Southerness Golf Club, 13th Hole
A new drivable par-4 proposed along the edge of the Solway Firth, designed to restore variety, risk and strategic choice within Southerness' closing sequence.
A new short par-4 on the edge of the Solway Firth.
Southerness is one of the most distinctive links settings in Britain, with the Solway Firth to the south and the hills of the Southern Uplands rising to the north. The course, laid out by Philip Mackenzie Ross after the Second World War, has architectural significance as one of the last works connected to the spirit of golf’s Golden Age.
The proposed new 13th reconsiders a corner of the property shaped by a changed clubhouse location and an altered routing sequence. By retaining the existing 13th tee and creating a new drivable par-4 along the coastal edge, the proposal restores variety, risk and a more memorable interaction with the Firth.
What the new 13th needed to achieve.
The proposal was driven by three connected aims: restoring variety to the course, using the coastal setting more memorably, and creating a hole that reflects the thinking golf associated with Mackenzie Ross.
Approach variety
Modern lengthening had reduced variety across the course, with too many holes asking similar long approach questions. A drivable par-4 introduces a different rhythm and gives golfers a more immediate strategic choice from the tee.
Risk and reward
The direct line towards the green is deliberately tempting, but the boundary and coastal edge mean a poor swing can quickly turn a birdie opportunity into bogey or worse. The safer route remains playable, but leaves a more demanding pitch.
Coastal character
The new hole strengthens the course’s relationship with the Solway Firth, creating a final coastal interaction before the routing turns inland towards the proposed 14th.
Communicate clearly
Visual material and member communication helped the project move from concept to implementation.
A different use of the coastal edge.
The proposal shifts the emphasis of this corner from a flatter, more functional hole into a short par-4 with genuine strategic tension. The new green sits along an existing ridge, with the fairway cut wide enough to offer options but shaped to make the direct route meaningfully risky.
Key recommendations.
The 13th is intended to be a compact, memorable and strategic hole that adds variety without feeling imposed on the landscape.
Create a drivable par-4
Introduce a short par-4 that offers a genuine decision from the tee and changes the rhythm of the round.
Use the coastal boundary
Allow the Solway Firth edge to become part of the strategic and visual character of the hole.
Set the green on the ridge
Use the existing landform to create a green position that rewards the correct angle and punishes imprecise ambition.
Retain width and choice
Provide enough fairway for average golfers to play sensibly while still making the boldest line meaningfully demanding.
Restoring variety through a new risk-and-reward par-4.
A central aim of the Southerness work was to recover some of the strategic variety that had been reduced through the course’s lengthening over time. Too many approaches had begun to require long irons or fairway woods, while several hazards no longer challenged the best players in the way Mackenzie Ross would have intended.
The new 13th responds by introducing a true short par-4, played down the prevailing wind and close to the boundary of the Firth. The hole is short enough to tempt a wide range of golfers into considering the green from the tee, but the more ambitious line brings the coastal edge and surrounding hazards directly into play.
For those who bail away from the most dangerous route, the hole still asks a meaningful question. A safer tee shot to the left leaves a more awkward pitch across the bunkering and towards a green set along an existing ridge. The result is a compact hole with several ways to play it, and a very different strategic rhythm from the longer holes around it.
Site photographs.
Considering the future of your course?
Early conversations are often broad and informal. We are always happy to discuss projects at any stage.