Henry C. and William C. Fownes

Henry Clay Fownes (pronounced “phones”), born in 1856, grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — “Steel City” — just as new inventions halved the cost of making steel. Henry and his brothers created many businesses, including the Carrie Furnace Company up the Monongahela River in Rankin. This venture was extremely successful, so much so that steel giant Andrew Carnegie bought it in 1898. Another steel magnate and sportsman, John Moorhead, introduced Fownes to golf around this time.

In his 40s, Henry began having vision issues, and a local doctor diagnosed him with terminal heart disease. Unsettled, Fownes travelled to the UK to play as many great links courses as he could. Upon returning, Fownes consulted another doctor, who offered a far less serious diagnosis: welder’s flash. With a new lease on life, Fownes dedicated himself to golf.

Fownes and his sons were members at Highland Country Club in Highland Park, but this course proved too easy for the family, so he set out to create his own. He found a promising piece of land on a bluff above the Allegheny River near the borough of Oakmont. Starting in 1903, a team of some 150 men and a dozen horses built the course, which was modeled on the lay-of-the-land courses Fownes had seen in the UK. In response to the recently invented, and much longer, Haskell ball, Fownes made the course very long for the period — 6,400 yards. Oakmont Country Club opened in October 1904. 

Once Oakmont was established, Fownes continued his playing career at the club, which he intended to be a hub for golfers rather than for society. He played in five U.S. Amateurs in his late 40s and early 50s, the last in 1907. Fownes served as president of the club from its early years through its first two U.S. Opens, held in 1927 and 1935. Shortly after the second, he died of pneumonia, leaving management of Oakmont to his son, William.

William Clark Fownes received a degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 1898, just as Andrew Carnegie made his father even wealthier. Heart issues forced William to retire from the steel industry early on, and he turned to golf, becoming the best player of the family. In 1904, he won his first of eight Western Pennsylvania Amateurs. His 1910 season included victories at that event, the Allegheny Men’s Invitational, the Pennsylvania Amateur, and the U.S. Amateur at the Country Club in Brookline. This season was Fownes’s version of the “grand slam.” After winning the Western Pennsylvania Open in 1921, he captained the U.S. team in the first, unofficial Walker Cup match in the UK, and again when it became official in 1922 at National Golf Links of America. His playing career made him a prominent figure in golf, helping to earn him several important posts at the USGA, including Vice President and President of the Executive Committee.

At Oakmont, the younger Fownes became an important steward of the course. Henry appointed William to head the green committee in 1911, and the pair surveyed the course daily, suggesting changes. When Henry died, William took responsibility for making architectural changes that adhered to his father’s vision. He resigned from Oakmont in 1946 and died in 1950. Today, after many years of tree removal and several rounds of restoration work, the course strongly resembles what Henry and William Fownes developed between 1903 and 1946.