Long par 3 / Tight Par 3

I was on my way scoring below 80 the other day and there comes Par 3s .

one was 208 yards downhill and the other is dead straight i7 / 180 yards but the green is raised and 2 giant trees next to each side + water in the front of green and pond

next to the tree in the right...

I don't know what it is, but I messed up ALL my tee shots and ended up with an extra +8 on both holes. Really wrecked me mentally...

I hate Par 3s . What do I do?

Keep hitting them off the tee until you;re satisfied....just kidding

Practice practice practice.

When you're at the range put yourself in a situation where you have to hit your 7 iron 180 yards at a target. And keep doing it, then do it for 200 yards etc

Do it until ten shots in a row are satisfactory.

The thing I try to get stuck in my head on par 3s... Be satisfied with par or bogey. They are extremely hard holes to score on.

All I've got is maybe swing a bit easier and take an extra club.....or even two, if the more punishing penalty is in front of the green (like your aforementioned water hazard).

Not bad for someone who has only been playing for 8 months

Actually, I have been wondering, easier swing but one extra club still goes the distance needed?

For example, if I need an i7 for 180 yds , I can take an i6 and swing easier , yet it'll still go 180 yds?

If you have a par-3 course nearby, go play that until your confortable. I did that, and now par-3's are the best part of my game

First thing you do is to not think you're on the way to a sub 80 score before you play two par threes which you play in a total of 14 strokes.

Take each hole as it comes and don't get too far ahead of yourself.

You're the one who has to find out if an easy 6 goes the same distance as a hard 7.

You also seem to be a little hung up on distance.  180 yards with an elevated green is not a straightforward 7 iron.

When you say you hate par threes, you are basically saying that you are a poor iron player.  You are probably delofting your irons which explains the distance claim and the poor contact.

You need to work on making solid contact.

Add the score up at the end. It's not over until the last putt has been holed.

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely think about what you said in my next round. And yes, I definitely love distance.

So far an easy 6 = ful power 7 for me, but I'm going to experiment with it per your advice to be sure.

My iron play is decent in an open fairway... but when it comes to par 3s , it feels like I'm restricted.

I wonder if it's a mental thing and it's affecting my timing.

Question for you, aren't irons supposed to be played delofted aka in a descending blow?

The fact of the matter is that long par-3s not only aren't scoring opportunities, they're almost traps.  You may want to consider playing them as if they were short par-4s;  if there's a bailout area, hit to that, chip on, hope to make the putt, but take numbers over four out of the equation.  I used to make a good number of 3s and 4s on long par-3s that I couldn't reach without pulling driver.  I would hit an easy hybrid, chip on, and sometimes even make the putt.

By the way, par-3s aren't scoring opportunities on the PGA tour either.  Check out this article from the end of the 2009 season. http://thesandtrap.com/b/the_numbers_game/birdies_on_the_pga_tour

oooo... I like that way of thinking... long par 3 = short par 4 .

For some reason it just made my brain relax a little thinking that way.

Thank you!

oooo... I like that way of thinking... long par 3 = short par 4 .

For some reason it just made my brain relax a little thinking that way.

And that's a really helpful article. So Par 5s are the scoring opportunities, 2nd up is par 4s and finally try to get a par for Par 3s.

Before I read that article , my thoughts on scoring was:

Par 4: Drive as far as I can so that it gives me opportunity to use my short irons / wedges as close possible to the pin, then 1 putt

Par 5: Drive as far as I can, hybrid club and hope that it's good enough to use my wedges to get as close as possible to pin to 1 putt

But usually I end up with either a bogey or par. I make the green in 2 probably 3 out of 10 times.

Par 3: If only I can land on the green most of the time then 2 putt, I'm happy. Most of the time I end up with bogey and even worse... double.

This is the hole that wrecks my score usually.

Definitely going to change the way I think on scoring now.

And correct me if I'm wrong but ppl that can't hit the ball far won't be able to score under par most of likely?

Thank you!

I'm glad the article helped you.

Corey Pavin isn't the lonest of hitters.  He's won 15 PGA Tour events, including a major.  He holds the all-time 9-hole scoring record on said tour.  He has won a dozen or so times outside the United States, too.

That having been said, length is a huge advantage.    How short do you mean?  Certainly someone who can't hit it more than 150 with a good drive can't do well.  Someone who can hit a hybrid 250 into the fairway most of the time will probably do alright.

Last two rounds I played all par 3's in par ...... but I wasn't allways at the putting surface with my first shot, missed a few birdies and also had to really work to make pars.

There is allways a route that brings you dead straight to the pin, but it sometimes requires a supershot ...... on the other hand, there will also be a safe side at any par 3 and a chip and a putt is also a par, or a worst a bogey.......

Besides that on most par 3's the trouble in on the front, left and right, but on the back there is mostly no trouble at all, just take a club extra means mostly getting it on the putting surface and at worst at the safe side behind the green.....

Oh, I was reading another thread about if driving distance matters. I was reading that 250 is the minimum for pros. And from what I gathered, most average golfers 250 is their longest drive.

it took me about 7 months before I can drive beyond that and to drive much more accurately. So it gives me the feeling of "pressure" .

I haven't focused on my hybrid yet, but a while back I think  my #4 hybrid goes around 210-220 . But yesterday I was hitting 220yds against the wind , so I'd think it should go further at my current level.

I should be playing again today and I'm going to try to apply your way of thinking today and let you know how it went.

If you look at it from a different angle, you play par 3s the most as all holes have a par 3 in it.  A par 4 has a lay up first, then a par 3.  A par 5 has 2 shots then a par 3.

Thanks for the tip. I will think about that too.

I just feel a lot of pressure on the tee box on Par 3s. It's like a do or die thing. But I'm going to try to brush it off and think as if this is my approach shot from the fairway.

For someone playing off a 14, the 7i and down (numerically higher) should be scoring clubs for you.  Hell, I am a 17 and am extremely happy when I am in range to use these clubs, or have the opportunity to knock one close with PW on really short par 3's (135y), or teeing off with a 7i on a 185'er.  Honestly, I don't see how you got that low with no confidence using the scoring clubs.  If it was a one time thing, then forget about it.....if it's all par 3's, then you need to hit the range more often and leave the driver in the bag.  Start with your wedges and work your way up.  Pick a target down range for each club, and go after it.  Do you mind me asking your age?  Just curious because in another post you said that you get "super tired" before you can finish your rounds and have trouble finishing.  An exercise program may be in your near future.

***Edited for typos because trying to correct them during posting is impossible***