#22 - Oak Hill (East) - New York’s Hidden Gem

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Any New Yorker will tell you (often without being asked) that New York City is the center of the universe.  The map of the Top 100 Courses demonstrates the City’s magnetism, with 11 courses on the list within an hour of Manhattan.  Add in another 5 courses around the Hamptons, where the New York elite have second homes, and 16% of the list is directly tied to New York City.  Naturally, conversations about great New York golf start with top ten courses like Shinnecock and National, or U.S. Open venues like Bethpage and Winged Foot.  Yet outside the shine of New York City lies the only New York club to host U.S. Opens, PGA Championships, U.S. Amateurs, and a Ryder Cup.  We were on our way to Oak Hill Country Club, just outside of Rochester, NY.

Waking up at 4:30 AM to drive 5 hours is different when great golf is your destination.  With the rising sun at our backs, we came up through the Allegheny Plateau, where the foliage was just starting to change color.  A dense fog set in at times, enveloping all but the car in front of us.  As we descended toward Lake Ontario, the fog lifted, and the skies were clear as we pulled through the gates of the club.

Entering the property, the first thing we saw were the plateau greens and steep-faced bunkers of the 5th and 7th greens, followed by a meandering drive over Allen Creek and along the 8th and 9th holes.  Although the club was founded in 1901 along the Genesee River, it moved to its current location in Pittsford after a land swap with the University of Rochester organized by George Eastman, founder of Eastman-Kodak.  Eastman agreed to build Oak Hill the nearly 100-year-old clubhouse as an added incentive.  The club brought in famed architect Donald Ross to design 36 holes, with the East Course emerging as one of the top courses in the nation.  Dr. John Ralston Williams sourced and planted acorns from all over the world, which has resulted in over 40,000 mature oak trees on the property.

The East Course at Oak Hill holds the distinction of being the only place to host a U.S. Open (1956, Cary Middlecoff; 1968, Lee Trevino; 1989 Curtis Strange), a U.S. Amateur (1949, Charles Coe; 1998, Hank Kuehne), a PGA Championship (1980, Jack Nicklaus; 2003, Shaun Micheel; 2013, Jason Dufner) and a Ryder cup (1995, Europe).  The PGA Championship will return to Oak Hill in 2023, where the pros will find a newly restored golf course.  The restoration was completed in June by Andrew Green, who returned the course as closely as possible to the original Ross design while redoing all of the greens and bunkers.  While the course is in great shape, the greens still have some maturing to do and the GPS restricted zones for the carts still have some glitches to be worked out.

We met up with our host, Phil, a second-generation member at Oak Hill.  It was difficult to tell if Oak Hill is just an extremely friendly place, or if Phil’s gregarious personality just draws everyone toward him.  We dropped our bags off in the locker room, and after a brief warm-up, we were on the tee.

Hole #1 - Par 4 - 430 Yards

The first hole bends slightly from right to left, with the first pass of Allen Creek cutting the fairway in two. The front-right pin placement means the ideal drive needs to go down the left hand side, where a trio of bunkers await.

Joe found his first bunker of the day right away. We all made bogeys.

Hole #2 - Par 4 - 375 Yards

The shortest par 4 on the front 9, the second hole plays to an uphill approach requiring a good drive.

Joe and I hit nearly identical drives.

The green is two-tiered, and although we all had makeable birdie putts, we walked away with a trio of pars.

Hole #3 - Par 3 - 175 Yards

The first par 3 is uphill and well protected by bunkers. In classic Donald Ross style, the green is platformed. The smart play here is to the middle of the green. Joe did this and made his par. I missed the pin by 5 yards to the right and was left with a nearly impossible up and down.

Hole #4 - Par 5 - 550 Yards

When the rough isn’t playing so hard, the drive on this hole is not that difficult. Avoid the fairway bunkers and your second shot will leave you with short iron in.

The club truly lives up to its name, with grand oak trees lining the fairways.

After missing a short birdie putt, I came away with a par. Joe recovered from the trees to match.

Hole #5 - Par 3 - 160 Yards

Hitting the green on this par 3 is mandatory. Being on the correct tier is critical. Joe made a bogey from the left side sand trap, I made a 3-putt bogey after rolling down the ridge in the middle of the green.

Dad follows through off the tee on his way to a par.

A look at the signature platform greens that make Donald Ross courses stand out.

Hole #5 - Par 4 - 440 Yards

The hardest hole on the golf course requires a long drive, avoiding the marsh to the right. The second shot crosses back over Allen Creek to a green that slopes back to front.

After a pair of good drives, nobody could find the green in regulation. Joe and I made bogey, while Dad had his first double.

Hole #7 - Par 4 - 415 Yards

The closing 4 holes of the front 9 are a punishing stretch. I found this to be the most difficult hole at Oak Hill (full disclosure: I made a double bogey). For the best angle in, you must drive the ball down the right side of the fairway, bringing the creek into play. Bail out left, and you run the risk of getting caught in the trees, plus your approach is over 2 menacing greenside bunkers. Birdie is almost out of the question on this hole, as even big hitters are constrained by the creek. This is a contender for my Dream 18.

Hole #8 - Par 4 - 420 Yards

A straightaway par 4. Two good, straight shots, and 2 putts, Joe and I both made par.

Hole #9 - Par 4 - 400 Yards

The closing hole on the front nine is a sharp dogleg right. The fairway dips and then rises again up to the green.

Joe and I both made bogey. Joe closed the front with a 40, and I shot 42. Dad had a 48.

Hole #10 - Par 4 - 410 Yards

The back 9 begins with a downhill par 4, with the creek coming back into play. The greenside bunkers pinch the approach, but the hole is relatively straightforward.

Hole #11 - Par 3 - 175 Yards

The 11th hole was playing about 190 with a back right pin location. The hole can turn into a quagmire as it did for Joe, making his first double of the day. I made a par.

Hole #12 - Par 4 - 370 Yards

The shorter par 4’s at Oak Hill all utilize uphill approaches. The diagonal green protected by front bunkers makes the approach the true test on this hole.

A leaning oak tree is propped up alongside hole #11.

Joe rolled in a bomb from the lower tier of the green for the first birdie of the day. I made a bogey.

Hole #12 - Par 5 - 565 Yards

The hardest hole on the back 9 has all of the elements of a great golf hole, yet it somehow lacked the memorability of other holes. Allen Creek is back in play for long hitters.

The second shot must stay left to avoid the fairway bunkers. The unique green is a double punchbowl, providing forgiveness for almost all approaches.

I liked the use of acorns as tee markers at the club. This tee is shared on this short par 4, hence the tricolor acorn.

Hole #14 - Par 4 - 320 Yards

The shortest hole on the course again utilizes an uphill approach to create a challenge. Long hitters can go for the green, but are likely to end up in a greenside bunker. The smart play is to work backwards to calculate what distance you want on your second shot.

A blind approach to a two-tiered green adds difficulty to a short hole. Joe and I both made bogeys.

Hole #15 - Par 3 - 150 Yards

This short par 3 has a slight valley in the middle of the green that creates the challenge. A par or better is necessary here, but missing the green can leave you with a double or triple bogey. Joe and I both converted our pars.

Hole #16 - Par 4 - 430 Yards

The medium-long par 4 has is another straight away hole. The right hand greenside bunker was protecting a back right pin. Joe hit another 40+ foot putt for birdie. I 3-putted for bogey.

After showing Joe the line, he sank the long putt.

Hole #17 - Par 5 - 465 Yards

The shortest par 5 on the course starts uphill and doglegs slightly to the right. With a chance to get on in 2 with an iron, I pulled the approach slightly left.

Mounds on the right and bunkers on the left protect this green. I chipped to a foot from the left side rough for a tap in birdie, my only one of the day. Joe got up and down for par.

Hole #18 - Par 4 - 405 Yards

The closing hole is a sweeping dogleg right that dips dramatically to a valley in front of the green. The bunkers down the left are dangerous, not only for drives, but also for golf carts.

Joe for birdie on 18, he would settle for par.

We nearly ruined our reputation as guests on the 18th hole. As I mentioned earlier, the new GPS system installed in the carts still had some glitches. Joe and I pulled up to our drives near the right side bunkers. After hitting two approach shots onto the green, our cart wouldn’t move, claiming we were too close to the bunker. Joe began backing up to fix the problem, but wasn’t fully paying attention to what was behind him, and we came inches from taking a cart into the bunker. We ended up pushing the cart all the way across the fairway and abandoned it in the woods to be towed away later.

Final scores:

Joe - 78

Adam - 81

Dad - 95

After the round (credit to Dad and Phil for beating Joe and I in a match), Phil took us for a tour of the clubhouse. The building is full of history and trophies. Interestingly, through 6 rounds, we have now played at venues that have hosted a combined 20 U.S. Opens. but this was our first time seeing the Ryder Cup trophy.

With the sun setting at our backs, our drive home to New Jersey was filled with debating our favorite holes, where Oak Hill falls on our personal lists (first list will be released after we play 10 courses!), and the best shots of the day. But there was no debate that Donald Ross designed something special out in Rochester, and Oak Hill belongs in any discussion of great New York golf.