Controversy
Oak Tree has been criticized for having a noose hang off of a tree to the left of the green on the par five sixteenth hole. A columnist from The Oklahoman criticized it as a possible symbol of racism in an October 2004 column. It was removed soon after, well before the 2006 Senior PGA Championship. It was originally placed there by a golfer who had struggled on the hole.
Oak Tree was also to have hosted the 1994 PGA Championship. However, it was moved to Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa originally because of the club's filing Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 1990. Later on, it was publicized that Oak Tree had few or no minority or women members in its membership. This further caused the PGA of America to move the tournament to Southern Hills.
Read more about this topic: Oak Tree National
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