SOS, A Par 3 Hole Design Featuring a Swedish Warship, Will Debut in WTGL’s Opening Match On Sunday, Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. ET.
World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sörenstam has joined WTGL as the newest hole designer, bringing her perspective as one of golf’s most accomplished players to the competition at SoFi Center.
Annika Hole Design has created two holes for the upcoming seasons of WTGL and TGL presented by SoFi, with the first design, SOS, debuting in WTGL’s opening match on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.
RELATED: Check out the regular season schedule for WTGL
The opening match will feature Los Angeles Golf Club, led by Michelle Wie West, against New York Golf Club, led by LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko.
SOS — Par 3: Inspired by Sörenstam’s Swedish roots, SOS pays homage to a Swedish warship that sank in Stockholm harbor during its maiden voyage in 1628. The hole design places a ship in a Nordic setting of icebergs and icy waters and includes 12 tee boxes, with playing distances ranging from 119 to 233 yards.
Players hit from an iceberg tee, carrying the ship and shaping shots around its towering sail to reach an island green.
Here's a look at SOS...
Why Is It Named SOS?
The name for Annika's first hole design connects three meanings: the international distress signal; Swedish pop group ABBA’s hit song “SOS”; and the challenge facing players, a “Shot Over Sail.”
Sörenstam’s design also draws on her pre-match visit to SoFi Center’s field of play, where she was intrigued by the challenge of hitting longer shots to the green inside the arena. She made that challenge central to SOS.
Hole Strategy: SOS
A tee shot that misses the green and lands in the surrounding snow carries no penalty but leaves an approximately 40-yard recovery shot from near the arena’s traditional Overtime shot location. A ball that finds the water incurs a one-stroke penalty, with the next shot played from the same area.
Both misses create the type of pressure-filled arena shot that inspired Sörenstam, making accuracy and shot shaping critical from the tee on SOS.
“Designing for WTGL and TGL gave us an opportunity to be creative with the setting while thinking about how the best players in the world would approach each shot,” said Sörenstam. “With SOS, we wanted to bring a piece of Sweden into the experience and create a hole that is fun to watch and challenging to play.”
Sörenstam’s second hole design, a par 4 that can play as long as 511 yards, will be unveiled during the upcoming WTGL season. Both hole designs will be played in WTGL and TGL competition.
First Look In The App
Fans can get a first look at new hole designs and be among the first to receive updates on match lineups and course layouts by downloading the TGL | WTGL app and turning on notifications.
As well as Sörenstam, other hole designers for WTGL and TGL include Gil Hanse, Agustín Pizá, Nicklaus Design, and Beau Welling Design. Check out the full catalog of Hole Designs for both leagues in the app and on web.