Twin Hills Golf & Country Club

Twin Hills Golf & Country Club is a country club located in an unincorporated part of Oklahoma County that borders Forest Park and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The golf course hosted the PGA Championship in 1935, which Johnny Revolta won.[1]

History of the course

The history of Twin Hills dates back to 1920 when five oilmen (Al Maidt, Bob Conliff, Gus Mattison, Leslie Norris, and Bill Buchholz) commissioned Perry Maxwell to design and build the course on its present 160-acre site. Soon after completing the course, these founders sold the course to the Dorset Carter family. It is believed that Dorset Carter purchased the club in 1921 for his son, Keefe Carter. Keefe was an accomplished golfer, winning the prestigious Western Open in 1925.[1]

The official founding date of Twin Hills came in 1923. This date coincides with the date the clubhouse was completed, and the Club was officially incorporated as member-owned in 1946. Twin Hills has hosted several prestigious tournaments over the years including the Western Amateur, PGA Championship, Western Junior Open, Oklahoma City Open, National USGA Junior Championship, NAIA National Championship and has hosted some of the world’s greatest golfers including some of history’s greatest players -– Johnny Revolta, Arnold Palmer, Gene Sarazen, Gene Littler, and many more.[1]

About course architect Perry Maxwell

Perry Maxwell designed many of the great layouts in Oklahoma and throughout the United States and is commonly recognized as one of America’s great golf course designers. One of Maxwell’s first courses was Dornick Hills Golf & Country Club[2] in Ardmore, Oklahoma. He also built Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa (the site of several PGA Tour events and the U.S. Open in 1958, 1977 and 2001), Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, and Prairie Dunes Country Club. Maxwell also made major contributions to such revered layouts as Pine Valley Golf Club, Augusta National Golf Club (home of the Masters), Colonial Country Club, Crystal Downs Country Club, and Merion Golf Club. In all, Perry Maxwell is estimated to have designed 70 courses and remodeled about 50 others.[1]

Maxwell’s course features

Maxwell’s primary course trademarks were his undulating greens and ability to use the existing natural topography to design challenging holes. Maxwell-designed greens are typically large and contoured with swells –- often known as “Maxwell’s rolls”. It is frequently necessary to be below the hole in order to have a decent opportunity to make a putt on Maxwell-designed greens. Many course designers today followed his lead in creating demanding, undulating greens. Maxwell was also a master at using the natural landscape to sculpt holes. Mac Bentley, Daily Oklahoman sports writer, wrote in 1993, “His genius came from recognizing Mother Nature’s design, his courses only slightly carved out of the existing landscape”.

Perhaps his favorite geological tool was cliffs. He built a green atop a 50-foot cliff at Dornick Hills to make a demanding approach shot, and on the next hole, golfers tee off from on top of the cliff and play sharply downward to the par 3 green below. The par 3 fourth hole at Twin Hills also features Maxwell’s cliff attribute.[1]

Tournaments hosted

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Twin Hills History". twin-hills.com. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Dornick Hills History". edgepet.com. Retrieved 6 March 2015.

Coordinates: 35°30′43″N 97°27′19″W / 35.51194°N 97.45528°W