Southern Hills to bare new fangs

The iconic 18th hole at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa.

Ready to take on all comers

by ken macleod

When Tiger Woods conquered the field in the 2007 PGA Championship at 8-under-par at Southern Hills, he mostly navigated the rolling, twisting Perry Maxwell gem with limited use of his driver, preferring to hit stinging fairway woods and long irons off the tees.

It was blisteringly hot, the ball was carrying forever and the muscular 2007 Tiger was one of the longest hitters in golf. He didn’t need driver to position himself for proper approaches.

Average driving distance on the PGA Tour has increased since 2007 from 289.08 to 295.3 in 2021 with many players often able to carry it 330 yards or more in the air. What does that do to a venerable course like Southern Hills? Particularly in May without the defense of a thick Bermuda rough?

Well, this is not your dad’s Southern Hills, or even your older brother’s. A restoration by Gil Hanse has added considerable fire to the green surrounds and new tee boxes have pushed the total distance on the par-70 course to 7,540 yards, considerably longer than the 7,041 it played in 2007.

In all of his restorations of major championship venues, Hanse, Jim Wagner and his team face the same questions: Where to position bunkers to challenge the world’s best and longest while also making sense for daily member play from various tee boxes.

“A lot of the attention goes to the few outliers who can really bomb it, but until they do something about distance we just have to react to where they are right now,” Hanse said. “We were more

focused on restoring the course and the intent of Perry Maxwell. If we find a situation where we can challenge the longest hitters while embracing Maxwell’s design, that’s fine. “But the challenge is not going to be bunker carries, it’s in the greens. And they don’t even have to be fast. It’s firmness that matters. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and (superintendent Russ Myers) has all the infrastructure to create a firm, fast challenge.” That infrastructure includes hydronic tubing beneath every green for temperature control, not Gil Hanse Kerry Haigh Russ Myers Cary Cozby that it should come into play that much in May. Hanse made the greens effectively smaller with grading and restored runoffs in areas that had become collection areas. The members got a full dose in the 2019 club championship, where the average score was five shots higher than it had been in 2017, the last year before the restoration. Handicaps have taken a beating and most

members have responded by moving up a set of tees.

For those pros who haven’t visited since 2007, they may be surprised to see that hundreds of trees have been removed. The corridors are wider. But the trees remaining are large and healthy and fully capable of blocking access to greens after any significantly wayward drives.

The restoration of all the greens and surrounds will force them to relearn the greens complexes, particularly where not to miss. Unless it rains, the runoffs around the greens are likely to be much more fiery than they were during the Senior PGA Championship in 2021, when much of the surrounds had to be replaced due to winter kill from the arctic blast in February.

PGA of America Championships Director Kerry Haigh’s goal is to allow players to hit to the green from the rough, but make it hard for the ball to stop there. And the roll-offs will leave lots of delicate pitch or chip shots. Those who can consistently get up-and-down will stay in the game, those that don’t will shoot well over par and be eliminated as contenders.

“It was a great course and now it’s even better,” Haigh said. “What Gil and Southern Hills did with the restoration will make it more interesting, challenging and strategic for the best players in the world. The green complexes really are the challenge.”

To that end, Haigh and his team will consult with Myers and come up with a detailed plan the weekend prior to the championship for pin and tee placements for each of the seven days, including practice rounds. From there, he will adjust depending on wind direction, moisture, temperature and other factors.

“The scoring is not really what we’re concerned about,” Haigh said. “We don’t try to manipulate what the winning score will be. Our aim is to showcase the golf course and hopefully set it up so the best players in the world are rewarded if they hit good shots. If you play well and hit it in the right spots, you can score. If not, . . .”

Haigh said Woods’ round of 7-under 63 on Friday in 2007 was a perfect example, but noted he was only 1-under for the other three rounds.

“It’s going to be a real challenge,” Haigh said. “You’ve got to have your game together and keep it together. We are blessed right now with how many great young golfers there are in the game and golf is in a great place. It’s going to be wonderful to see them challenged by the venerable Southern Hills.”

Director of Golf Cary Cozby, who competed in the 2021 Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills on an exemption, said the winning score is likely to be hugely weather dependent, with the wind in mid-May as likely to blow from either north or south and rain a likely factor as well.

“If we can somehow be firm and fast and get a little May Oklahoma wind, it will really challenge them,” Cozby said. “If it’s soft, it doesn’t matter how long it is, these guys hit it so far and the scores will really come down.

“It would say the guy who has the patience to spend four days hitting shots to the center of the front 1/3 of the green will have a good chance to win. It sounds cliché, but the greens are small enough that you won’t have a lot of long putts. If you go flag hunting and start missing greens and can’t get up and down on a consistent basis, it gets tough in a hurry.”

Hanse concurs with Cozby.

“Keep it in play and hit to the center of the greens,” he said. “If the rough is thick enough, they will have trouble holding shots and that will make a big difference if the greens are firm. Then they have to deal with Maxwell’s brilliance. Like every great championship course, it starts on the tee and then becomes hitting greens and staying away from the edges.”

Like Haigh, Hanse said he is not worried about the winning score, only that the course setup produces a great champion.

“That’s all we’re rooting for,” said Hanse, who will be in Tulsa to witness the event. “We want the name under Tiger Woods to be a worthy champion.”

Let’s look at some specific changes since 2007 that will be key in how the players handle the new Southern Hills.

No. 1, Par-4, 468 yards

From the new tee just outside the pro shop, it’s about a 310-yard carry over the large bunker on the left side. With a prevailing south wind, players will be able to clear the bunker turning the hole into a wedge or 9-iron approach. Even just staying to the right of the bunker leaves a short iron for the longer players. But the green sloping away is not easy to hold and pin positions, particularly behind the bunker guarding the right side, can make this a very difficult opener.

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No. 2, Par-4, 500 yards

Hanse added a second fairway area on the left that was evident in early photos, requiring lots of tree clearing, but it will likely only be used by accident. The green is not easy to hold out of the rough. The second most difficult hole in 2007 at an average of 4.359, the green is now more difficult to hold and putt.

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No. 3, Par-4, 472 yards

Pros would usually tee off with an iron or fairway wood, but a new tee back on the hill of the par-3 sixth hole will change things considerably. Now driver will be needed to move it far enough out to have a short iron into the green. Trees on the right and trees and a creek on the left will punish any wayward shots. This hole has grown up and could wind up ranked in the top three or four in difficulty for the week.

No. 4, Par-4, 377 yards

Good time to pick up a birdie if you can be very precise with your wedge approach. The third easiest hole in 2007 playing just below par for the week.

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No. 8, Par-3, 255 yards

A brute of a par-3. Played the fourth most difficult in 2007 with only 25 birdies and 150 bogeys. The green has bunkers right and short and cants left. Not an easy up-and-down from all sides of this one.

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No. 5, Par-5, 656 yards

From the back tee it takes a carry of 325 yards for the bunker on the left and to shorten the hole up to go for the green in two. Some will do it, but there will also be a lot of layups. The severely sloping green can make any wedge that misses its target area suddenly a hard par. There will be birdies, but there will be a surprising amount of bogeys as well. It played right at par (5.092) in 2007 and likely will again.

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No. 9, Par-4, 391 yards

Kicks off the best scoring stretch at Southern Hills. A short par4 to an elevated green, somewhat similar to No. 4. Holes 9-11 all ranked among the easiest eight in 2007.

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No. 6, Par-3, 214 yards

Guarded by water and a bunker and played into a north wind and downwind with the prevailing south wind, this one is a great hole to hit the green in regulation, two-putt and move on.

No. 10, Par-4, 441 yards

Players will tee off from a new tee up on the plateau by the first tee, meaning some will be able to hit driver and others 3-wood to move it down in the valley just short of the creek that encircles the landing area. Still going to be a short iron in to a difficult green.

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No. 7, Par-4, 432 yards

The “new hole,” the green has been moved back and down to the right hard against the creek. A tee box has been built just behind the green on 6, meaning players could be tempted to use driver but anything that crests the hill and is heading right with any speed will likely end up in the creek.

No 11, Par-3, 173 yards

This hole ranked second easiest behind the par-5 13th in 2007, but may not this year. It’s a short iron for the pros, the new green has more severe edges. Anything on the left side will roll off hard.

“Eleven is now about the left edge and how that rolls off,” Hanse said. “There used to be a shelf there that’s been pulled away. It’s a presentation that will get their attention.”