DETROIT — The Oakland Hills Country Club may have lost a clubhouse, but it saved a significant part of its historic trophy case and original artwork, a club official said Friday.
All of the items from the clubhouse's main trophy case, including replica trophies from the U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Ryder Cup, were salvaged, Oakland Hills spokesman Pete Kowalski told The Detroit News.
A significant amount of original artwork also was saved, Kowalski said.
Firefighters helped rescue the artifacts Thursday, pulling the memorabilia out of areas that they could access quickly and handing it to the club members before the blaze started to engulf the structure, Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John LeRoy told reporters Thursday.
The clubhouse was a museum of sorts, displaying photos, paintings, trophies and other artifacts from majors tournaments over the years. A trophy case near the front entrance displayed replica trophies of tournaments won by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan.
The revelation came a day after massive blaze created "extensive" damage to the Oakland Hills Country Club, where the back of the 110,000-square-foot main clubhouse structure was declared "not recoverable" by Oakland Hills club President Rick Palmer.
Damage to the white-pillared facility is "quite extensive," stretching from one end to the other and expected to be "almost a total loss," Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John LeRoy said Thursday.
The ornate and historic facility has hosted major national golf championships. No one was injured in the fire, "and everybody got out of the building," Palmer said.
Club officials said they didn't have a full inventory of what was saved and what wasn't. Compiling an inventory could take weeks, if not months, Kowalski said.
The multistory clubhouse featured a pro shop, dining halls, locker rooms, banquet facilities, meeting rooms and many more amenities for the membership of about 750. Many of the members socialized there even when not golfing, including throughout the winter, and it was a popular venue for weddings and receptions.
Oakland Hills, which has 36 holes including the most-famous South Course, opened in 1916, with the first rendition of the current clubhouse opening in 1922. There have been significant renovations to the white, stately, pillared clubhouse throughout the years, including the most recent, in 1999, at a cost of $16.25 million.
It has hosted six U.S. Opens, three PGA championships and a Ryder Cup, among other major events.
The club's South Course recently underwent a significant restoration, costing more than $12 million, in hopes of landing future big championships. The restoration, in part, removed dozens of trees, which allowed golfers to view the clubhouse from almost any point on the golf course.
Clubs that have experienced fires like the one at Oakland Hills Country Club say it's possible to reopen and rebuild following such a tragic incident, but the effort has challenges and will be costly.
Any construction is expected to be completed well before the U.S. Women's Open in 2031, which the club recently was awarded. It's also scheduled to hold the event in 2042 and is on the United States Golf Association's short list for another U.S. Open for the first time since 1996.
———
