Hole 3 – 451 yards
Like the previous hole, the third provides a glimpse of what makes Southern Hills so special as a course. Southern Hills provides a wonderful mix of long, short and mid-length par fours while also containing a varied set of par fours and par fives. From the regular tees, the third is one of the fine mid-length par fours on the course and one of the prettier holes on the course. The tee shot runs back on the opposite side of the creek from the second hole. From the original tees the creek crossed the fairway just short of the 300 yard mark. That would give the longest players an option of going over the hazards from the tee. As it is most players will lay back with a 3 wood. They will also favor the left side of the fairway as it will prevent them from having to deal with trees to the right on their second.
But for all the niceties of the hole, the PGA has decided to extend it by almost fifty yards and make it into yet another bland 450 yard par four. This allows one thing, the bombers to hit away and not think about their drives. Unless they find the trees, they will have a short iron into the green. I could understand the lengthening process somewhat if the hole had originally played that way, but that is not the case with the third. The green was designed for short approaches and the one element, a creek, that adds strategy to the tee shot has been completely eliminated from the thought process.
The third fairway stops short of the water crossing seventy-five yards short of the green. This will create a short pitch into the well protected and heavily undulated putting surface. If the fairway was extended and ran up to the water, especially on the right side of the fairway, and a few trees removed, a completely new option would exist for players off of the tee. But the USGA and PGA over the years have created a one option system of attack for the championship.
The green on the third hole is the most severe to this point. The left side of the green is inviting to the players as they will be able to back up balls to any hole locations on that side. The back right pins will be the most difficult to get close to as players will be wary of hitting into the bunkers behind the green and almost assuring themselves of a bogey. Maxwell must have liked the final design of this hole because right after completing the construction at Southern Hills he went to Ardmore and changed the tenth at Dornick Hills to be an almost replica of this design.
Here is the hole layout per the Southern Hills website.
The view from right of the tee up the fairway. I had to change this because I had linked the wrong photo.
The view from the fairway.
View from behind the green.
As you can see from the last picture the green is tilted greatly from left to right and back to front when viewed from the fairway. Also, the photo fails to show how much of a rise there is to get to the green after you cross the creek. This was a push-up green that is well above its surrounds, especially on the back side.
Here is the routing so you can see where it falls on the site.
Here is the link to hole 2.