Jimmie Austin/Oklahoma University Golf Club Primer

Yardage: 7,275 yards

Par: 35-36—71

Defending champion: Jack Newman

Opened: 1951

Designer: Perry Maxwell (revisions done by Robert Cupp)

USGA championships: This will be the first USGA championship held at the course, but in 1997 the venue hosted the Oklahoma State Amateur. The Big 12 Women’s Championship was staged here a year later.

Military roots: Prior to the golf course being constructed, the current site was formerly a U.S. Navy recreation facility. Situated on what was once called “South Base,” the facility served as an annex to the Norman Naval Air Station. In 1949 the golf course construction began under the leadership of Oklahoma University President George Lynn Cross.

What’s in a name: One of the chief financial supporters for the 1996 renovation of the golf course was Jimmie Austin, a major OU benefactor. Cupp’s revisions to the course remained true to the features originally laid out by Maxwell some 45 years earlier.

Future star: One prominent player who honed his skills on the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club course during his college days in Norman was 2005 USA Walker Cup member and current PGA Tour star Anthony Kim. Kim also enjoyed plenty of success in the Amateur Public Links, earning stroke-play medalist honors in 2005 (lost in semifinals) and advancing to the championship match in 2006, where he fell to Casey Watabu.

Campus courses: Playing a USGA championship on a university golf course is not novel, but it’s a first for the APL. Ten U.S. Junior Amateurs have been held on university courses (twice at Yale G.C.), including eight of the first 14 played from 1948-1961.

Famous alum honored: Adjacent to the facility’s south end is the Charlie Coe Golf Center, which is named after OU alum and two-time U.S. Amateur champion Charlie Coe. The center features two chipping areas with seven bunkers, and both bent- and Bermuda-grass practice greens.

Fast fact: No player from the state of Oklahoma has ever won the APL.

Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club hole by hole:

Hole 1
468 yards
With the prevailing south wind, this dogleg-right par 4 plays as one of the longest on the course, and the majority of players will be left with a mid- to long-iron approach. A tee shot down the left center of the fairway is preferred as anything right will leave a tricky second shot at best. Two large bunkers guard the front of the green and provide a glimpse to one of the constant characteristics that will be seen throughout the course.

Hole 2
170 yards
The key to the par-3 second hole is properly gauging the wind as the green is guarded to the south by trees, making this task very difficult. The landing area is surrounded by deep bunkers, and any shot long or left will leave a very difficult up-and-down.

Hole 3
328 yards
The short par-4 third provides one of the best birdie opportunities during the round. Off the tee players have the option of attacking the green with a driver or laying back with a long iron that will afford a full-swing approach. The shallowest green on the course, with a depth of only 16 paces, makes distance control is an absolute must.

Hole 4
464 yards
One of the more challenging tee shots on the course. This fairway is lined by trees and two fairway bunkers on the left, and native area and another two fairway bunkers on the right. A solid tee shot leaves a mid to long iron into an elevated green. Getting the correct yardage is tricky as approach shots begin in an area protected against the wind and end on an exposed green.

Hole 5
621 yards
At a length of more than 600 yards and playing into the prevailing south wind, the par-5 fifth hole is one of the most difficult holes at Jimmie Austin. The tee shot is deceptively tough as the wind substantially narrows the widest landing area on the course. Two solid shots will leave a short-iron approach into a green that is guarded by a signature 60-foot oak tree.

Hole 6
175 yards
Another par-3 where judging the wind direction correctly is critical. The tee shot is tucked into an area protected by trees on both sides, giving the golfer the sense that the wind is swirling. The bailout here is to the right as any shot hit left into on of the three greenside bunkers will make for a very difficult par.

Hole 7
434 yards
The seventh is the start of three consecutive prevailing downwind holes. This is typically not a driver hole, with trouble to the left and the right off the tee. It is best to favor the right side of the fairway to avoid the large cottonwood hindering the approach shot into this large green from the left side.

Hole 8
505 yards
A well-hit drive followed by a precise long iron is a must for players in order to reach this multi-tiered green in two. Being aggressive on this hole can bring the risk/reward aspect into play, with three greenside bunkers guarding the left side of the green and out of bounds lurking around this green left and long.

Hole 9
417 yards
This short dogleg-right par 4 provides a great finish to the front nine. Most players will take a fairway wood or long iron off the tee to avoid the deep fairway bunkers on both the left and right side of the fairway. A short-iron approach will be left into this severely front-to-back sloping green that is protected by bunkers on three sides.

Hole 10
315 yards
A drivable par 4 that is a great opportunity for birdie with a solid tee shot. The placement off the tee is vital, however, as short-siding yourself on this green will provide an extremely difficult pitch into a green that is very deep but narrow.

Hole 11
437 yards
The defining feature of the 11th hole is the row of loblolly pines that line the left side of the fairway, forcing tee shots to the right. Any tee shot hit left into this grove of trees will almost assuredly leave a pitch-out second shot. The approach shot is downhill to a peanut-shaped green with a severe false front on its left side.

Hole 12
164 yards
Determining the correct yardage into the par-3 12th is a must as trouble lurks on all sides of the green. A steep slope on the front of the green will pull all poorly struck approaches back down toward the creek, and anything hit right or left of the intended landing area will leave a very difficult bunker shot or chip.

Hole 13
589 yards
Turning back into the prevailing south wind, the par-5 13th hole is a three-shot hole for nearly every player. A solid drive to a wide fairway followed by a layup with a long iron will leave players with an uphill short-iron approach to this elevated green surrounded by three bunkers.

Hole 14
437 yards
A solid tee shot on the dogleg-right par-4 14th hole will leave a mid- to long-iron approach to the largest green on the course. The two fairway bunkers on the left are within reach off the tee for most players, and avoiding these is a
must.

Hole 15
281 yards
The 281-yard 15th is the longest par 3 in the state of Oklahoma. Because it normally plays downwind, this hole effectively is much shorter. A player can choose to land his tee shot well short of the green and run it up or try to carry a longer club all the way to the front edge of the green.

Hole 16
420 yards
The dogleg-right par-4 16th hole requires a precise tee shot into a narrow fairway lined by trees on the right and left. The native area on the left is also within reach of longer hitters on calmer days. A downhill mid-iron approach will be the norm for most players into a relatively docile green that slopes significantly from back to front.

Hole 17
480 yards
One of the most challenging par 4s on the course, the dogleg-right 17th requires a driver off the tee from a very narrow chute to a fairway that is lined on the left by fairway bunkers. Players will want to be aware of the small hazard located just to the right of this fairway. A well-struck drive will leave a mid- to long-iron approach into the green.

Hole 18
584 yards
A true risk/reward par 5, the 18th provides an exciting finish to the round. In order to carry the two bunkers on the right side of this fairway, a player will have to strike his tee shot solidly. Should the player do so, he will be left with the option of carrying the trees and creek to reach the green in two or laying up down the fairway. A layup will leave a downhill short-iron approach into the pear-shaped green.

Compiled by USGA Digital Media staff writer David Shefter and Assistant Director, USGA Museum, David Normoyle. E-mail them with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org or dnormoyle@usga.org.