Jun 16, 2023 - Sports

What it's like to play Firestone Country Club's South Course

Sam Allard

Side by side photos of a golfer, swinging a club (L) and walking over a footbridge (R) — Sam hacking it out of the rough (L) and crossing the Arnold Palmer Bridge (R) on the signature 16th. Photos: Courtesy of Sam Allard/Axios

👋 Sam here, with a brief dispatch for golf nuts ONLY.

Driving the news: Akron's Firestone Country Club will host the Kaulig Companies Championship next month — a Major on the PGA Champions Tour (i.e., the tour for pros age 50 and older).

Journalists gathered in Akron this week to hear from tournament organizers and sponsors about what promises to be an action-packed weekend July 13-16.

Between the lines: Golf fans know that in Northeast Ohio, Firestone South is hallowed ground.

Tiger Woods won at Firestone eight times, a PGA record.

💭 Sam's thought bubble: I got to play the course as part of media day, something the public can't do without purchasing pricey stay-and-play packages.

Of note: The 600-yard par-5 16th hole, one of the longest in pro tournament play, was both a beauty and a beast. I got to walk across the famed Arnold Palmer Bridge to hit my approach shot.

By the numbers: I'm a ~16 handicap, which means on good days I shoot in the high 80s on a par-72 course.

I shot a 94 on the par-70 South Course and was overjoyed.
Yes, but: The greens weren't as quick and the rough wasn't as thick as they will be when the pros come to town.

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What it's like to play Firestone Country Club's South Course

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