Site of Jackson T. Stephens Cup houses one of architect Perry Maxwell's finest stretches

To cognize Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club is to cognize Perry Maxwell. To cognize Maxwell is to cognize nan history of American play architecture. And nan state nine northbound of downtown Oklahoma City, which is hosting this week’s Jackson T. Stephens Cup, has plentifulness of stories to show successful its much than 100-year history.

In 1911, 300 residents of Oklahoma City founded nan club, which was calved successful a different location astir 3 miles southbound of wherever it’s located coming day.

The club’s rank grew for illustration wildfire, and ideas quickly became talking points regarding relocation. G.A. Nichols, nan developer of Nichols Hills, a suburb northbound of Oklahoma City, dreamed of creating a “perfect” subdivision for families. A golfer, Nichols believed an basal portion of nan improvement was to centralize a prestigious play course.

Enter Maxwell, who lived successful Ardmore astir 2 hours southbound of Oklahoma City. He was making a sanction for himself successful nan 1920s aft his first play people design, Dornick Hills, was noted for its stern situation but playability for each accomplishment levels.

The play people astatine Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club opened successful 1929, pinch nan thief of Alister MacKenzie, and has ne'er looked back.

A twelvemonth later, Nichols projected a waste and acquisition to nan officers of nan Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club: nan 160 acres of onshore connected Western for 163 acres successful Nichols Hills pinch a clubhouse, swimming pool, and 18-hole Perry Maxwell designed play course. In November, 1930, nan committee members of the

Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club had their first gathering successful nan caller club, and this became nan club’s imperishable location.

For nan members, small did they cognize really important that waste and acquisition of onshore would go successful nan history of American play architecture and play successful Oklahoma, arsenic well.

Maxwell would spell connected to creation Southern Hills Country Club successful Tulsa, which has hosted galore awesome championships. He besides had a manus successful renovating Augusta National Golf Club, wherever nan Masters is held each year. In Oklahoma City, he besides designed Twin Hills. The database goes on.

For Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, it’s 1 of nan astir storied courses successful nan state, and its value shines moreover brighter aft a caller renewal completed successful 2020.

Trip Davis and Associates renovated greens and bunkers, drainage, cart paths, tee boxes and re-grassed astir of nan course, utilizing Latitude 36 Bermudagrass for tees and fairways, and 007 bentgrass for nan greens. Work besides included restoring nan original irregular style of nan tees, returning strategical widths successful fairways and removing galore introduced trees, positive restoring strategical intent of nan bunkers and nan size of nan original greens.

“The greens were 75 percent what Maxwell had left, which we worked to sphere and we restored parts of what had been mislaid – areas on nan edges of greens and immoderate spread locations that are not usable astatine modern greenish speeds,” Davis said successful question and reply pinch Golf Course Industry.

“The past clip we had redone nan greens was successful 1994,” added Tim Fleming, nan Director of Golf astatine OKC G&CC. “The routing is beautiful overmuch nan same, moreover if immoderate of nan holes did alteration a bit.”

From nan opening tee shot, Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club stands out. The first tee plays crossed nan driving scope to a difficult dogleg near par 4, and from there, it’s a Maxwell classic.

There is h2o successful play connected 11 of nan 18 holes, whether winding creeks aliases ponds. There are besides classical rolling hills and tree-lined fairways passim nan property, a classical Maxwell creation of utilizing nan earthy contours and slopes of nan lands to trade a play course.

Another item of nan people is holes 10-14 are crossed a roadworthy and reachable done a tunnel, seemingly a abstracted portion of property, but therein lies a mates gems.

There’s nan strategical par-4 12th, which players tin effort to thrust nan greenish complete trees aliases layup into an area that will time off a wedge in. Next is nan par-5 13th, 1 of nan astir unsocial agelong holes successful nan country. It boomerangs near to correct astir nan 11th and 12th holes and requires precision connected each changeable for a birdie chance. The par-4 14th is simply a superb Maxwell design, a constrictive driving corridor pinch immense hills falling toward nan greenish astir 100 yards retired and a tricky putting aboveground surrounded by bunkers.

The closing agelong is brilliant. The par-3 15th is short but chiefly plays successful a crosswind, and strategical bunkering penalizes mishits. The 16th is simply a reachable par 5 that plays uphill pinch a sloping fairway from correct to left. Then nan 17th and 18th play downwind, but much well-placed bunkers and tricky greenish complexes don’t guarantee thing coming home.

Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club has hosted galore competitions complete nan years including nan U.S. Amateur (1955), nan Trans-Mississippi Amateur, Women’s Southern Open, Western Amateur, Women’s Western and U.S. Open qualifiers. Next year, it will big nan U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball.
And this fall, immoderate of nan champion assemblage players successful nan state will acquisition nan Maxwell masterpiece.

“Everybody is excited,” Fleming said. “The adjacent Scottie Scheffler aliases Nelly Korda could beryllium here.”