Famous people's places / Bloomfield Hills

Oakland Hills Country Club

A private golf club in Bloomfield Hills that has hosted more major championships than almost any course in America, where Walter Hagen was the first head professional.

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01 / The story of this place

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Oakland Hills Country Club opened its Donald Ross-designed South Course in 1916, and the club hired the young golf star Walter Hagen as its first head professional to run it. Hagen, already building a reputation as one of the game's boldest characters, held the job for a single year before leaving to chase his own tournament career, which would eventually make him one of golf's biggest stars. Decades later, Ebbie Goodfellow, the Detroit Red Wings Hall of Fame center, spent his life after hockey as the club's caddie master. The South Course was toughened dramatically for the 1951 U.S. Open and has since hosted more major championships, U.S. Opens, PGA Championships and Ryder Cups, than almost any club in the country. Oakland Hills remains a private club today, still one of American golf's most respected addresses.

South Course designed by Donald Ross, opened 1916
Walter Hagen was its first head professional, 1918 to 1919
Ebbie Goodfellow, Red Wings Hall of Famer, later was caddie master here
Has hosted multiple U.S. Opens and PGA Championships

Famous Detroiters

Famous people tied to this place 2

Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.

Walter Hagen 1892–1969 · professional golfer
Worked here
He was the club's first head professional as its Donald Ross-designed South Course opened.
Ebbie Goodfellow 1907–1985 · ice hockey forward and defenseman
Worked here
The famous Bloomfield Hills golf club, where he was once caddie master.

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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25

An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.