Henry Fownes

Henry Fownes, born in Pittsburgh in 1856, made his fortune in iron manufacturing. In retirement, he was content to serve as a director on several boards and play a lot of golf, including the 1901 U.S. Open.

Fownes' goal after his company was sold was to build a golf course on a plateau overlooking the Allegheny River northeast of Pittsburgh. In 1903, he organized a golf club to fund the project, bought some 200 acres, and drew up plans for the course. Fownes spent a year building Oakmont on old farmland were wide, sweeping vistas made it ideal for a links-style course.

When Oakmont opened in 1904 the course featured eight par 5s, one par 6 (the 560-yard 10th), and a total par of 80. In the early days, when the course had no trees to speak of, Grantland Rice wrote that he enjoyed the view of 17 of Oakmont's 18 flags from the clubhouse porch. Only the 16th was obscured from view by a hill.

At first, Fownes' only course design was not universally beloved, with Gene Sarazen quoted as saying Oakmont had "all the charm of a sock to the head." It is a credit to Fownes' foresight and feels for the land that the modern Oakmont follows his original routing plan.