About Firestone Country Club - South Course

Firestone Country Club is a private golf club in the United States, located in Akron, Ohio. It is a regular stop on the PGA Tour and has hosted the PGA Championship three times. It is the current home of the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship through 2022.

The club comprises three courses—those of the North, South, and West. In 1974 the club hosted three televised golf events: the American Golf Classic, the CBS Golf Classic and the World Series of Golf. No other club has hosted three televised golf events in the same calendar year.

One of four World Golf Championships constituent events, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, directed by the International Federation of PGA Tours and sanctioned on the PGA and European Tours, was contested at the club with the final event at the club held in 2018. The North and West courses also serve as the home course for the University of Akron Zips golf team.

South Course – The Monster

This course was designed from the start to be championship level and has been the host of over 70 professional tournaments. After a triple-bogey at the 16th hole in the third round of the PGA Championship in 1960, Arnold Palmer called it a "monster." The name stayed and struck such a chord with frustrated golfers that the entire South course is now known fondly as "The Monster."

Noted for its length, the par 70, 7,283-yard South Course includes a series of intimidating, long par-4 holes and one of the longest par 5s anywhere. The 16th hole plays to 667 yards. A pond in front of the green captures its share of errant shots. Usually, the casualties aren’t the result of futile attempts to reach the green in two; they are third shots from players who hit errant tee shots and find the woods. A well-placed long tee shot does not guarantee the opportunity to get home in two.

The 16th hole doesn’t have the market covered on length. Before you get there, the par-3, 221-yard, 15th hole provides enough of a challenge. Its flat green makes for a straight putt, but getting the ball close to the 15th hole can be a problem. From the tee, bunkers on the left of the green are hidden and provide for unpleasant surprises.

If a 221-yard par 3 isn’t enough, try the 200-yard 5th hole. The small green can be reached with a 5- or 6-iron, but you might need as much as a 3-iron when the wind is blowing. Strange as it may seem, it is not one of the toughest scoring holes--that honor goes to two of the par 4s.

The 6th hole is 469 yards of challenge. It has ranked as the toughest for professionals at Firestone over the years. The 471-yard 4th hole is another test. All the hole asks a player to do is hit a long and straight tee shot, followed by an approach shot that must come in high to hold the elevated green. Sometimes this is easier said than done. But then again, that’s the best way to sum up Firestone Country Club’s South Course.

Course details

1st Hole, 399 yard, par-4
2nd Hole, 526 yard, par-5
3rd Hole, 442 yard, par-4
4th Hole, 471 yard, par-4 Another long par 4, the second shot is where golfers get themselves into trouble; the height of the green requires quite a bit of lift.
5th Hole, 200 yard, par-3 While still a good length, this par 3 is considered to be one of the easier holes on the course. However, until 1987 NEC World Series of Golf, the full length from championship tee was 234 yards, which was the longest and toughest par 3 in this course.
6th Hole, 469 yard, par-4 Length alone adds a great deal of difficulty to this par 4, often noted to be the most difficult hole on the course.
7th Hole, 219 yard, par-3
8th Hole, 482 yard, par-4
9th Hole, 494 yard, par-4
10th Hole, 410 yard, par-4
11th Hole, 418 yard, par-4
12th Hole, 180 yard, par-3
13th Hole, 471 yard, par-4
14th Hole, 467 yard, par-4
15th Hole, 221 yard, par-3 A long par 3 is difficult enough, but the hidden left bunker proves fatal for many a golfer.
16th Hole, 667 yard, par-5 One of the longest par 5s in existence, its pond in front of the green adds more than its fair share of difficulty to the hole.
17th Hole, 400 yard, par-4
18th Hole, 464 yard, par-4 With a long narrow profile and a green surrounded by bunkers, this is a difficult par 4 to birdie.