By David Moore, OCC Curator of Collections
The History of Oakmont Country Club
The story of Oakmont Country Club begins with Henry C. Fownes. Born in Pittsburgh in 1856, Fownes made his fortunes in iron and steel. In 1898, he sold his Carrie Furnace Company to Andrew Carnegie, who is believed to be the one who introduced Fownes to the game of golf.
Enamored by the old Scottish game, Henry became a golfing fanatic. By 1900, he and his sons, William C. Fownes, Jr. and Charles B. Fownes, were among the best players in Western Pennsylvania. They played out of Highland Country Club, located in the Highland Park section of Pittsburgh, but the small, nine-hole course proved too easy for them. They wanted a true, 18-hole test of golf in Western Pennsylvania.
In the spring of 1903, 191 acres of land became available overlooking the borough of Oakmont. Henry formed the Oakmont Land Company, a group of investors that purchased the land for $78,500 ($2.5 million in 2022). Oakmont Country Club was officially established.
In September, Henry set to work designing his golf course. A team of 150 men and two dozen horses and mules set out to create Fownes’ grand design. They hand dug the first 12 holes of the course in six weeks before stopping for the winter, and finished the last six holes in the spring. The course opened for play on October 1, 1904, playing at 6,406 yards and a par of 80.
Oakmont was designed as an “inland links” course, styled after the traditional links courses of Great Britain, despite not being set along a large body of water. Most golf courses made during this era have become obsolete due to the advances in technology. However, Oakmont to this day remains one of the sternest tests in championship golf.
The clubhouse opened alongside the golf course in 1904. Designed by renowned Pittsburgh architect Edward Stotz, the clubhouse was meant to resemble a traditional Scottish farmhouse. Originally budgeted at $25,000, construction was completed at a cost of $38,000. Renovations have been made over the last century, most notably the addition of the ballroom in the early 1920s, but the charm of the original layout is felt to this day.
While Henry created the course, it was his son that brought Oakmont to national prominence. William C. Fownes Jr., named after Henry’s brother, proved to be one of the best players to ever come out of Western Pennsylvania. He would win a record eight Western Pennsylvania Amateur Championships, four Pennsylvania Amateur Championships, two Western Pennsylvania Open Championships and the 1910 United States Amateur Championship. He would be one of the founders of the Walker Cup, serving as the first American captain in 1922, and served as USGA President in 1926 and 1927.
Upon W.C. 's achievements, Oakmont grew into national prominence. It gained national attention as a course in 1916, when the Intercollegiate National Championship was contested here. After World War I, the first national championship, the 1919 U.S. Amateur Championship, was contested at the Club.
Since 1919, Oakmont has played host to 20 national championships to date (23 if you include the three Intercollegiate Championships). It has hosted a record nine U.S. Opens, six U.S. Amateurs, three PGA Championships and two U.S. Women’s Opens. Of the 20 winners, 10 are enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame, including Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus. For more information on our tournament history, please see the “USGA Championships at Oakmont” section of this website.
Following the 1953 U.S. Open, the Oakmont links underwent a dramatic change. The New Yorker’s Herbert Warren Wind called Oakmont an “ugly, old brute of a course” during his coverage of the Open, leaving many of the members’ disappointed in his choice of words. It was decided to “beautify” the golf course, with some 5,000 trees being planted as a result. The course transformed from a links style to a traditional American “parkland” course.
The trees continued to grow along Oakmont’s fairways for several decades. They were at their peak when Ernie Els defeated Colin Montgomerie, Loren Roberts and oppressive heat to win the 1994 U.S. Open. However, overgrowth of the trees and some troubling turf conditions sparked their eventual removal. Starting in earnest at the turn of the 21st Century, some 10,000 trees were removed from the property, returning the course to Henry Fownes’ original design.
Over its nearly 120 year history, Oakmont has been home to only eight head golf professionals. The first was Scotland’s Peter Robertson in 1905. In 1912, Tommie Anderson, whose brother Willie won four U.S. Opens, took over for Robertson. Macdonald Smith had a brief stint for the 1914 season, and Charles Rowe took over following World War I. In 1927, greenskeeper Emil Loeffler took over the professional job as well, remaining in both roles for two decades. Virginia native Lew Worsham took over for Loeffler in 1947, fresh off winning the U.S. Open at St. Louis Country Club. He would serve Oakmont for over 25 years before retiring. From 1979 until 2016, Bob Ford served as the Club’s head professional, winning various national awards and revolutionizing the selling of merchandise at major championships. Since Ford’s retirement, Devin Gee has held the role of Director of Golf.
As the Club looks to the future, it is incredibly excited to add to its long, storied history. Four more U.S. Open’s are on the schedule (2025, 2033, 2042 and 2049), as well as two more U.S. Women’s Opens (2028 and 2038). For the first time in 2032 it will host the Walker Cup matches, and the U.S. Women’s Amateur comes for the first time in 2046.
Oakmont is a club steeped in tradition and history. Every day, history is made on our course. As we remember our past, but look to the future, we can only be excited for the history that will be continuously written, at Oakmont.