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Ultimate Golf Photo Tour: Firestone Country Club
Firestone Country Club was the creation of Harvey Firestone, who commissioned the club in 1929 for employees of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. The iconic South Course, which has hosted three PGA Championships and was a longtime fixture on the PGA Tour as home to the World Series of Golf and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, opened in August of that year with Firestone hitting the first tee shot.
Thereafter it was common to see company executive and assembly-line workers playing the course, oftentimes together. North and West (now known as Fazio) courses were added later.
In 1958, the original Firestone Country Club clubhouse burned down. As a result, the Firestone water tower was constructed the following year and held 50,000 gallons of water. Although it no longer operates or holds water, the 125-foot structure has become an iconic symbol of the club that can be seen from all three courses.
The original South Course was designed by Bert Way and featured neither bunkers nor water hazards. Robert Trent Jones Sr., redesigned the course in preparation for the 1960 PGA Championship, and the course now totals 74 bunkers throughout and water hazards on two holes.
The South Course has a decorated history. In addition to the 1960 PGA, won by Jay Herbert, Firestone's South hosted the 1966 (won by Al Geiberger) and 1975 (Jack Nicklaus) championships. It also hosted the four-man World Series of Golf and World Golf Championships (NEC and Bridgestone invitationals). From 1999 through 2013, Tiger Woods won eight WGC events on the South Course.
Currently, the South Course hosts the PGA Tour Champions' Bridgestone Seniors Players Championship.
During the 1960 PGA Championship, Arnold Palmer made a triple bogey at the South Course's par-5 16th hole. After the round, Palmer referred to the hole as “The Monster.” The moniker stuck and a plaque on a bridge near the 16th green honors Palmer and his three victories at Firestone — the 1957 Rubber City Open, the 1962 and 1967 American Golf Classic.
Located across East Warner Road from the Firestone Country Club clubhouse, the North Course is a splendid Robert Trent Jones design that opened for member play in 1969. Marked by numerous lakes and streams, the North Course hosted the final American Golf Classic in 1976 and won by David Graham. Several publications have listed the North Course among the “Top 100 Modern Courses.”
Formerly known as the West Course, the Fazio Course was redesigned by course architect Tom Fazio in 2001. The course, built around the perimeter of the South Course, boasts striking views of the club and surrounding landscape. Today, it is home of the Ohio Senior Open.
Firestone Country Club is well known for water tower and monster South Course, but its Crunchy Cream Pie dessert is a legendary favorite of members, visitors and tour pros. When Tom Watson was named the 2010 Ambassador of Golf by the Northern Ohio Golf Charities, one of the first things he asked for upon arrival for the presentation was one of the pies. Also, lore has it that Tiger Woods' shot over the Firestone clubhouse roof during the 2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was found by a club cook, who was delivering a pie to one of the club's villas.
In 2020, Firestone announced an opportunity for non-members to reserve a limited number of stay-and-play packages. To pay homage to more than 50 years of incredible golf history, the clubhouse includes 30 dormitory-style rooms — each featuring a view of all three golf courses. For a resort experience, there are 57 golf villa rooms sprinkled throughout the property.
