Fire sets historic Oakland Hills Country Club clubhouse ablaze

Firefighters rushed to historic Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich., on Thursday morning as a fire ripped through the massive clubhouse.

According to local news reports, the call to the fire department came in at 9:17 a.m. The fire continued to spread through the 110,000-square-foot building, and more than a dozen crews were still working late on site on Thursday night.

Photos and videos circulated throughout the day on social media, showing horrific damage to the iconic property. The sprawling clubhouse was built in 1921-22 and underwent considerable renovations in 1968 and again in 1999. The clubhouse is home to countless pieces of historic golf memorabilia, many of which are likely in grave danger of being damaged or lost for good.

Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John LeRoy told reporters on site that the main section of the clubhouse suffered “extensive damage,” adding that the wings of the building were still being threatened. It’s unknown at this point how the fire started; no injuries were reported.

“This is a gut-wrenching day for Oakland Hills. While we know that no one from the membership or staff was hurt, we have lost our iconic clubhouse that housed our history and our place in Michigan and U.S. and international golf,” said Rick Palmer, Oakland Hills’ president. “Oakland Hills is tremendously grateful to firefighters who were diligent in helping save some of our priceless pieces of memorabilia. It hurts to see this, but we are comforted to know that the heart and soul and legacy of the club resides in our membership and staff. Only time will tell what is next, but we will move forward with a purpose to honor all those who made this grand building come to life with their golf and their work.”

Oakland Hills is a private club in the northwest Detroit suburbs. It was founded in 1916 and has two Donald Ross-designed championship courses, the North and the South. The North was renovated by Shawn Smith in 2013, and Gil Hanse restored the South in 2019. The South Course was ranked 31st in GOLF’s latest Top 100 Courses in the World ranking.

Oakland Hills has hosted six U.S. Opens, three PGA Championships, two U.S. Amateurs and the 2004 Ryder Cup.