Longest Par 3

[TaylorMadeTaylor]

I reguarly play a 230-yarder at my home course, actually the longest I've ever played.

[RC]

Longest = 256 yards, uphill, into prevailing wind, 700 feet elevation. Normally played at 242 yards but can be stretched. No good place to miss either.

[CassinoNorth]

Wild Turkey #10 is 255 from the black but I usually play it from the blues where its 218. Downhill quite a bit so it plays around 200.

[Dartguy]

  Leftygolfer said:

Longest par three is Number 2 at Henry County Country Club. It is around 250 from the back tees. It really looks more like a par 4 but then the course has a bunch of easy 4s so it evens its self out. Also number 11 at Sharron woods is 235 straight up a hill and plays just as long. Both are parable.

Same here. I was going to mention Henry Co CC. 2nd is a pain, with a road along the right side. No telling how many cars have been hit on that hole.

BTW Sorry you drove all the way to play there.

[WUTiger]

Longest Par 3 I will have a chance to play is the 250 yd. No. 18 at Normandie Golf Club in St. Louis.

I have only played the front nine, but the back nine ends with a tough one.

A fairly level hole, with a large sand tap fronting the left half of the green. A course regular tells me that most people play out to the right of the green, and try to get up-and-down for par.

[jetsknicks1]

  BonoVox said:

Well the one I play a lot is 240ish down hill. I am sure I have played longer par 3's though but can't think off hand. Actually that is 240 down hill but usually into the wind. I nail a 3 wood to the front edge usually. (when wind is normal in to face, which is normal for me as I play in afternoon) But you get no roll if you hit short, as there is a little swale in front of the green. If you carry the green I think you are gonna hit and then go over where it runs into a hazard.

To me, long ass par 3s like this are "Gimmck" golf. I see no logical reason to have a par 3 that I would need a driver on. I mean, why not have a 750yd par 5?

[Wildcat]

  jetsknicks1 said:

To me, long ass par 3s like this are "Gimmck" golf. I see no logical reason to have a par 3 that I would need a driver on. I mean, why not have a 750yd par 5?

The thing that tees me off even more is when a course sets all the par 3's at basically the same distance. I played one here in KC this year where all the par 3's were playing at ~180 from the men's. Come on...vary it up a little so I can use different clubs on a couple.

[San_94]

At my home course the 17th hole 226 yards, long with 2 bunkers on the corners with OB on the left and water hazard on the right.I always hit my 2 hybrid

[596]

My longest local par 3 is 205, normally into a 1-2 club wind, slightly downhill. Desert left and arroyo right. You can't miss the green at all on either side. You can miss short into a small fairway but long drops down into a desert arroyo also. If you miss into the desert you get to play with the rattlesnakes : )

[ndirishgolf]

I played a course this summer that I lasered at 242 with hazard up to the front of the green. I pretty much just accepted that I would be taking a drop from the hazard. I pured a 4 wood, landed on the front edge of the green, and ended up pin high. Definitely my most satisfying par on a par 3 ever.

[mirv]

longest i've played was 220 at a course upstate that i've only played once. i actually hit it (i have to pull a 5-wood for that distance), but it was a pretty big green and i took a three putt on it.

there are a couple of short courses nearby with 230 yard holes, and while the scorecard has them as par 4s, i often play it in my head as very long par 3s. i actually find that helps me bring in more birdies, pretending i only have 3 strokes to get it in the hole.

[allin]

The hole we played in Orlando, I forget the name of the course, had another tee back, which put it at 260+. We played it one forward 235. I hit a driver, put it in the sand on the left side of the green, hacked it out and 2 putted for bogie. My friend hit his 3hybrid and put about 10-15 feet from the hole, and made the putt for birdie.I really hate him.

[jetsknicks1]

  Wildcat said:

The thing that tees me off even more is when a course sets all the par 3's at basically the same distance. I played one here in KC this year where all the par 3's were playing at ~180 from the men's. Come on...vary it up a little so I can use different clubs on a couple.

I agree. There are far too many courses where I hit the same exact club on every par 3.

[sean_miller]

  jetsknicks1 said:

To me, long ass par 3s like this are "Gimmck" golf. I see no logical reason to have a par 3 that I would need a driver on. I mean, why not have a 750yd par 5?

There are plenty of birdie holes out there, why not have a couple bogey holes to balance them out? A par 3 that requires a really crisp long iron (or a great pitch), just to have a chance at a par, makes that par so much more satisfying.

[allin]

  sean_miller said:

There are plenty of birdie holes out there, why not have a couple bogey holes to balance them out? A par 3 that requires a really crisp long iron (or a great pitch), just to have a chance at a par, makes that par so much more satisfying.

So speaks the single digit golfer. For the rest of us any time you make us hit more than a five iron into a par three it really isnt a birdie hole. If there are more than 2 par 3s, unless they are downhill, more than 185, from the forward mens tees then I feel they are kind of silly. A suprising number of courses now have 185 as their average distance for par 3s for the whites. Now if you play from the back 185 is probably a 5 or six for you. For me 185 is a 3hybrid. If there are 4 par 3s then one should be a short iron for an average golfer 135-150, two a middle iron, 150-170, and one a long iron, 170-190. Yet even from the white tees I almost never see a par 3 under 165 these days. Even from the back if you add 30 yards or subtract 20 for red, often called ladies tees, I think you have a better mix. I played one course this summer which had a par 3 which played 165 from the ladies tees. That is five wood to driver for most women, silly.

[sean_miller]

  allin said:

So speaks the single digit golfer. For the rest of us any time you make us hit more than a five iron into a par three it really isnt a birdie hole. If there are more than 2 par 3s, unless they are downhill, more than 185, from the forward mens tees then I feel they are kind of silly. A suprising number of courses now have 185 as their average distance for par 3s for the whites. Now if you play from the back 185 is probably a 5 or six for you. For me 185 is a 3hybrid. If there are 4 par 3s then one should be a short iron for an average golfer 135-150, two a middle iron, 150-170, and one a long iron, 170-190. Yet even from the white tees I almost never see a par 3 under 165 these days. Even from the back if you add 30 yards or subtract 20 for red, often called ladies tees, I think you have a better mix. I played one course this summer which had a par 3 which played 165 from the ladies tees. That is five wood to driver for most women, silly.

I guess your experiences are different from mine. I haven't played with too many women who can reach a 165 yard hole in one shot. All the courses I've played locally have hardly any par 3s over 190 even from the tips, and they all have at least one that's a pitching wedge at most.

[allin]

  sean_miller said:

I guess your experiences are different from mine. I haven't played with too many women who can reach a 165 yard hole in one shot. All the courses I've played locally have hardly any par 3s over 190 even from the tips, and they all have at least one that's a pitching wedge at most.

It is mostly the newer, resort and high end courses that I have seen this on. Thats why I placed emphasis on average golfers and which sets of tees are being played. The differences between back tees and forward tees on many courses are very minimal on some of these newer courses. It may be because of maintanence, safety, golfers ego or just design laziness, I really don't know. It seems like some of the courses adjust for the tee shot only. On a par 5 for women in they hit a driver 165, a 3wood 150, and they still have 125 left maybe a five iron, that can't be much fun.

[TXjammer]

About 207 yds is the longest I've run into in my area. I hear there are longer out there, though. I just now found me a club I can land exactly 205...that was a challenge for me.