Oak Tree Golf Club

Infobox_Golf_Facility
golf_facility_name = Oak Tree Golf Club


imagesize = 150px
caption =
location = Edmond, Oklahoma,
United States flagicon|USA
establishment = 1976
type = Private
owner =
operator =
holes = 54
tournaments = 1984 U.S. Amateur,
1988 PGA Championship,
2006 Senior PGA Championship
website = [http://www.oaktreegolfclub.com/index.php oaktreegolfclub.com]
course1 = East Course [ [http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/golf-course.asp?course=9146 GolfLink:East Golf Course] ]
designer1 = Pete Dye
par1 = 70
length1 = 7,087 yards
rating1 = 75.2
course2 = West Course [ [http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/golf-course.asp?course=9147 GolfLink:West Golf Course] ]
designer2 = Pete Dye
par2 = 70
length2 = 6,752 yards
rating2 = 73
course3 =
designer3 =
par3 =
length3 =
rating3 =
course4 =
designer4 =
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rating4 =The Oak Tree Golf Club is a golf and country club located in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, Oklahoma. The course was designed by Pete Dye, and it opened in 1976. It plays to a par 71.

The course

Like other courses in Oklahoma, Oak Tree is a very windy course and can often have winds of at least thirty miles per hour. It also is located on hilly terrain, and uneven lies are common from the fairway or rough. The greens are difficult to hit well, and are undulating enough to make any par tough.

In its 2006 listing of the best golf courses by state, "Golf Digest" ranked Oak Tree third in the state of Oklahoma. The course was redesigned by Pete Dye in 2002. The course measures 7,412 yards from the tournament tees and 6,873 yards from the championship tees. [cite web| url = http://www.oaktreegolfclub.com/card.php| title = Oak Tree Golf Club: Score Card| accessdate = 2006-08-06| year = 2006| publisher = Oak Tree Golf Club] However, for the 2006 Senior PGA Championship, the course played to 7,102 yards. [cite web| url = http://www.pga.com/seniorpga/2006/course/| title = Course Overview| accessdate = 2006-08-06| year = 2006| publisher = PGA.com] Oak Tree has Bent grass for the greens, and bermuda grass for the fairways. Water comes into play on thirteen of the eighteen holes. The course and slope rating is 77.1/149 from the tournament tees and 73.2/138 from the championship tees.

Each hole has its own name, and some holes are named after famous courses or golf holes. The signature hole is the fifth hole (named Oak Tree), a 592 yard par five where players must avoid the oak tree that is used in the club's logo. Other notable holes include the eighth hole (named Harbor Town after Dye's Harbour Town Golf Links), par three with water down the entire left side. The twelfth hole (named after the Prairie Dunes Country Club) is a long, tight par four.

Oak Tree is the home course of six PGA Tour players: Mark Hayes, Gil Morgan, Doug Tewell, Bob Tway, Scott Verplank, and Willie Wood.

Tournaments held

Oak Tree has hosted a major championship and a senior major championship in addition to numerous other Professional Golfers' Association of America championships and one United States Golf Association-sanctioned championship.

The first notable tournament to be held at Oak Tree was the 1984 United States Men's Amateur Golf Championship which was won by Scott Verplank. In 1988, the PGA Championship came to Oak Tree. Jeff Sluman won with a score of twelve under par 272, clinched with a final round 65. In 2000, the PGA Club Professional Championship was held at Oak Tree; Tim Thelen won it in a playoff. Most recently, in 2006, the Senior PGA Championship was held at Oak Tree. Over the four days, gusty winds kept scores barely under par. Jay Haas defeated Brad Bryant in a playoff with a final score of 279, five under par.

Controversy

Oak Tree has been criticized for having a noose hang off of a tree to the left of the green on the par five sixteenth hole. A columnist from "The Oklahoman" criticized it as a possible symbol of racism in an October 2004 column. It was removed soon after, well before the 2006 Senior PGA Championship. It was originally placed there by a golfer who had struggled on the hole. [cite web| url = http://www.golfdigest.com/newsandtour/index.ssf?/newsandtour/gw20040827bunker.html| title = The Bunker| accessdate = 2006-08-06| year = 2004| publisher = Golf World]

Oak Tree was also to have hosted the 1994 PGA Championship. However, it was moved to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma originally because of the club's filing Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 1990. Later on, it was publicized that Oak Tree had few or no minority or women members in its membership. This further caused the PGA of America to move the tournament to Southern Hills. [cite web| url = http://www.golfdigest.com/courses/critic/index.ssf?/courses/critic/oaktree.html| title = Course Critic| accessdate = 2006-08-06| year = 2005| publisher = Ron Whitten, GolfDigest.com]

Fitness Center

The OakTree Golf Club Fitness Center specializes in fitness programs for golfers. When Robert Stoner established the state-of-the-art center in 1996, the concept of fitness for golfers was still very controversial.

Now, many well-known PGA Touring Professionals, club pros, college and high school golfers, as well as competitive amateurs, come from all over the country to take advantage of Robert's comprehensive and innovative programs. Under Robert's direction, the OakTree Golf Club Fitness Center has become the #1 golf fitness and injury rehab center in this part of the country.

References

External links

* [http://www.oaktreegolfclub.com/ Official website]