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John Rohde describes Oak Tree in heyday
Enter the clubhouse at Oak Tree Golf Club back in the day and a smorgasbord of PGA touring pros could be found smiling and chatting over lunch at a huge round dining table at the far end of the room. Spotting Doug Tewell, Mark Hayes, Danny and David Edwards, Bob Tway, Willie Wood or Scott Verplank was commonplace.
Over at the practice range, you might see Dr. Gil Morgan casually giving swing advice to members on the tee box. No charge.
Mosey into the locker room and perpetual touring pro/hustler Andy Dillard likely would be involved in another card game.
You couldn’t walk 10 feet without bumping into a stud golfer. And if the aforementioned weren’t there in-person, chances are you’d find them on one of the many televisions scattered throughout the clubhouse competing in that week’s tour event.
For media fortunate enough to be allowed past the front gate, the men’s club at Oak Tree (now Oak Tree National) has been a treasure trove of interviews and insight from golf’s elite. John Rohde
Media rarely are given full access these days, but the Oak Tree clubhouse has long been carte blanche behind the curtain, provided you tread lightly and respect their space.
Oak Tree has served as a haven for high-profilers who seek rarely obtainable privacy – celebrities, pro athletes, football and basketball coaches, oil barons, CEOs, general managers, et al. In the early years, helicopters frequently would land in the clubhouse parking lot as a drop-off for an executive lunch or a quick round of golf.
Several touring pros have built multiple houses in the Oak Tree addition. Morgan’s initial property occupied Lots No. 1 and No. 2 near the OTN front gate. Danny Edwards resided close to the men’s clubhouse. Hayes and Tewell lived side-by-side at No. 4 tee on the West Course. Once upon a time, the houses of Tway, Wood and David Edwards stood side-by-sideby-side across the street from the No. 7 fairway along the Oak Tree Country Club East Course. (Tway and Wood built simultaneously and shared the same back yard.) A few hundred yards away, Verplank had a house near the No. 9 tee box on the East Course.
The tranquility and seclusion at Oak Tree provided a unique opportunity to build relationships with tour players, members and guests. Sometimes these chats were properly lubricated with a “club special” concocted by a bartending mixologist named Jimmy.
Unwavering hospitality from Oak Tree staff members through the years was a byproduct of charismatic Oak Tree president Hugh Edgmon, a human welcome mat who served as chairman of the 1988 PGA Doug Tewell, left, and Mark Hayes.
Championship.
Oak Tree is drenched with major titles and major achievements:
• Tway’s bunker blast for birdie on the 72nd hole to win the 1986 PGA Championship at Inverness remains one of the most legendary shots in major championship history. A three-time first-team All-American at OSU, he was selected as the 1981 Fred Haskins Award winner as the nation’s top collegiate golfer and was the 1979 Big Eight Conference medalist.
• Morgan was a two-time Ryder Cup member (1979 and 1983) who finished third in the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship (twice) on the PGA Tour and claimed three major championships as a senior, winning The Tradition in back-to-back years (1997- 98) and capturing the 1998 Ford Seniors’ Championship. He ranks fourth all-time on the senior tour with 25 career wins.
• Morgan and Dillard left historic marks at the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where Dillard began the tournament posting a record six straight birdies and Morgan became the first player in U.S. Open history to reach 10-under par, eventually reaching 12-under through seven holes in the third round.
• Tewell won two major crowns on the senior circuit by dominating the PGA Senior Players’ Championship (winning by seven strokes) and Countrywide Tradition (nine strokes).
• Hayes won the prestigious Tournament Players Championship in 1977 and was a 1979 Ryder Cup team member alongside Morgan.
• Wood won five national championships as a junior amateur, was 1978 AJGA Player of the Year, 1982 Big Eight Conference medalist, the 1982 Haskins Award winner (the year after Tway) and a member of the 1983 Walker Cup team.
• While at OSU, David Edwards was the 1978 NCAA medalist and E.J. Pfister, who serves as an instructor at OTN, was Big Eight and NCAA champion in 1988.
• Verplank claimed the 1984 U.S. Amateur at Oak Tree Golf Club as a junior-tobe at OSU, where he also was a three-time first-team All-American, the 1984 Big Eight champion, the 1986 NCAA champion and a 1985 Walker Cup team member. Verplank became the first amateur in 29 years to win a PGA Tour event, claiming the 1985 Western Open at Butler National in a playoff over Jim Thorpe. Battling Type 1 diabetes and hampered by multiple injuries throughout his career, Verplank was chosen as the 2002 Ben Hogan Award winner by the GWAA for competing with a handicap or serious illness. Verplank overcame these obstacles to be selected for the Ryder Cup team in 2002 and 2006.
For one club to house such diverse, wideranging success under the same roof is rare. But such is Oak Tree, one of the most unique golf sanctuaries anywhere. Bob Tway Gil Morgan Mark Hayes Doug Tewell
