Southern Hills Golf Course is a rewarding, yet sometimes challenging course. We recommend golfers play from the appropriate tees to ensure they experience the most pleasure from their golf experience with us. Determining factors in which tees you should play include the distance in which you can accurately hit a ball, your overall golf ability and your golf handicap (if applicable).
Factors that should not determine which set of tees you play include your age and/or your gender.
HOLE 1 | PAR 4
Red: 304 | White: 345 | Blue: 355 | HDCP: 18
Hole 1 offers an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with the course. With an elevated tee box and wide landing area, the hole is relatively straight forward. Avoid an errant drive left, leading to out of bounds, with your miss being to the right where the hole runs parallel to the driving range.
The green is guarded by a sand trap on the left and trees to the right, making it more challenging to find the green in regulation if your tee shot is too far to the right. With a gradual slope from back to front, you will want to make sure you don’t go too long with your approach, as a long putt from the back of the green can gain speed quickly.
HOLE 2 | PAR 4
Red: 305 | White: 321 | Blue: 335 | HDCP: 2
Hole 2 is a dogleg left, par 4. With out of bounds on the left side of the fairway, and a row of developing ponderosa pines on the right side of the fairway, hitting your tee shot into the wide fairway landing area makes finding the green in regulation much more attainable.
The green is semi-elevated, positioned behind a narrow chute with a green side bunker guarding its front right side. In hitting your approach it is better to miss right than left, as left of the green there is less room for error.
HOLE 3 | PAR 3
Red: 105 | White: 128 | Blue: 139 | HDCP: 12
A fairly standard par 3, the green on hole 3 offers a small target area tucked between a steep slope in front of and behind the green.
Find yourself long and you could be looking at a challenging downhill lie where if hit too hard, could run down the slope on the opposite side of the green.
HOLE 4 | PAR 5
Red: 391 | White: 438 | Blue: 450 | HDCP: 8
A dogleg left, uphill par 5 offers experienced golfers a risk/reward opportunity. Those with the distance in their game can “cut the corner,” leaving 125-165 yards remaining.
The more conventional route is to hit a straight tee shot to the corner and then work your way toward the elevated green. With such an elevation gain, the hole does play longer than listed.
At the top of the hill you’ll find a two-tiered green. Pay close attention to the flag color on your approach shot. A red flag means the pin is cut on the lower tier, while a blue flag means the pin is cut on the upper tier. Find yourself on the top of the green putting down to the bottom tear and you will be successful to walk away with less than a three putt.
HOLE 5 | PAR 3
Red: 130 | White: 144 | Blue: 153 | HDCP: 14
Hole 5 features a slightly elevated green for your target area, guarded by a sand trap to the front left and ponderosa trees right of the green.
With a long green sloping back to front, lag putts from the back of the green to the front can prove quite the challenge.
HOLE 6 | PARK 5
Red: 441 | White: 547 | Blue: 557 | HDCP: 10
Perhaps one of the most memorable tee-shots you will make on the front 9, hole 6 offers a downhill, dogleg right par 5 that requires some finesse in navigating. The fairway offers a wide open landing area with trees to the right of the fairway and more opening to the left.
The green is guarded by the dogleg, making reaching the green in two achievable for only those that can carry their drive off of the tee.
The green is protected by a sand trap positioned front left of the green, while a slope leading up to the green pushes shots missed to the right, back to the left in favor of the golfer.
HOLE 7 | PAR 4
Red: 293 | White: 391 | Blue: 407 | HDCP: 4
Hole 7 is a dogleg right, downhill par 4. The greatest challenge on this hole is your approach shot, as you’ll be working with a downhill lie and a hazard to the left of the green. However, golfers are rewarded with a large green to hit toward.
For right-handed golfers, a fade plays perfectly off the tee, as the drop in elevation helps extend the length of your drive making your approach shot more manageable.
HOLE 8 | PAR 3
Red: 132 | White: 139 | Blue: 164 | HDCP: 16
Hole 8 offers a downhill shot to a moderately sized target area. The green is protected by a ponderosa pine and sand trap to the front left, with room to land the ball beyond the sand hazard.
Sloping from back to front, putting on this green is made easier when hitting your tee shot short, rather than going long and putting back toward the tee boxes. When the pin is positioned on the front right of the green, prepare for a putting challenge.
HOLE 9 | PAR 4
Red: 334 | White: 397 | Blue: 409 | HDCP: 6
Hole 9, formerly hole 1 when Southern Hills Golf Course was only a 9 hole course, is a dog leg left par 4. The tee boxes and the green are relatively equal in elevation, but the fairway sits lower making for an elevated tee shot.
Flanked by three fairway bunkers, landing at the second bunker off the tee will leave golfers with a manageable , 150 yard uphill approach shot to a relatively large and forgiving green guarded only by two ponderosa pine trees to the left.
HOLE 10 | PAR 3
Red: 87 | White: 141 | Blue: 147 | HDCP: 7
Perhaps one of the most memorable shots you will make on the course, hole 10 offers a par 3 challenge with a dramatic change in elevation from tee to green for those playing the white and blue tee markers.
The green offers a forgiving target area that can make for long birdie putts if hit on the opposite side of the pin. Avoid going right or long as out of bounds begins beyond the cart path along the right side and behind the green.
HOLE 11 | PAR 4
Red: 223 | White: 310/324 | Blue: 338 | HDCP: 1
A signature hole of Southern Hills Golf Course, hole 11 offers a challenging par 4 that rewards the straight hitters. With a red sloping hillside to the left and a canyon to the right, the narrow fairway offers great peace of mind to those that find it off the tee. With much of the fairway sloping left to right, balls hit too far right will continue right upon landing toward the canyon.
Offering a second challenge, separating the fairway and the green is another canyon in which the golfer has to hit over to find the green in regulation. Once on the green, hole 11’s green rewards the golfer by being relatively easier in navigating putts.
HOLE 12 | PAR 3
Red: 116 | White: 168/194 | Blue: 224 | HDCP: 3
Hole 12 offers a unique par 3 experience with a long green as the target are tucked between a red-rock hillside to the left and a canyon positioned on the right. Still with plenty of room to land the ball, those looking to play it safe can be assured by the fairway landing area leading up the narrow green.
HOLE 13 | PAR 5
Red: 331 | White: 428/475 | Blue: 503 | HDCP: 11
Hole 13 provides a stark contrast to the tight designs of holes 11 and 12. With a wide open landing area and generous fairway, hole 13 offers golfers an opportunity to get a few strokes back with both its attainable this hoe distance and forgiving fairways.
Players will find it more advantageous to be on the right side of the fairway off the box, giving themselves a clear look at the green on their next shot. It is not unreasonable for golfers to have eagle looks.
With a large green, golfers could be on in two but still have work left over if they find themselves with a lag putt. Still, the openness and distance of this par 5 makes it an excellent opportunity to post a low number.
HOLE 14 | PAR 3
Red: 120 | White: 142 | Blue: 165 | HDCP: 17
Hole 14 requires golfers to hit over a red-rock canyon onto a large landing area and elongated green. The miss on this hole is to the left of the green, as the slope of the hillside feeds balls towards the green in favor of the golfer.
HOLE 15 | PAR 4
Red: 237 | White: 267/278 | Blue: 291 | HDCP: 5
Hole 15 is a short, dogleg left par 4 that rewards golfers with excellent control over their irons and wedges. Tee shots landing 100-120 yards out will result in the golfer having an almost unavoidable downhill lie for their approach shot.
Hitting to a large elevated green, golfers must first pass over a water hazard in front of the green and avoid the hazard flanking the green to both the left and right.
HOLE 16 | PAR 4
Red: 364 | White: 407 | Blue: 448 | HDCP: 9
Hole 16 is a lengthy par 4 with a slight dogleg right design. Lined by out of bounds on the right side of the hole, a wide fairway awaits the golfer as it descends to a lower green.
Lined by a water hazard on the left of the fairway, the sloping fairway can help provide the golfer some extra distance off the tee if the tee shot finds the downslope just right.
Hitting toward a generously sized green, the golfer can go after the flag without much concern for hazards or other obstructions.
HOLE 17 | PAR 5
Red: 393 | White: 439 | Blue: 474 | HDCP: 13
Hole 17 provides another memorable tee shot opportunity, especially for those playing the blue tee markers. A dogleg right, par 5 presents golfers with the decision to play it safe and straight or to shorten the hole by “cutting the corner” and flying over the hazard. Drives hit straight and too far can find the fairway bunker while aggressive lines hit too short can find the hazard, or worse, the out of bounds right of the hazard.
A gradual incline makes the approach shot play a little longer than anticipated, leading to a large and accessible green guarded only by a bunker in the front right.
HOLE 18 | PAR 4
Red: 269 | White: 321 | Blue: 346 | HDCP: 15
Hole 18 is a short, dogleg left par 4 with a wide landing area in the fairway for tee shots with a gradual uphill approach to a moderately sized green protected by two green side bunkers, both positioned at the front of the green.
Tee shots must be carefully placed, as any drive going too long will face out of bounds lining the road straight away from the tees.
Golfers will find the center or right side of the fairway is more advantageous to seeing the green on their approach shot, as opposed to being short and left, tucked behind a point of native area and young ponderosa pines.