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| Opened in 1936, Southern Hills hasn't disappointed this week. (John Mummert/USGA) |
By Dave Shedloski
Tulsa, Okla. – The minimalist architectural style imbued into venerable Southern Hills Country Club by designer Perry Maxwell has been used to maximum effect by the governing bodies in American golf across a spectrum of championships. But this links oasis amid the simmering oil-propelled boomtown might be put to optimal use during this week’s 109th U.S. Amateur.
Almost any golf course can be set up to accommodate match play competition, but few can surpass Southern Hills for intrinsic shot value regardless of format.
“This is an intriguing golf course. You look at the scorecard, and you think, at a little over 7,000 yards, this can’t be that difficult, but as a complete body of work it’s truly a great test of golf,” said Mike Davis, senior director of Rules and Competitions for the U.S. Golf Association.
As the 109th Amateur transitions from stroke play to match play, the unique characteristics of Southern Hills, playing 7,093 yards and to a par of 70, are apt to be revealed and will surely have a direct impact on the outcome.
Opened in 1936, during the dog days of the depression, Southern Hills is as slick as the oil that transformed the dusty Tulsa tundra into a turn-of-the-century metropolis. The sweeping terrain is accentuated by Maxwell’s routing, notable for its series of demanding doglegs – 11 of the 14 holes bend to and fro – leading to small and dramatic green complexes that are as challenging as any in the game. Further complicating the layout are cramped corridors between rows of trees, its uneven terrain and the defiant placement of some 80 bunkers.
Seldom will a player find a flat lie in the fairway and slopes make keeping the ball in the short grass that much more difficult. Some of those slopes run counter to the direction of the doglegs. Taken in total, Southern Hills might be the most inhospitable venue to today’s power game.
“In this modern game, doglegs are harder because with equipment and style of play, players don’t move the ball as much, so they really have to be precise in their lines and their distance to keep the ball in the fairway,” said Davis. “Even with that, there’s a lot of undulation along the fairways. You have to create on every single shot.”
“Tee to green, this is as good a test as you’ll ever find,” said two-time Mid-Amateur champion Tim Jackson, who opened with a 2-under 68 at Southern Hills and secured medalist honors at even-par 140 following a 72 at nearby Cedar Ridge. “Rarely do you have a standard shot, except maybe on the par 3s. You have to stand up and hit golf shots, be creative. I like that.”
Jackson is among many in the field who had never played Southern Hills but who knew it by reputation and have not been disappointed by what they have encountered.
“It’s the best course I’ve ever played,” said Canada’s David Sheman after a 75. “You really have to think your way around with all the bunkers and the doglegs and the trees that get in your way if you’re just a little bit off your lines. You can go crazy almost over-thinking some of the shots, but you can’t just bash it around. You have to be careful about what you’re doing.”
But, like many great courses, Southern Hills possesses further defenses with its green complexes. Though renovated in 2005 in preparation for the ’07 PGA Championship, and, thus, nowhere near as harrowing as those Retief Goosen conquered in winning the 2001 U.S. Open in a playoff over Mark Brooks, the putting surfaces are still fiendish little tracts. The largest green in depth is just 32 paces. Many are elevated. They are difficult to hit even without the hot blasts of breeze that tend to kick up.
“There is teeth all over the place on this golf course. It’s really hard,” said Cameron Tringale of Laguna Niguel, Calif., who shot a 74 at Southern Hills Tuesday after a 69 at Cedar Ridge Monday. “But the most bite is on and around the greens. A couple of poor chips or putts and the strokes start adding up.”
The stroke saving begins not around the greens, however, but back at the tees. The contestants who understand that and adjust their strategy accordingly are the ones most likely to advance deep into the championship.
“I’m just trying to keep it in the fairway out there. I think that’s key,” said Ben Martin, who matched Jackson for low round at Southern Hills over the two rounds of stroke play. “If you get in the rough under trees you’ve got to punch out. You have to think your way around.”
“It’s all about position and kind of keeping yourself in control,” added 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Kevin Tway of Edmond, Okla., who has played Southern Hills as much as anyone still alive in the championship. “You can take some chances here or there in match play, but you’re going to do really well if you can just keep the ball in play and be smart. You can win some holes by default if the other guy lets the golf course kind of get to him and he starts making mistakes.”
The question always arises in match play whether a golfer plays the course or his opponent. Southern Hills, the Maxwell masterpiece that represents perhaps his ultimate expression of strategic golf, answers that question for those who traverse it. Any distraction away from the shot at hand is paving a path to ruin.
Dave Shedloski is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on www.usamateur.org.
