Heritage Links assisting Gil Hanse with restoration at Southern Hills

Heritage Links is assisting architect Gil Hanse with construction services for the encompassing restoration of historic Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. The project entails work on all 18 holes of the Perry Maxwell masterpiece that opened in 1936.  The extensive restoration plans include new USGA greens, bunkers, tees, cart paths, drainage, a new irrigation system, and grassing.   

Among Heritage Links’s comprehensive project services will be the implementation of a new bunker style that will be natural in appearance. The change represents a stark contrast to the existing ordinary appearance that evolved over the years. Additionally, the bunkers will include Better Billy Bunker liners to improve drainage.  All of the greens will be rebuilt to USGA specifications utilizing GreenScan technology to replace the contours to their exact current elevations. The new greens will feature PrecisionAire and hydronic heating/cooling systems in the subgrade.

Heritage Links also is working on the creation of a new short game area and event lawn, driving range reconstruction, plus colored concrete cart paths.

The renovation is on track for a mid-December completion, and the course expects to reopen in June 2019. The construction work is being managed for Heritage Links by Agustin Sanchez. 

Southern Hills is considered Maxwell’s greatest architectural achievement. The storied private club has hosted three U.S. Opens and four PGA Championships, as well as the U.S. Amateur Championship, a U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. Future tournaments to be hosted by the club include the 2021 PGA Senior Championship and another PGA Championship scheduled between 2025 and 2030.