The Demise of the Short Par Three

[Zeph]

I enjoy the variety. From a 110 yard to a 180 yard par 3. I've seen some par 3's where you are in big trouble if you miss the green. Sloping away all around it, bunkers and water. When they do make a long par 3, at least make the area around the green a place where you can land the ball. I can usually get there with a long iron, but shorter hitters need woods or even drivers to get there. The 250 yard par 3's on the PGA Tour are just silly. That's a distance pros got to the green on short par fives after a good drive.

[allin]

For r me long par 4s are the worst. I still agree though. For one thing a par 3 with sand or water, up or down hill, is one of the few times that every level of golfer has an opportunity to apply or learn shotmaking skills. I recently played the same par 3 twice the same day. The first time I choked down and hit a smooth 7. The second time I hit a full 8. My partner was puzzled but I enjoyed trying the shot both ways. Overly long par 3s mandating long irons take creativity away. All but the most elite must just aim for the fat of the green.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I'm not sure the Tour cares about what irons pro's use,

I'm just thinking from the standpoint of trying to assure that pro uses all his clubs during a round. Again, with the distance pros hit the ball, when do they have the opportunity to hit 4/5/6i? Certainly not on par 4s, not on the par 5s (well maybe a second shot would be a long iron). The only place where they know a pro will have a 230y shot is the tee of a par 3.

[allin]

I want to add, the reflex response to add length to challenge pros leads to boring golf. It really is lazy thinking. Holes that penalize poor shots with grass bunkers, tough, putts etc if you go for birdie and miss but leave a reasonable 2 putt if a less aggressive shot is played are best. Length often makes birdie more about luck. This is part of the reason putting and driving length dominate tour golf and shot making has been done de-emphasized.

[ryebread442]

I agree with iacas on this one. There was a course in my area (5880 yards from the normal tees) that had par 3s at 130,118,149, and 165 yards in length...until the beast at 16 which was listed as 195 (except the normal tees were moved to the back tees at 215 yards). It also featured trees on both sides with a slope on the right that even further penalized the unfortunate hacker. After they renovated the back nine, it morphed into a dogleg par 4 by clearing out the woods behind the green. It's helped pace of play enormously.

On the other hand, there is a city course that plays less than 6,000 yards. On hole 2 you get a nice, 150 yard "island green" (they substituted water with sand) and then it's three 190 yard par 3s (including back to back ones that are almost identical).

Length seems like the easy way out when dealing with par 3s. Instead of designing holes that are on the edge of a short hitter's grasp, architects should use their imagination. Play with the green depths, fool around with the sand traps. Do anything. The most boring hole in golf is the straight out, 200 yarder that says "We ran out of ideas."

[The Recreational Golfer]

My home course has two longish ones on the front side, but has two shorties on the back. The longest one has room to lay up if you want to chip on. the other three courses I play are like that, too - two short irons, a 4-iron, and a 2-iron. I don't mind that.

The length of the longest par 3 determines the makeup of my bag for that day. I'll see if I need a 2-iron or a 3-iron to hit it, then leave the other club home to make room for the extra wedge.

[bplewis24]

A thread after my own heart.

Brandon

[ApocG10]

Both of the courses I play regularly have some nice, short Par 3's. At one, #7 is exactly 99 yards across a ravine, to the front of a large,tiered green, and its a fantastic 52*, right to the center of the green (about 115 yards). Its only last year we got a wooden brindge across. The old one was rope and wire (though very well maintained) Lately, I find myself going for the flag, no matter where its placed. 17 is also a great hole there, its 212 yards, but its down a deep slope to an elevated green, and is also a fun hole.

The other two par 3's are uphill, and they both play long and, the last (#18) especially, is just a round killer if you end up off the green on the right side, coming out of the trees, having to get over a steep bunker as well.

[utztech]

Agreed.

Number 9 at We-KO-PA Saguaro is a 120 yd hole that is tough and fun.  All my favorite courses have at least one short par three.

The really short ones on tour require the player to not just hit it a certain distance, but to control the spin and trajectory, which is not as easy and makes for some entertaining golf.

[wolfsburg2]

My home course has a shorty on the back that plays anywhere from 100 to 130 with a tiered green. It's generally a gap wedge either he off or stepped on. I score well on that hole and it doesn't have enough risk IMO. There is also a par 3 that can play anywhere from 160-200 from the tips. With the wind I've flushed a 5i short of the green. There is also a flat out jail bunker (5' deep) short right on this par 3. Very fun hole as you can score with a good tee shot.

[tristanhilton85]

Yeah, short par 3s can be some of the greatest holes; especially if they are done right. One of the courses I play has one that is just about a 100 yards but the green has a big false front and a bunker at the back so you have to be precise... It provides a great opportunity to score but can't be taken lightly as well. At the other course I play a lot, one of the 3s plays at around 200 yards, and it's to a really well protected green and it's slightly uphill. 4 is a good score there and I hate that hole.

[mirv]

i wholly agree.  there's a par 3 at a local course here that really rubs me the wrong way.  from the tips, it's a shade over 200 yards long and is angled slightly sideways - the tee box and fairway go straight ahead, but firing it straight will actually just miss the left side of the green.  to fire at the center of the green, you have to carry the ball over the edge of a pond that lines the right side of the hole.  beyond the water is a large and fairly deep (3-4 foot) bunker placed directly in front of the center of the green.  the green itself is shallow, maybe 8-10 yards from front to back (but about 40 yards from left to right), and the greens on this course are also very firm and generally about a 10 on the stimp, so landing and holding your tee shot from the 200 yard range is not a very easy task.  behind the green are some small-medium mounds (nothing that'll stop your ball), then it slopes away rather sharply to trees.  so you certainly can't leave it short, you're just about as doomed if you go long, and actually sticking it near the flag is a very difficult shot for most people (myself included).  i finally just decided to hit my tee shot at the left side of the green and try my best to either 2 putt or get up and down, whichever it may be.  more often than not, though, i wind up carding a bogey.

bottom line, it's just not any fun.  it's not even a fair challenge, it's just flatly ridiculous.  and other than that particular hole, it's a pretty challenging yet fair golf course.  the other par 3s are 135 yards, 160 yards, and 150 yards, so that's all well and good, but that one hole... no thanks.

[skillzwhogolfs]

Played a course yesterday that had 4 par 3's. The shortest was 201 yards with pin in the back and the rest were around 230 (from the black) with bunkers around the green every hole. luckily i was able to bounce a 3 wood over a bunker 5 ft from the hole on one of them.

[zipazoid]

Where I grew up, in northeast Ohio, there's a course called Brandywine, in Peninsula. The Cuyahoga River Valley between Cleveland & Akron. Two starkly different nines - the front is wide open and pretty easy. The back nine is all woods & ravines - the 10th hole goes into the woods & you don't come out until the 17th tee. The funnest hole is #15, a 170y par 3. Now, 170y doesn't sound like a "short" par 3, but you are teeing off from the highest point on the course & hitting down to the lowest point. It's no more than a solid 9i or even Wedge. The elevation difference is easily 4 clubs. Here's a pic from the tee:

Right after this hole is #16 - a double-dogleg 550y par 5 along the low part of the course - each side is guarded by those woods you see behind #15 green. No way you can cut any corners. Totally impossible to hit in 2. Lots of people don't like the 'Wine, but I love it.

[Mr3Wiggle]

To me, one of the best holes in golf is a short, steeply downhill par 3 with trouble long.

[mirv]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Where I grew up, in northeast Ohio, there's a course called Brandywine, in Peninsula. The Cuyahoga River Valley between Cleveland & Akron. Two starkly different nines - the front is wide open and pretty easy. The back nine is all woods & ravines - the 10th hole goes into the woods & you don't come out until the 17th tee. The funnest hole is #15, a 170y par 3. Now, 170y doesn't sound like a "short" par 3, but you are teeing off from the highest point on the course & hitting down to the lowest point. It's no more than a solid 9i or even Wedge. The elevation difference is easily 4 clubs. Here's a pic from the tee:

Right after this hole is #16 - a double-dogleg 550y par 5 along the low part of the course - each side is guarded by those woods you see behind #15 green. No way you can cut any corners. Totally impossible to hit in 2. Lots of people don't like the 'Wine, but I love it.

there's a course about 90 mins north of where i live called Tannenbaum, and it has a par 3 almost identical to this one.  i can't tell if there's any trouble short of the green in your pic, but at tannenbaum if you're short, there's a large creek cutting across in front of the green, and then woods and rocks if you go long.  i've played Tannenbaum four or five times and always look forward to that particular hole, but i only recall making a par on it once.  it's tough to judge something that drops that drastically.

[Zeph]

The interesting par threes on the PGA Tour are typically due to challenging design. Like the 17th at Sawgrass. It's short, but got a psychological affect on the players. The changing vind conditions also help in making in tougher. I've played some par threes around 100-140 yards that were really challenging because of green and hole design. Miss the green and you got a tough up and down. You have to avoid missing in the wrong place. I'd like to see more challenging design on shorter par threes than the long ones where even some tour players hit a wood. A little elevation difference can make it more difficult to judge the right distance.

[AmazingWhacker]

I totally agree - I used to play a lot at this course that had a 200 yard (from the white tees) par 3.  If I stood there and hit 100 shots, I'd be lucky to have 5 end up on the green - and they would've rolled up after landing somewhere short.  Makes no sense to me.