It’s been four years since those firefighters and club staff rushed into a burning building to save trophies. This Easter Sunday, those same trophies sat in a glass case at the top of a brand-new staircase, as Oakland Hills Country Club officially opened its rebuilt clubhouse for the first time.

The new 110,000-square-foot clubhouse, which cost over $104 million, opened on April 20, 2026, replacing the original structure destroyed on February 17, 2022, when a propane torch used by construction workers on the veranda patio started a fire that burned the 100-year-old building to the ground.

General Manager Marc Ray put it directly: “We didn’t just lose a building; we lost a familiar setting for life’s milestones. But what we did not lose, and what could never be taken, was the spirit of this club.”

Even without a permanent clubhouse, Oakland Hills hosted the 2024 U.S. Junior Amateur with a temporary tented structure north of the first tee. The 264-player field included Charlie Woods, with his father, Tiger, in attendance. Trevor Gutschewski won the title, and his commemorative shadow box now hangs in the hallway off the main foyer of the new building.

Ground was broken in December 2023, construction started in July 2024, and the project finished on schedule despite running over budget from an original $80 million estimate to $104 million. The funding came from insurance payouts and increased dues voted through by the club’s 500-plus full stockholders.

The USGA moved first. Just one month after the fire, with Oakland Hills having no clubhouse standing, the organization announced the club would host the U.S. Open in 2034 and 2051 and the U.S. Women’s Open in 2031 and 2042. The announcement had to be held at the Detroit Athletic Club.

USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer said at the time: “From ashes will come triumph.”

The confidence was not misplaced. Oakland Hills has hosted six U.S. Opens starting in 1924, three PGA Championships, the 2004 Ryder Cup, and multiple amateur championships. The South Course, originally designed by Donald Ross and restored to that layout by Gil Hanse between 2019 and 2021, remains one of the most respected championship venues in the country. The last major held here was the 2008 PGA Championship, won by Padraig Harrington.

USGA Managing Director of Championships Mark Hill, after touring the new facility, said: “What you’ve built here will enable us to celebrate our championships off the golf course in exemplary ways.”

The new clubhouse mirrors the 1922 original in appearance, sits on the same footprint behind the first and tenth tees, and adds the modern infrastructure the next century of championships will demand.

Inside Oakland Hills’ new clubhouse: What has changed and what has not

The rebuild followed Howard C. Crane’s original 1921 blueprints, so the building feels familiar the moment you walk in. Marble, mahogany, brass, traditional green wallpaper, and the 10 white wooden pillars that soar more than 30 feet over the veranda are all back where they belong.

However, some things have changed or grown. The grand ballroom was moved from the first to the second floor. The women’s locker room has been enlarged, the men’s locker room now takes up two floors, and four new second-floor balconies give sweeping views of the course, which is ranked No. 20 in the United States by Golf Digest.

The pro shop got a full rework, too. Alongside a tweaked Oakland Hills logo, new merchandise features a green dragon, referencing the 1951 U.S. Open cartoon where Ben Hogan famously said he brought “this Monster to its knees.” This year marks the 75th anniversary of that championship, making the nod particularly well timed.

Beyond the main clubhouse, the rebuild added a new maintenance facility, a lifestyles building, expanded caddie and administrative space, additional kitchens, lounges, and a cigar room. With seven USGA championships scheduled between 2029 and 2051, every addition was built with that future in mind.