EDMOND, Okla. - Oak Tree National ownership and staff celebrated the re-opening of the updated golf course and the opening of the new Oak Tree National Teaching Facility with Edmond Mayor Patrice Douglas at a July 22 event at Oak Tree National.
A group of investors led by Oklahoma City businessman Ed Evans purchased Oak Tree in 2008 and invested more than $6 million in renovations. The club was renamed "Oak Tree National" in April 2009 to reflect the vision to return the golf course back to its original nationally renowned condition.
Renovations were made to attract USGA and PGA championships and national recognition. The course is now rated the third toughest course in North America, according to USGA course ratings. The Pines in Bolton, Massachusetts, ranked first and The Ocean Course in Kiawah, South Carolina, ranked second in recent ratings.
"Our goal was to create a nationally renowned club, and by making improvements, incorporating golf instructor E.J. Pfister and providing the latest equipment in our new teaching facility, we anticipate great results," Evans said.
Work on the course began last year after Course Architect Pete Dye, who designed the course in 1976, visited the course and provided direction. Course Crafters conducted the golf course renovation construction, working with Norman-based golf architect Tripp Davis, who played on the 1989 University of Oklahoma national championship golf team.
Renovations included resodding the fairways with Bermuda U-3 turf, rebuilding the driving range, reshaping some of the greens to reward good shots, replacing the irrigation system for better management of the course condition and water efficiency and rebuilding the bunkers with new drainage and sand. Many bunkers were reshaped while some new bunkers were added. In addition, all of the tee boxes were completely rebuilt and laser leveled.
Throughout the process, the ownership garnered input from Oak Tree National pros Gil Morgan, Scott Verplank, Willie Wood and Bob Tway and incorporated their guidance and direction into the final result.
"The course turned out fabulous," Tway said. "Our vision for bringing the course back to the original Pete Dye design turned out better than we expected. Bringing back all the natural grasses and redesigning some of the greens has enhanced the features that we were looking for to bring it back to how Pete originally designed it."
Oak Tree National also celebrated the opening of the new Oak Tree National Teaching Facility, which features state-of-the-art technology and one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers in America, E. J. Pfister.
At the teaching facility, golfers can access equipment such as the SAM PuttLab, which measures 28 parameters of a person's putting stroke with ultrasound technology, and the K-Vest, which is attached to a person's upper and lower spine and hands and gives a 3-D image of his or her swing. The Oak Tree National Teaching Facility also has a putting studio, a club repair area and the first and only HD video analysis software ever purchased.
The key piece of equipment at the teaching facility is the $32,000 TrackMan launch monitor. Its Doppler system shows the characteristics of launch angle, spin rate and club shaft and how they relate to a person's golf swing. This is used by all the major manufacturers to fit PGA Tour pros.
"Very few clubs in the country have the comprehensive technology Oak Tree National has," Pfister said. "The closest facility that is comparable to Oak Tree National is the Titleist Performance Institute in Carlsbad, California."
About Oak Tree National
Built in 1976, Oak Tree National has hosted the 1984 U.S. Amateur, 1988 PGA Championship, 2000 PGA Club Pro Championship and the 2006 Senior PGA Championship. For additional information, go to www.oaktreenational.com.
Contact: Anthony Triana
atriana@saxumpr.com
(Office) 405.608.0445 or (Cell) 405.818.0791
