260 yard par 3

[Paradox]

At the PGA championship this year.

Isn't this stuff starting to border on ridiculous?

http://www.golf.com/golf/video/article/0,28224,2086679,00.html

[Stretch]

Yes. Yes it is.

[trackster]

That is just stupid in my opinion.   That hole already looks hard enough with all that water too the right.  A back right pin location and there won't be a single birdie that day.  On a windy day you could legitimately see some drivers played on a par 3.

I wish that golf architects would realize that lengthening your golf course is a cheap (as in not unique or creative) way to make your course harder.  I'd rather see a 6000 yard course with hard doglegs where you are forced to lay up.  A course where risk and reward is what makes the hole not who can hit the ball the farthest.

[senorchipotle]

actually, one of the courses i play often near my dad's house has a 260 yard par 3, with a huge drop off to the right. i just take a 3-iron and hit it as hard as i can. i can put it on the very front green if there's a little tailwind, but if the wind is in your face at all, there's no hope of reaching it unless you want to pull out a 3 wood. since i don't play a 3 wood, i just try to lay up on the left. but yeah, it is ridiculous.

http://www.indiancreekgolfclub.com/eaglsites/images/154/creekcoursescorecard.jpg

[jshots]

At first I thought this was ridiculous. Next years US amateur is at cherry hills in denver and they have a 260 yard par 3 granted its higher altitude. I don't think its bad anymore though,  as long as you don't have only 260 yard par 3s. I think it is actually pretty cool to have such a long hole, its quite a difficult challenge.

[ThominOH]

For us every day golfers, yeah..a 260yr par 3 is insane.. BUT for PGA tour pros that average 286 off the tee, it's hard, but doable.. I've seen worse.. Especially considering this is a major, it should be devilish hard.. Ya'll should see the par 3's I grew up with at the local public club.. For 20 years our course had the normal 4 par 3s.. They measured 115, 220, 225 and 235.. GRRR  Since about 5 years ago, they made new boxes to allow the men's tee played at 175 now.. LOL

Anyways.. I"m sure it won't play 260 each day.. that would be from the tips, probably final day.. I suspect that average will be between 230-250.. As I'm sure the big hitters will be using irons on 2 days..

[mirv]

i agree that for a major, a 260 par 3 is an interesting challenge, and i'm sure all of those guys are perfectly capable of hitting it.  me personally, jeez, i could barely hit it with a driver since i average about 260 off the tee.  if i had any wind against me, i'd just be hoping to get up and down.

[bkoguy07]

I wonder how the teebox is positioned.  I didnt read the article or watch the video but if the teebox is above the green its not as bad as one would think... the yardage is just a scary number llol

[Paradox]

Originally Posted by bkoguy07

I wonder how the teebox is positioned.  I didnt read the article or watch the video but if the teebox is above the green its not as bad as one would think... the yardage is just a scary number llol

the tee box is slightly higher than the old "tips" tee box.

I think this hole is ridiculous because you also have water that runs up the entire right side of the hole all the way to the green.  On top of that, the bank is shaved all along the water from the approach area all the way around the back of the green.

I dunno, but I just think that a 260 yard par 3 is not the way to make golf exciting.  Use bunkering, mounding, undulations on par 3's to make them difficult, not absurd length.

[Kieran123]

I don't see it as an issue for them at all.

Most of them could nut on a 3 iron/hit 3wood/5 wood and be fine.

They're pros - they can handle one tough hole.

[FLOG4]

For many average players any par 3 approaching 200 yards requires a wood.  So what's the big deal about making a pro hit something other than a mid iron...They are all playing the same hole!

[CuppedTin]

I like to see guys score, I'm not interested in watching when the Superintendent or grounds crew set it up so that over par wins... I really enjoy watching golf from 160 yards and in...

[ghalfaire]

One of the things I always liked about the US Open was they didn't (until this year) rely on length to protect par.   Makes it a more fair (fairer?) test of golf skills and not just a "how far can you hit it" contest.  But the game today surely is a lot about length and less about accuracy.  It has even infected the amateur ranks (not the compensated ones, but us regular folks) and I think to the detriment of the game in some ways.  The PGA is turning their tournaments into long drive contests or at least a contest where if you can't hit it 300+ off the tee your chances of winning are diminished significantly.  So I think a 260 yard par 3 is ridiculous.

[Paradox]

I don't think its ridiculous that "pros have to hit something other than mid-iron"..I think its ridiculous to stretch a par 3 out that far.  I don't think length should determine winners and losers.

Tighten courses, make green positioning a premium skill to have, harden the greens, do about anything else other than stretch a par 3 out that far.

BTW, David Toms had a hole-in-one on that hole with a 5 wood from the old back tee.

I'm all for a challenge and all that, I just think its silly to do it on a par 3, I guess.

[B-Con]

It would be insane on my local course, but for a TOUR setup? I've played ~215yd par-3s, which are longer than average, but basically they just require that I step down from my driver by two clubs. For the pros, they'll probably be stepping down about two clubs for this hole. Proportionally speaking, it sounds reasonable to me. Par 3 just means "you should hit the green from the teebox". Why not have a hole asking for that with a long club? I agree that it'll be hard, but this isn't the norm. A long, precise challenge seems like it has a place at a major. Frankly, it looks kind of cool. :-)

[Zwick]

I don't like the really long par 3's.

They aren't even necessarily harder than the short ones (12 at Augusta, 7 at Pebble), they just are just long and nothing else.

I prefer the medium length par 3's with tricky bunkers etc.

[iacas]

a) It's hot in Atlanta. It's muggy. The ball flies far.

b) They're not going to have it back there if there's any real wind into the tee.

c) It's a 3I or a 4I for most players. Have you never played a par three that required a 3I or 4I? I played two yesterday.

d) Oakmont has a longer hole.

e) The back tee is elevated, and it played at 243 yards or so in 2001. A decade ago. Without the elevation that makes up for a good chunk of the extra 17 yards.

Originally Posted by Paradox

I dunno, but I just think that a 260 yard par 3 is not the way to make golf exciting.  Use bunkering, mounding, undulations on par 3's to make them difficult, not absurd length.

Yeah, David Toms acing the hole wasn't exciting at all. ;-)

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In other words, I think it's fine. Call it a par 3.5 if you want - everyone has to play the same set of holes.

[Fourputt]

For the pros I don't see anything wrong with 250+ for a par 3.  They hit long irons those distances.  For us ordinary humans, stick with something reasonable.

My home course has a nice mix of par 3 holes:

#4. 165
#8. 132
#13. 195
#17. 153

I see this as good variety for a public course.  195 is a hybrid or 5W for most of the guys I play with.  The others are mid to short irons, depending on wind.  No water on any of them, but all are bunkered.