Oakland Hills Country Club (South)

Overview: Oakland Hills' South Course crosses rolling ground in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where Donald Ross built a strategic parkland test around broad corridors, demanding approaches and heavily defended putting surfaces. The course is often called The Monster, a nickname that suits its championship scale but does not explain the design by itself. Ross's use of changing ground, diagonal hazards and bold green contours asks for precision and imagination, not just power.

History: Oakland Hills Country Club was founded in 1916, and the South Course opened in 1918 as a Donald Ross design. Walter Hagen was the club's first head professional. The South has since hosted an extraordinary sequence of championships, including six U.S. Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens, two U.S. Amateurs, three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup. Those events have kept the course in the centre of American golf history while the club has worked to preserve its Ross character.

Did You Know? The South Course has hosted 17 major championships and major senior or amateur events, a total that includes the 35th Ryder Cup in 2004. It has also seen championship wins by players such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Ben Hogan. The combination of its tournament record and its enduring nickname makes Oakland Hills one of the clearest examples of a classic course becoming part of the game's shared vocabulary.