Oak Hill Country Club (East)

Donald Ross's East Course outside Rochester, restored by Andrew Green, has hosted three U.S. Opens, four PGA Championships and the 1995 Ryder Cup.

Oak Hill was founded in 1901 on the banks of the Genesee River and later relocated to Pittsford, southeast of Rochester, where Donald Ross laid out two courses. The East became the championship course, and few American clubs have hosted more big events: U.S. Opens in 1956, 1968 and 1989, PGA Championships in 1980, 2003, 2013 and 2023, and the 1995 Ryder Cup, which Europe won by a point.

For decades the course drifted away from Ross. Robert Trent Jones Sr. and later the Fazios lengthened holes, rebuilt par 3s and let trees close in. Andrew Green's restoration, finished in time for the 2023 PGA, rebuilt greens out to their old edges, gave bunkers rugged, angular shapes, cleared trees and replaced two Fazio par 3s with holes modeled on Ross's work. The result is a long, parkland test at par 70 where rough and fairway width shape most decisions. Critics note the fairways remain far narrower than Ross's originals, but the greens and the rolling ground keep approach play demanding, and the championship record carries the ranking.

Holes to know

15

Par 3 · 160 yd

Green restored Ross's small, benched green on a left-to-right slope, replacing a lengthened Fazio version. Precise shots set up birdies; misses leave awkward recoveries.

12

Par 4

The green sits on a knoll set diagonally to the line of play, the most unusual green site on the East Course.

Championships

• U.S. Open 1956, 1968, 1989
• PGA Championship 1980, 2003, 2013, 2023
• Ryder Cup 1995
• U.S. Amateur 1949, 1998
• U.S. Senior Open 1984
• Senior PGA Championship 2008, 2019

Design history

• Early 1960s: Robert Trent Jones Sr. modifications ahead of the 1968 U.S. Open
• 1970s–2000s: George and Tom Fazio changes for the 1980 PGA, 1989 U.S. Open and 2003 PGA
• 2019–20: Andrew Green restoration of Ross-style greens and bunkers, with heavy tree removal