18-hole courses. Designed by Donald Ross, they became the East Course and the West Course. Local physician and civic personality John Ralston Williams cultivated oak trees and planted tens of thousands of them among the greens on what once was a farmed-out field.[3]

The East Course — which hosts the major tournaments — is built around the east branch of Allen Creek, which acts as a lateral hazard on 9 of its 18 holes. It has had several changes made over the years, first by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in the early 1960s and later (and more recently for the 1989 Open and 2003 PGA) by Tom Fazio and his design group. In 1941 the Times-Union, a local paper at the time, posted a $5,000 purse which attracted the greatest golfers in the world, including names such as Sam Snead, Walter Hagen, and Ben Hogan. This tournament, won by Snead, put Oak Hill on the national golf map. Several prestigious tournaments would be held at Oak Hill over the next 62 years, including six men's major championships.

In 2017, the East Course was ranked 20th in Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses.[4]