Keeping it straight is the key says Tiger

In the heart of the Depression, born from Perry Maxwell’s imaginative vision for a gently rolling swath of tumbling terrain and a $350,000 budget was Southern Hills Country Club.

Over the years, the course, which sits hard on the edge of Tulsa, has withstood sweltering summers, a fierce hail storm immediately after the 1958 U.S. Open that severely damaged numerous greens, and a vicious attack by vandals just two years ago.

This week, the ornery ol’ Oklahoma course is being called out by the world’s finest golfers for the 101^st U.S. Open. And any player calling the bluff of the 65-year-old Southern Hills, which is as rugged and fair a championship test in all of golf, will be in trouble.

Chicanery will not win this title. Instead, reigning U.S. Open champion Tiger Woods offers a simplistic viewpoint for staying on Southern Hills’ good side.

"There’s no secret to winning the U.S. Open," he said. "Hit it straight. Hit good irons. Make a lot of putts. It’s really not that complicated."

This is the ultimate shot-crafter’s course. Of the 14 driving holes on the par-70 layout, five will require tee shots down the middle, five will require draws and four will require fades.

"Most of the players want to arrive at a position on each fairway, and there’s various ways to do that," said Southern Hills club pro Dave Bryan. "A shorter hitter might have to hit driver or 3-wood. A longer hitter might choose to hit a 2-iron or a 3-wood to arrive to that point.

"So, we have a lot of twists and turns in our holes, a lot of doglegs, and the risk of trying to force the ball further down the fairway is just not worth the amount of damage that can happen if you try that and don’t succeed."

And that is just the strategy necessary off the tee – which might be a testament as to why Texan Ben Hogan loved this course – to sloping fairways that have been pinched in to between 25 and 30 yards. Players wandering off the beaten path will find Bermuda rough measuring nearly 3 ˝ to 4 inches in height, which is as gnarly as steel wool.

Hogan withdrew from the ’58 Open after injuring his wrist while hitting a shot from the rough. Many a player will pitch out rather than tempt beating a stacked risk-reward deck. Also, players will have to contend with the tall oak and elm trees that line many fairways.

The approach shots will be just as difficult to navigate. Many greens slope back to front, putting a premium on shots below the hole. Once on the green, the undulations are subtle, thus players will likely do a number of double takes when reading their lines.

Well documented is that this course sets up perfectly for Woods' shot-making abilities. Eight tees were built to add 139 yards in length, bringing the total length to 6,973 yards. The par-5 fifth hole was stretched 28 yards to a U.S. Open-record 642 yards. The 16^th and 18^th holes easily gained 20 and 30 yards, respectively, with new tees.

That the course plays to a par of 70, though, should equalize any advantage Woods and other long hitters might have.

"Two par-5s," said Bryan matter-of-factly of the fifth and 13^th holes. "One of them, virtually unreachable by everybody in the field, and other one virtually reachable by everybody in the field.

"So, I think guys will have a different attitude when they come in here. They kind of go, ‘Oh, wait a minute, now Tiger – I won’t start this 2-down each day to Tiger.’ I think it’s going to help a lot of guys’ mental frame of mind when they come here, and say, ‘Hey, I like this golf course. I’ve got a chance.’"

Underrated and often overlooked will be how players hold up under the intense pressure to stay in the present. Players could quickly give one or two shots away at Nos. 1 and 2 before the first real birdie opportunities at the par-4 third and fourth holes.

Pars at the 642-yard, par-5 fifth and the 175-yard, par-3 sixth would be acceptable. Meanwhile, the 382-yard, par-4 seventh is likely the last legitimate birdie hole on the front.

On the back, the 165-yard, par-3 11^th and 456-yard, par-4 12^th – which Hogan described as the toughest in all of golf – are bogey holes if players don’t execute near-perfect shots.

The 534-yard, par-5 13^th may be the last easy birdie hole before the final stretch of four holes, which may be the most demanding in golf.

"Every hole is bogeyable," said Bryan. "If it is normal conditions – a little bit of wind and plays fast and dry – then I think somewhere around 4-under is going to be a winning score. But if it is real windy, even par, I promise you, will be a great score – and we can have some wind."