Bunkers were also reconstructed with a more natural style, replacing the deep, saucer-shaped versions that had evolved down the years. The four-time PGA Championship host, and three-time US Open venue underwent an extensive, 10-month upgrade that finished in June 2019.Īll the greens were rebuilt with an underground hydronic system to allow the cooling or heating of putting surfaces as required, with a new bent grass called Pure Distinction utilized to provide firm and fast playing conditions. In 2018 it was announced that Gil Hanse would spearhead an extensive project aimed at restoring Perry Maxwell’s classic design as part of a $19m facility upgrade. Apart from the rough and 7,481 championship yards, Southern Hills is there for the taking. Mature deciduous trees line many of the Bermuda grass fairways and the rough is notoriously thick and tangly. There’s nothing flash about Southern Hills. Once you move away from the hill by the clubhouse, the undulations are superb and Maxwell capitalized on them all." Indeed, for championship play the only par fives are the unreachable 655-yard 5th and the 537-yard 13th with water guarding the front of the green."Īccording to Tom Doak's The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses Vol 2, "The routing is chock full of doglegs well defended by trees, and the lack of space to lengthen it significantly has meant that the world's best seldom hit driver, but still face difficult approach shots to Maxwell's tilted greens. In short, the topography here does not lend itself to breather holes. Although the 1st and 10th tees are elevated and the 9th and 18th greens are well above the fairway, the remainder of the course is more flattish than not. "Despite its name", wrote Mike Stachura in American Classic Courses, "Southern Hills is not a course of dramatic elevation change. Southern Hills was founded by a group of rich local business during the Great Depression and they commissioned Perry Maxwell, a local Oklahoman, to design the course and it opened for play in 1935. We’re not sure why it took so long to get to Oklahoma but we’re sure it was worth it in the end, especially if you can befriend a member and secure a tee time at Southern Hills Country Club. For these lies you need to take into account the green and where the best miss is in regard to long and short.“24 hours from Tulsa” is one of Burt Bacharach’s more famous songs. Basically that bit of grass(a little water on fairways can do this as well) kills all spin and you get the shot that goes 10-30yds longer than you expect. In situations when the rough is thin and you have a little grass behind your ball then you need to be mindful of the ball "jumping".
You may need to club down and accept that you arent getting to the green in this situationd since it will be tougher to get a 6i through rough than a 9i and you need to make sure that you are at least in the fairway to set up your next shot.įor thin rough, rough growing with your shot (that the ball isn't sitting too far down in), if the ball is sitting up, or if you have a clean lie(no/little grass behind your ball) then you can play a more normal shot. If the ball is sitting down in thick rough, or if the rough is growing against your swing then you are basically hacking out-open the clubface a little(rough can grab the shaft and twist the face closed) and hit more down at the ball with some speed to get the ball out. In general, how you hit out of the rough very much depends on the rough/your lie: Just go on YouTube and look for videos about hitting out of the rough.I'm sure they're there. I am currently a +2 with modern technology and a 6 with hickory shaft clubs restored and dated 1920. Try a Wilson Duo 29 compression ball to get a feel for compressing the ball while trying to hit "down" on the fairway shots with irons. This will help compress the ball getting the most out of it.
You may want to try hitting the ball with a more descending angle out of the fairway with irons trapping the ball (hitting it first) between the blade and ground - you may gain distance and accuracy if you have been sweeping the ball with irons. I was always taught to hit down on the ball with irons and sweep the woods.
In 2-3 " Bermuda rough you sometimes are lucky to get an 8 iron on the ball to advance. Hitting out of Bermuda is very hard and you would expect to lose some distance if the ball is down into grass. It will also depend on the grass you are hitting out of. You have to hit the ball first as best you can and a descending blow at a steep angle is the only way to advance the ball well from longer grass.
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