Firestone Country Club is a private

golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Wood (golf), Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; iron (golf), irons, the most versatile class ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, located in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

. It was a regular stop on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and has hosted the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

three times. It is the current home of the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship through 2026. The club comprises three courses—those of the North, South, and West. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

the club hosted three

televised Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

golf events: the

American Golf Classic The American Golf Classic was a tournament on the PGA Tour from 1961 to 1976 at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the third event at the storied South course, after the Rubber City Open Invitational (1954–1959) and the PGA Championsh ...

, the CBS Golf Classic and the

World Series of Golf The World Series of Golf was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. From its inception in 1962 through 1975, it was an unofficial 36-hole event matching the winners of the four major champi ...

. No other club has hosted three televised golf events in the same calendar year. One of four

World Golf Championships The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...

constituent events, the

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational The WGC Invitational was a professional golf tournament that was held in the United States. Established in 1999 as a successor to the World Series of Golf, it was one of three or four annual World Golf Championships (WGC) until 2021, when the n ...

, directed by the

International Federation of PGA Tours Professional golf tours are the means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments are organised into a regular schedule. There are separate tours for men and women; most are based in a specific geographical region, although some to ...

and sanctioned on the PGA and

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

s, was contested at the club with the final event at the club held in 2018. The North and West courses also serve as the home course for the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

Zips Zips (also ''Siggies'' or ''Geeps'') is a slang term in the United States that was especially in use in the early 20th century. It was often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immi ...

golf team.

History

Harvey Firestone Harvey Samuel Firestone (December 20, 1868 – February 7, 1938) was an American businessman, and the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, one of the first global makers of automobile tires. Family background Firestone was born o ...

commissioned the club in 1929 as a park for employees of the

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is a tire company founded by Harvey Firestone (1868–1938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled ...

. Its first course, the South, was designed by Bert Way and opened on August 10, 1929, with Firestone driving the first ball. For the sixth and final

Rubber City Open Invitational The Rubber City Open Invitational, first played as the Rubber City Open in 1954, was the first PGA Tour golf event to be held at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, US. The tournament, last played in 1959, was discontinued as Firestone gained na ...

in 1959, the course was at par 71. A major redesign by

Robert Trent Jones Robert Trent Jones Sr. (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a British–American golf course architect who designed or re-designed more than 500 golf courses in 45 U.S. states and 35 countries. In reference to this, Jones took pride in sayi ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

for the

added over fifty bunkers and two ponds, and extended the course to at par 70. The course was renovated by Golforce in 2007 and played at for the WGC event in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. The North course was designed by Jones and opened in 1969. Firestone's West was the last course to be added, opening in 1989. First conceived by

Geoffrey Cornish Geoffrey St John Cornish (August 6, 1914 – February 10, 2012) was a golf course architect, author, and a fellow of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. He designed over 200 courses, including 9-hole additions, around the world. Earl ...

and

Brian Silva Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word mea ...

, it went through a redesign in 2002 by

Tom Fazio Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

. Firestone Country Club was acquired by

ClubCorp ClubCorp is a privately held American corporation based in Dallas and is the largest owner and operator of private golf and country clubs in the country. It owns or operates more than 200 golf and country clubs and business, sports and alumni club ...

in 1981, purchased from the Firestone family. A

driving range A driving range is a facility or area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range att ...

was added in 1994 and was the first area of the club open to the public. A nine-hole course, the Raymond C. Firestone, was opened for public play in 1995.

Tournaments

The Rubber City Open was the first tournament held at Firestone, from 1954 through 1959. The

has been held at the South Course three times:

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. This exposure led to a new event, the

, which ran from

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

through

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. Since 1962, the World Series of Golf, now known as the

, has been held at Firestone, usually on the South course. An unofficial four-man event over 36 holes through

, it became a limited field event over 72 holes in

. During the third round of the PGA Championship in

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

pulled out a remarkable par on the 16th hole, considered to be the hardest hole on Firestone's courses. Trailing

Bruce Crampton Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of the New South Wales ...

by four strokes after two rounds, Nicklaus gained eight shots on Saturday to lead by four after 54 holes and won his fourth PGA Championship.

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

also had a memorable moment on the South course when his "shot in the dark" on the 72nd hole at the WGC event in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

ensured victory by eleven strokes. He had won the

the previous week for his third consecutive major championship that season. The North course is used less frequently in televised events, but hosted the American Golf Classic in

and the World Series of Golf in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Holes

Tee boxes

*1. Championship – slope: 128, rating: 75.1, *2. Member – slope: 122, rating: 71.2, *3. Ladies' – slope: 127, rating: 72.8,

South Course – The Monster

This course was designed from the start to be championship level and has been the host of over 70 professional tournaments. After a triple-bogey at the 16th hole in the third round of the PGA Championship in

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

called it a "monster." The name stayed and struck such a chord with frustrated golfers that the entire South course is now known fondly as "The Monster." *1st Hole, 399 yard, par-4 *2nd Hole, 526 yard, par-5 *3rd Hole, 442 yard, par-4 *4th Hole, 471 yard, par-4 Another long par 4, the second shot is where golfers get themselves into trouble; the height of the green requires quite a bit of lift. *5th Hole, 200 yard, par-3 While still a good length, this par 3 is considered to be one of the easier holes on the course. However, until 1987 NEC World Series of Golf, the full length from championship tee was 234 yards, which was the longest and toughest par 3 in this course. *6th Hole, 469 yard, par-4 Length alone adds a great deal of difficulty to this par 4, often noted to be the most difficult hole on the course. *7th Hole, 219 yard, par-3 *8th Hole, 482 yard, par-4 *9th Hole, 494 yard, par-4 *10th Hole, 410 yard, par-4 *11th Hole, 418 yard, par-4 *12th Hole, 180 yard, par-3 *13th Hole, 471 yard, par-4 *14th Hole, 467 yard, par-4 *15th Hole, 221 yard, par-3 A long par 3 is difficult enough, but the hidden left bunker proves fatal for many a golfer. *16th Hole, 667 yard, par-5 One of the longest par 5s in existence, its pond in front of the green adds more than its fair share of difficulty to the hole. *17th Hole, 400 yard, par-4 *18th Hole, 464 yard, par-4 With a long narrow profile and a green surrounded by bunkers, this is a difficult par 4 to birdie.

North Course

A championship level course, the North is famous for its many lakes and streams. While considered the most scenic course of the three, it has only been host to two tournaments. *1st Hole, 398 yard, par-4 *2nd Hole, 387 yard, par-4 *3rd Hole, 449 yard, par-4 *4th Hole, 423 yard, par-4 *5th Hole, 533 yard, par-5 *6th Hole, 214 yard, par-3 *7th Hole, 534 yard, par-5 Water comes into play if approach shot is hit too long. *8th Hole, 178 yard, par-3 *9th Hole, 431 yard, par-4 *10th Hole, 364 yard, par-4 *11th Hole, 201 yard, par-3 Almost an island green with water surrounding 3 sides of the green. *12th Hole, 427 yard, par-4 *13th Hole, 441 yard, par-4 *14th Hole, 441 yard, par-4 *15th Hole, 341 yard, par-4 *16th Hole, 560 yard, par-5 Water comes into play if approach shot is hit too long. *17th Hole, 218 yard, par-3 Another hole with water surrounding 3 sides of the green. *18th Hole, 520 yard, par-5

West Course

The final championship course on the grounds and host to the annual Ohio Senior Open. *1st Hole, 444 yard, par-4 *2nd Hole, 392 yard, par-4 *3rd Hole, 211 yard, par-3 *4th Hole, 324 yard, par-4 *5th Hole, 356 yard, par-4 *6th Hole, 467 yard, par-4 *7th Hole, 191 yard, par-3 *8th Hole, 484 yard, par-4 *9th Hole, 625 yard, par-5 *10th Hole, 426 yard, par-4 *11th Hole, 448 yard, par-4 *12th Hole, 170 yard, par-3 *13th Hole, 492 yard, par-5 *14th Hole, 147 yard, par-3 *15th Hole, 476 yard, par-4 *16th Hole, 244 yard, par-3 *17th Hole, 525 yard, par-5 *18th Hole, 482 yard, par-4

References

External links

* {{Bridgestone Corporation Golf clubs and courses in Ohio Golf clubs and courses designed by Robert Trent Jones Buildings and structures in Akron, Ohio Sports venues in Akron, Ohio College golf clubs and courses in the United States 1929 establishments in Ohio Sports venues completed in 1929