Tropicana September-October 2022 #144 The Home Issue

TROPICANA MAGAZINE
Xander Schauffele plays a
shot from a bunker on the
fifth hole during the
second round of the 2022
PGA Championship at
Southern Hills Country Club
CHALLENGING
C URSES
Read on for an overview of the hazards at this
year’s major golf tournament venues
SOUTHERN HILLS COUNTRY CLUB IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA, USA
The golf course at Southern Hills is without a doubt challenging. From the back tees at
Southern Hills, a player with a five index would have a course handicap of 13, according
to golf statistics specialist Lou Stagner, and that’s without taking major championship
conditions into account. The greens are tricky, and approach shots that miss the target
are penalised as they settle in a variety of collection zones. Reports suggest that
the majority of the fairways on the course are sloped, and level lays are uncommon.
Moreover, the length of the course is 7,556 yards to be exact. All of these add up to a
significant test. The bunkers surrounding the greens, though, may turn out to be the
most challenging task players have recently encountered. The sand is a little darker
than what elite players are used to. Instead of pearly white silt, these bunkers are dark
in colour, which poses a distinct difficulty for golfers. As English professional golfer,
Ian Poulter noted on social media, the “coarse fine gravel type sand” makes controlling
spin while coming out of the bunker extremely tough.
57