A shotmaker s course set in the heartland Southern Hills is considered the masterpiece of the Depression Era golf course architect Perry Maxwell The facility has three nine hole courses that are traditionally played in combinations The Front and West nines and the Front and Back nines to create an 18 hole round The terrain features rolling fairways and scores of mature lofty trees Those combined with elevation changes between the tees and the fairways and the fairways and the greens place a premium on distance control and shot selection Southern Hills has a great blend of long par 3s short par 4s and challenging par 5s Water comes into play on several holes and many of the longer holes have doglegs so players must shape tee shots around corners and into specific areas if they want to attack the fast undulating greens Southern Hills hosted 1958 1977 and 2001 U S Opens as well as the 1994 and 2007 PGA Championships For a complete hole by hole look at how Southern Hills was set up for the 2007 PGA Championship click here