Olympia Fields South - A Non-Photo Tour

[Sven Nilsen]

In a nod to a poster's suggestion regarding the value of words over pictures, I thought I'd follow up on a thread that has been lingering in the ether-world of my intentions for quite some time.

The less heralded sibling on the property, the South Course at Olympia Fields is actually the older of the two.  A fairly concise history of the course, as well as an excellent discussion of the recent round of changes done by Steve Smyers can be found in the In My Opinion piece authored by former club president Jeff Goldman (http://www.golfclubatlas.com/in-my-opinion/olympia-fields-south-course/).  In contrast to Jeff's work, this thread is meant to be a description of how the course is played.  I'll try to focus on the particular shots that a golfer will face, and along the way may just convince a few of you that the thought that the South Course is one of the most under-appreciated courses in the midwest is not a completely off base assertion.

I've found that the course tours that hold my interest the most are those that move at a leisurely pace, addressing a few holes at a time and allowing for discussion before rushing off to the next section of the course.  I'm going to try to present the holes in groups of three, but may inch along at a slower pace if capturing the essence of a particular hole so demands.  Feel free to add any commentary and even photos as you deem fit, the more the merrier.

As the 2015 Amateur approaches, we're sure to have a great deal of discussion on the North Course, and perhaps those that haven't visited the club will make an effort to do so as the host site receives more attention.  I hope this thread inspires a few of those making the pilgrimage to give the course that will be splitting the stroke play duties a fair shake and more than a passing glance.

To start, some general thoughts:

-While the North course is the longer of the two, the South course is certainly no pushover.  It says something that the Club splits rounds between the two for its annual Four-Ball Invitational, that the IPGA played the South Course for its championship this year and that club championships are contested on both courses.

-For the most part, the routing of the course is a walker's dream.  Due to the early incorporation of two holes from one of the club's two now NLE courses, there is a bit of a walk between the 7th and 8th holes and back to 10 after playing 9.  The reconfiguration of the 3rd hole during the latest round of changes also lengthened the walk to the 4th tee, but I've yet to hear anyone say that these hiccups in the routing raise to the level of a fatal flaw.  In general, the course is a very pleasant walk, and is the more scenic of the two courses on the property.

-The heart of the course, composed of the 2nd, 6th, 11th, 12th and 15th holes, comprises my favorite golf location on any course in Chicago.  It is a bit of a meeting ground, with different groups having the chance to interact with those playing a few holes ahead and behind.  The picturesque little valley is bisected by the creek, and depending upon your vantage point you may be able to see up to 6 or 7 different holes at one time.

-If asked to describe the difference between the two courses, I'd summarize the North Course as a strong test of the aerial long ball, with several holes requiring to two well-executed long shots to get home, while the South Course makes up for its relative lack of length in places with a tremendous amount of interest around and on the greens.  

-Where the North Course requires a great deal of thought regarding the negotiation of fairway hazards, the South Course gives the golfer more room off the tee with fewer hazards.  In fact, there are a surprising 8 holes on the south course with no fairway bunkers, although the ever present Butterfield Creek does come into play on many of them.

-A recent thread discussing the use of creeks in the layout of the course probably should have used the South Course as a prime example of how this can work.  The creek winds its way through the club's property, meandering, cutting back on itself and showing up in places that demand the golfer make a choice.  Although no greens abut the creek, it is a factor on 8 of the 18 holes, often serving more as a nagging thought in the back of the golfer's mind rather than a problem in the field of play.

-The course lies on rolling land, and in contrast to the North Course which has a section of the course playing up to, on and away from an area of higher ground, the routing of the South Course meanders through these hills repeating a theme of ups and downs all the way through your final approach into 18.

-The greens on both of the courses at Olympia Fields would in no way be considered flat, but those on the South Course stand out for the boldness of the contours they contain.  Where the North Course offers subtle breaks, the South Course is replete with false fronts, internal bumps and hollows, and in places contours that can be used to help shape a shot to a day's pin position.  

-There are areas to avoid and angles of approach to seek out, but in general the course provides plenty of width and the off the fairway areas not containing H2O offer plenty of room for recovery.  Over recent years the club has done a great job of eliminating many unnecessarily treed areas and of thinning other vistas to open up site lines across various holes.  Yet those trees that play an integral role have been preserved.

-Finally, unlike the North Course, the South Course is very much a ground game course.  Designed at a time when lower running shots were the norm, this type of shot is still a valid strategy on many holes, and in many cases is the optimal way to attack the architecture.  In many ways, a round on the South Course offers the golfer a glimpse to golf's past, when false fronts were bounced into and not flown, when balls bounced up to pins as opposed to being sucked back to them, and when the fun factor of following a ball in motion along the ground was at its apex.

Now, on to the course...

[Josh Tarble]

I look forward to reading and following along in this discussion.  Thanks for your efforts in advance.

[Sven Nilsen]

Breaking my own rules already, I'm just going to start with the first hole for today.

Hole 1 - Par 4 - 459/433/396
(the yardages will be for the Blacks (the tips), the Blues (the member back tees) and the Whites (the member normal tees)

The Drive - The first hole on the South Course plays as a slight dogleg left, with an essentially blind drive asking the player to take on a fairway bunker that requires a 250 yard carry from the tips.  From the white tees, the carry is just under 200 yards.  The fairway takes its bend to the left just past the bunker, and the outside of the turn is protected by a second fairway bunker that will catch a ball that wanders right.  A distinctive water tower rises in the distance on the midline of the fairway, and the optimal line is to keep the ball on the left side of the tower.  The tees are offset so that the Blacks and Blues play with more a dogleg, while the Whites are aligned at more of a direct angle to the center line of the fairway.  A drive pulled to far left may end up in the fifteen to twenty yards of rough next to the fairway or it may find the tree line separating the 1st from the par 5 7th.  For those with a bit of a push, a small copse of trees may save an errant drive from either wandering into the clubs short game practice area or the cart and maintenance sheds.  A well executed shot will find the downhill slope off the back of the fairway bunker and will roll out to well within 180 yards to the green.

The Approach - Although the green is fullly visible from the fairway, what the player will not see is the 20-30 yard long swale that protects the approach.  There is a well situated tree about 50 yards short of the green on the right that will block a shot from well right of the fairway, but in general the approach is very open.  If the player is further back in the fairway, it is possible to run a shot through the swale, but often the unsuspecting will not take into account the uphill nature of the last 10 -15 yards of a running approach.  If playing to a back pin, the entire back part of the green serves as a bit of a backstop and will turn a well judged shot back around towards the middle of the green.  For front pins, it is essential that you take enough club to stay up on the green surface, as many an approach will be shrugged back into the swale by a devilish false front.  The false front is easier to hold on the right side of the green, which is also the better side to play for if running a ball to the back.  The square front of the green is open to the fairway, with a well placed bunker guarding the left side of the green.  Long is basically dead, and a shot that hangs up greenside right will leave a chip that requires a deft touch, especially if you're playing back to the front of the green.

The Green - The 42 yard long green generally breaks from back to front and from right to left.  The hard part is figuring out which of those breaks dominates your particular line.  Often times putts towards the back of the green from the left side will appear to break up hill, with the slopes emanating from the back right corner of the green having a heavy influence.  The false front is very much in play for front pins, and may cause a bit of timidity with a down-hiller.

Notes - The fairway bunkers feature mounding which is repeated in various places around the course.  While providing benefits for drainage (see Jeff Goldman's IMO piece for much more in depth analysis), in this case they also factor into the play of the hole by enhancing the blind nature of the drive.  

Summary - A stern opening test, especially if the wind is blowing from the south.  It is possible to recover from an errant drive, but there is also room for a big number if you get off the back of the green or don't have quite enough to get up and over the false front.  If you're playing to a back left pin, a running shot up the right side of the green that rides the raised contours around to the left is a fun shot to pull off.

[Jason Topp]

Sven:

I am enjoying this thread even though I do not know the course.  Thank you.

[Ari Techner]

I really enjoy the South at Olympia Fields after the Smyers redo.  Much more than the North.  I have been lucky to spend alot of time at OF and when given the choice I would always head South over North.  It is the much more fun and interesting of the 2 courses imo.

[Matthew Sander]

Svenerik,

Great start, I'm looking forward to the rest of the thread. I'm sure it will be required reading for anyone making their maiden voyage to OFCC...

[Ian Andrew]

SOUTH vs. NORTH

I happen to think the South Course is a lot better than the North Course. I played both in recent times and found there was nothing wrong with the North and I did like a couple of holes a lot (3 and 14), but I got tired of being always told what not to do. The South has more ups and downs in the quality of holes, but I'll take that nay time. I found I was more excited by the detailing and additional choices I had to make.


DRIVE

The first hole provides lots of room, but you get drawn into the left side. You find yourself taking on the corner because the approach is very long and it seems this helps shorten the hole ... but I'm not sure it really does and the opening is from the right.

APPROACH

Unless you've somehow shortened the hole, this is a long approach over the valley meaning it's all carry onto the natural plateau. The green may be big, but the miss long or wide can be a tough recovery. Tough opening approach shot and welcome to the South Course ...

GREEN

The "boxy front" of the green was super cool and I was surprised this detail did not extend through the entire course.

I liked Steve’s unusual bunkers can someone tell me if they are Bendelow inspired? – I’m asking because I forgot to ask him this spring.

[Paul OConnor]

Sven,

It will be a pleasure to walk through the South Course with you.

Drive.  I find #1 to be a pretty tough hole as I generally play from the blues.  The thing I always do before I tee off is to look up and see where that huge flag on the top of the clock tower is blowing.  The wind direction and speed has such a huge impact on this shot, it is crucial to pick the right line.  As you say the left bunker is a 250 carry from the tips, about 230 from the blues, so if the wind is from the south, southwest or straight out of the west, carrying that bunker for me is a little much, and I’m forced to play to the right, making the hole much longer. 

That left bunker is a really bad spot, as the ball likes to run right up to the front of the bunker, and with the chocolate drop mounds right in your face, I usually grab a wedge to get out.   If the ball rolls through the bunker and stops on the face of the mounds, it’s an even tougher shot from an extremely uneven stance.  This bunker really has to be avoided.  With a wind from the north, usually a spring or fall wind, or the east, the rarest wind direction of all, the drive takes on an entirely different flavor.  Now the target is directly over the bunker, where a nice downslope on the back side of the bunker will give you an extra 20 yards of roll, or even slightly left of the bunker, to what in my opinion, sets up the preferred approach angle, on the very left bit of the fairway.

Losing the drive to the right can bring in big trouble here.  Downwind, the cart barn is well in play, and the bushes surrounding it can swallow a wayward drive and send you back to the tee hitting three.  The bunker on the right is not that tough as the front is not as severe, it is possible to get a decent shot out of this one onto the green.  I don’t end up in this bunker often, as into the wind it’s just too far, and downwind I like to be well left. 

[Scott Wintersteen]

Hole #1:

One thing I would add on the drive is it seems like a good angle to take is to aim over the right edge of the left fairway bunker.  That leaves you with the best angle going into the green.  One of the things to keep in mind though is that if you are too long off the tee with that drive there is a chance that you will end up in the fairway bunker on the right hand side of the fairway.  That happened more times than I care to admit.  The right bunker is blind from the tee so it is very tough to tell if you have made it in the hazard from your tee shot.

[Sven Nilsen]

Hole 2 - 482/420/403

Walking off of the 1st green, the group will either head to the left for the two back tees or straight ahead to get to the Whites.  If you're heading to the left, be sure to check out a sideways growing tree next to the Black tee box, a phenomenon that appears to defy gravity.

Drive - Depending on which tee box you play, your drive will either be angled from the left towards the center of the fairway or almost straight down the line of play.  From the two back tee boxes (with a seldom used third box in between), the hole is again a bit of a dogleg left.  A wide fairway is flanked by treed areas on both sides, but there is a good 70 to 80 yards of room in the landing zone.  With no green in site, the golfer will pick out a target on the hillsides well beyond the horizon line created by a massive downslope that starts about 200 yards from the green.  A well struck ball may catch the hill and run out, but from the Blacks and Blues it would take a tremendous drive to reach the level ground at the bottom of the hill.  The optimal line is to split the fairway, which may require the tee shot to hug the trees on the left or to be drawn back to the middle.  The safe miss is to the left, as the overhanging trees on the right can block out an approach (the left rough opens up on that side, with only a few small trees providing interference).  From the White tees, the downslope is alot easier to reach and the straight on angle takes away much of the trouble on the right.

Approach - As the golfer walks to their tee shot, the central valley of the course is slowly revealed.  Standing 200 yards out from the green, the golfer will have a view of the upcoming 3rd hole to the right, the green on the Knoll at the 6th just to the left and the uphill one-shot 12th in the distance.  Hopefully these distractions will not make you lose your focus on the hole you're playing, whose green lies at the bottom of the hill 50 yards past the first appearance of Butterfield Creek.  Unless your tee shot makes it all the way down the slope, you're either going to be faced with a long approach from an elevated position or a shorter shot on a downhill line.  The green is protected by bunkers on the left and right, with a slight upslope to the front of the green.  There are a couple of trees past the left greenside bunker which stand beside a curve in the creek as it starts to run away from the golfer.  With the elevation and downhill lie, it may be tough to pick a club.  If you're drive has found the trees on the right, it is better to layup short of the creek on the 40 or so yards of flat land rather than trying to challenge the creek and a well placed tree that grows at the right corner of the fairway.  Playing enough club to land on the green is imperative, as the slight upslope to the green tends to hold up lofted shots (it is possible to run a lower flighted ball up on to the surface).

Green - At 35 yards long and raised above its surrounds, the 2nd repeats a theme of fairly large green sites.  The predominate slope is from back left to front right, with a particularly tricky undulation flowing off of the back of the right greenside bunker (which creates some mystery on the front right corner).  The surrounds offer plenty of room for recovery from a miss, although you do not want to be long on a back pin.  Putts to the higher back left corner may be slower than they look, while any putt to a back right pin will generally break more than it looks as the ball tends to want to run away towards the lower right side.  A good green to find the right quandrant on your approach, a theme which will be repeated many times during the round.

Notes - Although its not the recommended way to play the hole, it is possible to bounce a ball over the creek and have it roll up to the green.  I've seen it done more than once.  I've also seen turtles lay their eggs in the greenside bunkers on this hole, so be careful when taking a stance.

Summary - My favorite hole on the course (but not my favorite green nor does it contain my favorite shot).  The second is the first of a number of holes that do not have fairway bunkers, nor does it need one.  The second also offers the opportunity to preview the pin position on the 6th hole, whose surface may be blind to the player from that hole's fairway.  

[Sven Nilsen]

Ian, Paul and Scott:

First, thanks for adding to the discussion.

Second, I don't have an answer to whether or not the style of the new bunkers on one were inspired by Bendelow (paging Jeff Goldman), but I do know that their placement was.  However, when the hole was first built it played as a par 5.  The following is from Jeff's IMO piece and describes the practical nature of the bunker mounding:

"The most controversial aspect of the work will undoubtedly be the mounding surrounding many of the bunkers.  Rather than simply restoring the high faces that many of the bunkers had in prior times, the architects designed the bunker walls to have peaks.  Was this simply an aesthetic choice?  Not really.  Instead, doing this provides good drainage from the bunkers, and, when observed closely during rains, these features direct the water away from the sand, and towards surrounding surface flow.  Who knew?  They did."  

[Perhaps Mr. Mucci will read this thread and get some answers to his questions regarding wet bunkers.]

Finally, the drive on the first really sets the tone for the round.  Its the first of a handful of blind or semi-blind shots on the course, and requires the golfer to trust their line and distance.  Depending on how far you drive the ball, taking on the bunker may or may not be the play, but if you do the speed slot and the elimination of the right side bunker do offer benefits.  As the left side shortens the hole, even if you have to carry the corner of the greenside bunker, the shot is normally with a shorter club in hand.  But check the length of the rough on the day you're playing (it was probably up around 3 or 4 inches during this year's Four Ball, which is not the norm), as a fairway lie at any distance in may be preferred.

Sven

Edit:  I'm going to address Ian's points regarding the comparison of the North and South courses later in the round, but I generally agree with his sentiments about the imperative to avoid trouble on the North Course.  I've found when offering advice its generally better to say "left is fine" as opposed to "right is bad," as the latter seems to have a magnetic effect.

[Paul OConnor]

#1 Approach.  Depending on where ones drive ends, largely wind dependent, this approach shot can be hit with anything from a 3 wood to an 8 iron.  With a strong south or west wind, my drive is ideally played straight up the fairway right of the left bunker, leaving a shot of 190 to 210 yards.  So with a strong south wind this can be a hybrid or even a three wood.  Having played the North course a lot, having hybrid or three wood into par fours on this property is a fairly common occurrence, so one should quickly get comfortable with the program.  There are some long par fours at Olympia Fields.

If the wind is down, or from the north or east, a well struck drive will easily carry the left bunker and leave 150-170 yards into this green.  As I mentioned earlier, I prefer getting the tee ball to the left side of this fairway for the best angle to this huge green.  I then like to play to the right half of this green regardless of where the flag is, as missing left into the bunker is a tough recovery, and left of that is worse.  As you mentioned, while the swale fronting the green is severe, the right half of it is a little less so, and should one be approaching the green from 200 yards, landing on this side makes it a little more likely the ball will roll up to onto the green.  

I like the right side of this green for the approach as everything moves from this side back toward the center, and if one’s ball comes in a little hot, the banking on the right side and all across the back tends to bring the ball back to the center of the green. I’ve had some exciting shots here using this banking, especially when I have missed one or both of the first two shots and am faced with a 70 yard pitch across the swale.  With a back pin, pitching all the way to the back of the green and letting the ball roll back to the pin is a particularly satisfying play.

As I miss this green more than I hit it, which can be said for every hole on the property, I have played chips, pitches, flops, running hybrids, and any number of other shots from around this green, and there are some particularly challenging shots.  If one finds themselves short on the left side, in the swale, which based on the large collection of divots in that spot, seems to be a favorite, they are confronted with a semi-blind pitch of varying awkwardness.  The green is slightly above eye level from this spot, so being unable to see the bottom of the pin adds to the uncertainty.   To a front pin, this is a particularly delicate shot, as anything that comes up the least bit short will return to the swale from which it came, such is the severity of the false front.  I have attempted any number of shots from this location to a front pin; a precisely nipped lob wedge which lands just at the top of the false front and then checks near the pin, or lands just short and returns to the swale; an 8 iron played into the face of the false front which dies as it hits, or is struck slightly too firmly, misses the face entirely, and runs all the way to the back of the green, leaving a long, downhill putt which if hit ever so slightly firm will find its way back off the front of the green into the swale it left just one shot prior.  Usually in an abundance of caution, this lag putt ends up well short, and after having been but 10-15 yards from the pin in two, one can easily take a double bogey here.  

The left greenside bunker while not a terrible location, I find is a bit of an awkward place from which to play.  The green here at #1 is quite large, and the flat nature of the bottom of this bunker doesn’t quite lend itself to the longish bunker shot required to a distant pin.  If the pin is forward, the specter of rolling off the false front of the green begs this bunker shot be played well to the left of the flag.  

I’ve been long of this green a few times, not a good place regardless of the pin location. A shot from here to a back pin that stops within 20 feet of the hole is as good as one is likely to do.  To a front pin the false front begs one to stay well short, and avoid the three putt mentioned earlier.

[Lou_Duran]

I happen to think the South Course is a lot better than the North Course. I played both in recent times and found there was nothing wrong with the North and I did like a couple of holes a lot (3 and 14), but I got tired of being always told what not to do.

Can you expand on the colored (green in deference to Mr. Mucci) segment?  Are we primarily talking about width?

The subject of strategy came up in a conversation with a young, long-hitting player this weekend.  Like me, he steps up to the tee and tries to make his best swing on a line that comes to him very quickly without great thought.  If things go as intended great; if the ball ends up between the trees or bunkers, all's good, get it to the green on the next shot.  If it's behind a tree, or lies poorly in a bunker, then some "strategy" might kick in.  I can't think of a single course where I must do one thing- even at Firestone-South with flanking bunkers on both sides of many of the holes, there is usually the option of laying short, threading the needle, or trying to fly the trouble (which can be done if the golfer chooses the "right" set of tees).

BTW, I've played OF-North a couple of time, the South once before construction, and saw it while they were laying sod.  The reports I hear are that it came out very well, and that many members prefer it to the North course.  I am wondering if it might have a little to do with playability issues- that it might be easier- just like many members at Winged Foot prefer the East course, and the South at LACC.

[Paul OConnor]

#1 The Green.  This green is huge, 42 yards as you say.  But since the first 7 yards are un-pinnable, it does get a little smaller.  There are probably 3-4 yards at the back and on the right that are also un-pinnable, so the real green shrinks a little more.  The overall back-to-front and right-to-left nature does have a few surprises though.  With a front pin just over the false front, I think the ball likes to go slightly towards the back of the green, and a few feet further back the break is pretty flat.  The overall back-to-front nature influences one’s eye into over reading break in the front third of the pinnable surface.  

The South Course greens have thankfully been left largely alone over the years, and in my opinion are superior surfaces to the North’s.  The grass is much more uniform in texture and coloring than the North, and I think the ball rolls truer.  When the South greens are pushed hard, for the Illini Invitational for example, they can get extremely quick and very firm.  I played this year the afternoon the tournament ended, and the green surfaces were unbelievable.  Just routine chips and pitches now required extraordinary focus to match the shot to the green’s pace.  If this were the normal setup for this course, the Members would skin the Super, just way, way too fast and so firm it completely changed the normally sedate character of the course.  So these greens can get wicked if they need to.

[Paul OConnor]

#2 is such a great hole.  For the drive from the black tee, at 482, this plays as a three shot hole for me unless there is a big North wind.  The real Blue tees are supposed to be at 451, but some windbag on the grounds committee insists that the tee be placed at 420, which are really the White tees.  The White tees at 380 are really the Senior tees, and as those don’t set up a dogleg they really change the character of the hole.

The best drive hugs the left side of the fairway, and as such really brings into play the big stand of trees left.  I have hit way too many drives into this no mans land trying to keep the ball left.  Hitting 3 from 450 sucks.  Drives that get loose right are in for even more fun.  As you say, if you’re not too deep you can punch out short of the creek, but when the ground gets hard, balls right are going into some deep bushes, many never to be found again.  I played with a guy in the Club Championship a few years back who started by hitting one into those bushes on the right side.  Unfortunately, his caddy found the ball, and he proceeded to hack it into more bushes, take a couple unplayable lie penalties, and eventually he made a 10.  That kind of thing can happen on nearly any hole on the South it seems.  The course is fairly friendly within a few yards of the fairway, but there are places that you just cannot go on nearly every hole.

The approach on #2 is, in my opinion one of the great shots on the property.  The creek fronting the green, and then wrapping a little too close for comfort around the left side.   There is a particularly troublesome tree on the right side just short of the creek that likes to grab approaches which, in an effort to avoid the creek, drift right, and are often dropped into the creek anyway.  This same tree obstructs pitches for those who have laid up too far right short of the creek.  

This green is one of the best on the South, in my opinion.   Lots of break, lots of speed, some nice pin spots like back right are particularly tough to get at.  There is a far back left pin that appears nearly off the green, as the green narrows in the corner.  Long is no fun on this one, so one should approach with some caution.  

[Scott Wintersteen]

#2  I would add that the drive on #2 South is similar to the drive on #3 North, blind tee shot that is downhill.  I like to play the hole from the lefthand side of the fairway because if you are on the righthand side the trees will come into play for your approach shot into the green.  The downhill approach shot requires a precise shot (usually a hybrid or long iron for me) into a green that is protected by a large tree on the lefthand side of the green and bunkers on the left and right sides of the green and multiple trees right of the righthand greenside bunker.  Even though the approach is downhill I never club down on this hole.   Probably has to do with the creek that is short of the green.  The green is very quick and has multiple options for tough pin placements.  

[Paul OConnor]

Scott,
From the left set of tee boxes, the tee ball on #2 is mostly uphill.  If you can hit it 290, at that point the fairway starts down, but I would consider this tee shot and #3 North not particularly similar.  #3 is pretty flat and then drops out of view, plus this is a dogleg left, and #3 North is more straight than anything.  Not seeing the similarities.

[Scott Wintersteen]

Paul,

I should have been a little more specific.  I was referencing the tee shot on #2 South from the white tees which is more of a straight tee shot comparable what you would see from the tee of #3 North.  If you are playing Blue or Black tees than it is much different.  

[Paul OConnor]

Paul,

I should have been a little more specific.  I was referencing the tee shot on #2 South from the white tees which is more of a straight tee shot comparable what you would see from the tee of #3 North.  If you are playing Blue or Black tees than it is much different.  

You are correct.  I never play those tees.  When Smyers moved the other tees left and back, he made this hole a beast. 

[Scott Wintersteen]

Paul,

I should have been a little more specific.  I was referencing the tee shot on #2 South from the white tees which is more of a straight tee shot comparable what you would see from the tee of #3 North.  If you are playing Blue or Black tees than it is much different.  

You are correct.  I never play those tees.  When Smyers moved the other tees left and back, he made this hole a beast. 

I am about a 50/50 split on playing White/Blue tees on the South.  It all depends on who is playing.  There is definitely a big difference in playing from the backs on #2 South because the angle of the tee shot is more severe.  

[C. Squier]

BTW, I've played OF-North a couple of time, the South once before construction, and saw it while they were laying sod.  The reports I hear are that it came out very well, and that many members prefer it to the North course.  I am wondering if it might have a little to do with playability issues- that it might be easier- just like many members at Winged Foot prefer the East course, and the South at LACC.

The back 9 on South is the easiest 9 at OFCC, but the front may be the most difficult. Also, from the tips I believe it is overall tougher than North. When guests come out, I have no problems taking them to the US Open plates on North, but flat out say no to requests to play the black tees on South.

Sven - I'm enjoying the tour! A player who is even after two may have a career round in the making.

[Sven Nilsen]

Hole 3 (Par 3) - 182/171/152

Tee Shot - The tee boxes for the 3rd hole are set off to the right of the 2nd green.  Still playing in the same southerly direction as the previous two holes, the hole starts at the base of a hill with the green sitting above on higher ground.  An expanse of fairway grass covers the hillside before reaching a second straight edge front on the course. The green is flanked by (1) a rather large but flat bunker on the front left side (set slightly below the surface of the green) with a small swale set beyond the rear mounding of the bunker and (2) a falloff on the right that will result in a blind recovery.  Front pins are guarded by another false front which becomes more severe the further left you get.  The back third or so of the green runs away and narrows from the right, allowing for fairly easier recoveries for a shot that is just long.  A small raised area at the front left of the green (along with the uphill nature of the hole) creates a blind spot when playing to pins on the left side, and makes it hard to judge how far left the green extends.  Luckily, a well placed tree standing by itself beyond the green provides a good marker for how far left you can go.

Pin position will have a great effect on club choice as the putting surface measures 40 yards in depth (the South Course is marked with Red flags for front pins, Yellow for middle and White for back).  For front pins, there's a fine line between getting far enough up the false front to hold the green and running past the pin to the middle of the green.  A well judged running shot may just creep on, but the general play is to try to fly it pin high or just short of the flag.  This is imperative if the pin is on the front left, as the greenside bunker abuts slightly into the line of play.  The general right to left movement of the green makes for fun shots to the middle and back sections, with a ridge running off of the back right corner of the green creating a punchbowl effect when playing all the way back.  For middle pins on the left, the play is to take the ball over the corner of the bunker (and just inside the guiding tree) and let it roll out to the pin.  On the right, you can play a running shot inside the right edge of the green, with the risk of having a slight push end up in a tricky recovery from the hillside on the right (although any shot that stays within the confines of the entrance to the green will generally hold).

Green - Where to start?  False front, slight upslope to the middle and then a swinging fall away section to the back left.  Ridges emanating from the right on the thirds can serve to shape balls back to the middle of the green, but create havoc if faced with a putt along their fall lines.  The green surface feels firmer than most other greens on the course, perhaps due to its maturity or its placement on the top off the hill.  The result is that just about every putt on the green feels like a slippery devil, with even the shortest of putts having some break to deal with.  Recovery shots are very manageable from the front or back of the green, but if you are short-sided on either side its going to take a world class shot to get close.  With the blindness of the pitch up the hill from a miss right, a well judged shot will land just onto the green before rolling out to the pin.

Notes - The club has done a great job in thinning the tree line that surrounds the back of the green, which most certainly has increased the air flow to the relatively newer putting surface.  The falloff on the right of the green is reminiscent of, but not quite as dastardly as, a similar feature we'll see on the 6th hole.  As the back portion of the green is blind from the tee, there's a bit of a Lahinch Dell mystique to any holes-in-one made here, especially if an unscrupulous caddy has sauntered up the hill to forecaddie.  From the front tee box, take a look to your right towards the 4th tee and you'll get a sense of how the hole played in its prior iterations.

Summary - For a par 3, there's entirely too much going on to present a summary without overwhelming the reader.  I can only surmise that the membership was entirely thrilled with the substitution of this hole for the relatively flat hole that preceded it.  The uphill tee shot requires solid decision making, while the green holds plenty of interest.  The falloff on the right adds that extra bit of psychological intimidation, with the result often being a pull into or beyond the only bunker on the hole.

[Terry Lavin]

Sven,

How would you grade the architect on how well this new hole (the only one totally redone) fits in with the rest of the course?

[Ryan Kelly]

Terry, I love the new hole and personally think it fits well.  It is definitely an upgrade from the previous hole that as you know always had issues with flooding when Butterfield Creek would overflow it's banks.  Sven has done a great job describing a pretty complex par 3.  What is your opinion?  Do you think it doesn't fit?

[Sven Nilsen]

Terry:

Let's start by asking the question of whether the new hole is better than what was there, and then ask if what was built was the best possible use of land available between the 2nd green and the 4th tee.  I didn't get the chance to play the old hole, but I can't imagine that you could lay out a par 3 in that area of the course that would provide more of a challenge or offer more interest.

As for whether it fits the general character of the course, the hole picks up on the following themes found elsewhere:

Elevation changes
Internal green contours
False fronts
Greenside fall offs
Ground game options
Pin positions that change the nature of the approach
Playability for different levels of skill at different distances

There is nothing about the hole that would make me think I've suddenly been transported to a different golf course (we'll touch on this later in the round).  Its setting, its surrounds and the way it is played all fit with the look, feel and playability of the South Course.  I suppose you could nitpick the use of mounding, but Smyers did a good job of introducing that meme on the first hole and continues it in appropriate places throughout the course.

Within the subset of par 3's on the course, the 3rd fits in well.  The 5th and 12th play as longer holes, while the 14th is the "short" of the group (with a smaller green befitting the type of club the player will have in hand).  The new 3rd fits the bill for that midrange par 3 to round out the set.

It will be interesting to see if and how this hole matures.  I suspect that over time any feeling of "newness" that one might feel on the 3rd will fade, and the hole will feel like its always been there.  What won't change is the previously discussed walk from the 3rd green to the 4th tee, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to accept if the answers to the questions above were both a "yes."

Sven