Five things to know: TPC Southwind

With apologies to the 1991 Marc Cohn hit single, there will be limited “Walking in Memphis” this week in Tennessee.

Grinding, hustling and fighting to win and/or advance will be more like it as TPC Southwind hosts the first event of the 2023 Playoffs, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. This year marks the second time the course has kicked off the three-week FedExCup Playoffs, where players will battle the Zoysia fairways and Bermuda greens to try and crack the top 50 in the FedExCup and carry on to the BMW Championship, where the final 30 will advance to the TOUR Championship.

Here are five things to know about TPC Southwind:

1. RICH HISTORY

The course was designed with tournament golf in mind: With architect Ron Prichard at the wheel and Hubert Green and Fuzzy Zoeller acting as consultants, the course opened in 1988. In 1989, it began hosting the Federal Express St. Jude Classic, and it would continue to do so through 2018. (The tournament’s history in Memphis goes all the way back to 1958.)

Prior to last year's debut as a FedExCup Playoffs event, the course hosted the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, where Will Zalatoris claimed victory in 2022 by beating Sepp Straka on a third playoff hole.

The low score at the par-70 TPC Southwind is 61, shot by three different players in three decades: Jay Delsing set the pace in 1993, Bob Estes tied it en route to victory in 2001 – he also made a hole-in-one at TPC Southwind in 2002 – and Tom Lewis also signed for a 61 in 2020. Si Woo Kim and J.J. Spaun both shot 62 in the first round last year.

John Mahaffey was the first player on the PGA TOUR to win at TPC Southwind in 1989, edging a group of four players, including Green. World Golf Hall of Fame members Tom Kite, Fred Couples and Nick Price (twice) are also among those to have won at the storied Memphis course. A statue of World Golf Hall of Famer and 1961 St. Jude Classic winner Cary Middlecoff, who was a dentist before winning 39 times on the PGA TOUR, including two U.S. Opens and the 1955 Masters. He is tied with Tom Watson for 10th on the PGA TOUR’s all-time wins list.

Middlecoff was born in Tennessee and won the Tennessee State Amateur four consecutive times.

2. NEW CHALLENGES

TPC Southwind’s first big renovation came in 2004 as a means of modernizing and strengthening the course. David Toms had won at 20-under 264 in 2003, after which the course got 11 new tees, 15 new bunkers and three new bridges, while three ponds were enlarged, four creeks stabilized and over 125 trees planted. The fifth hole was adjusted from a par 5 to a par 4 and the par-3 eighth hole was completely altered.

The course also went from bentgrass to Champion Bermudagrass on the greens, and when Toms came back in 2004, he shot four strokes higher (16-under 268) but this time won by six strokes. The changes had had their desired effect, and no one has since reached 20 under.

The course got another renovation in 2020, when some bunkers were eliminated, some were added, some were enlarged, and some were reduced in size. But above all, every bunker was re-edged and packed with fresh new sand and all-new drainage.

Meanwhile, two front-nine holes were lengthened. The par-5 third, which had played at 554 yards, mostly straight, had 25 yards tacked onto it with a new tee box. The first half of the fairway, already near the water, was shifted 15 yards to the right. With water in play on the second shot, this further complicates the decision of whether to go over the lake in two or lay up to the left.

The par-4 17th hole was lengthened to a peak of roughly 505 yards. What’s more, players now must recalibrate their distances with a creek splitting the fairway on the downhill hole.

The par-4 15th hole got 100 yards of new stone, placed along the creek that runs to the left of the tee shot, but to the right of the green. While aesthetically pleasing and matching other holes on the course, the artistic addition also provides less bail-out for shots rolling or flying fast toward the water.

“The course has been on kind of a yearly project, reinforcing a lot of the creeks and ponds,” TPC Southwind superintendent Nick Bisanz said in 2020. “Adding retention walls to help shore things up. But there are also three or four projects each year as part of kind of a beautification process, to enhance the look of the course.”

What has remained constant are the two grain silos and windmill on the course that serve as reminders of the property’s former identity as a dairy farm.

3. SPLISH SPLASH

Memphis may not be known for its beaches, but TPC Southwind is known for its water.

Of the many water holes at TPC Southwind, one that stands out is No. 11, which is similar to Pete Dye’s island 17th at TPC Sawgrass. Like the famed hole at THE PLAYERS Championship, No. 11 in Memphis requires a short iron into an island green with one bunker protecting the front runoff. But while TPC Sawgrass’ 17th hole plays just 137 yards, TPC Southwind’s 11th is listed at 157 yards but can tip at 165.

Si Woo Kim recorded a 13 on TPC Southwind’s island hole in 2021, the highest recorded score on a par-3 in a non-major since the TOUR started keeping such statistics in 1983. The highest score at TPC Sawgrass’ 17th is a 12 by Bob Tway in 2005.

The 457-yard ninth is a hard dogleg to the right that requires a precise, long tee shot before an approach shot over water. Players out of position off the tee will likely need to hit a conservative second shot up the right side. The 18th hole has water running along its entire left side, but unlike No. 9, this 453-yard par-4 is a dogleg to the left.

The 239-yard, par-3 14th hole can also sneak up on players with water down the right side. Any pin positions on the right side of the green will require players to make a full carry over the water.

4. ZOYSIA AND BERMUDAGRASS

TPC Southwind is one of the TOUR stops with zoysia fairways and tee boxes.

The grass, hardier than other strains, is beneficial in the Memphis climate that can see cold bursts in the winter and significant heat in the summer. The bermudagrass rough has been known to contaminate the fairways, with the TPC Southwind staff constantly working to preserve the pureness of the zoysia.

Recent PGA TOUR zoysia stops include Bellerive Country Club for the 2018 PGA Championship and Trinity Forest Golf Club and TPC Craig Ranch for the AT&T Byron Nelson have shown the potential for low scores. However, at TPC Southwind, especially going back to the 2004 renovation, other elements have given the course some defense. Since 2004, only one winning score – Justin Leonard’s 4 under in 2008 – has been outside the 9-under to 19-under range. Last year, both Zalatoris and Straka reached 15-under par for 72 holes.

5. 18TH HOLE OF BLUES

TPC Southwind saves its most dramatic hole for last. The 18th hole, a 453-yard par 4, is fierce, fair and demands champions attack one final challenge in Grind City.

To call it a dogleg left would be an understatement; the hole makes almost a full 90-degree turn around a gaping water hazard. A short tee shot brings bunkers into play on the right, with limited rough and water awaiting left misses off the tee. A longer tee shot can take out the bunkers on the right but requires more carry over the left water if players want to take the chance.

Hit it too short off the tee and you face a long-iron approach mostly over water. A longer tee shot brings water into play on the left, while a deep bunker hides behind the green.

The second playoff hole last year saw all the options. Zalatoris was forced to pitch back onto the fairway after an errant drive to the right, but managed to get up-and-down from 94 yards. Straka found the water from off the tee but after a drop hit a brilliant third shot and matched Zalatoris' par.

For the leaders of this tournament – and for those trying to make it to the next leg of the FedExCup Playoffs at the BMW Championship – the 18th hole will provide a stern test.