Oak Hills was originally designed by A.W. Tillinghast in 1922, with revision and three new holes by Joe Finger in 1961. The club was the long-time host of the Texas Open, and also hosted the inaugural Tour Championship in 1987, then known as the Nabisco Championship. It now plays host to the SBC Championship of the Champions Tour. Amateur championships held at Oak Hills include the Texas State Amateur in 1959 & 1972, and the Texas Women's Amateur in 1948 & 1969.

Despite its lack of overall length (less than 6700 yards at a par of 71), Oak Hills defends itself well with small greens, live oaks and difficult bermuda roughs. The course has plenty of excellent short holes, but some fine long ones as well, including the 458-yard uphill 7th and the 640-yard 5th. The layout is unusual and refreshing in that each nine ends in a par 3.