Most Difficult Par-3 Regularly Played in 2015

[vangator]

I used to play a course regularly that had a 249 yard par 3 with a road down the left (OB), the same road long (OB) and a large, deep gully right.  Thank heaven the front was open, because I would usually try to hit a runner on.  Usually chipping on and trying to make a putt.

The wind usually blew from left to right, so I would aim my slice (that's was my shot then) toward the road and hope it didn't carry down into the gully.

[9wood]

The most difficult par 3 hole I play is a 174 yd par 3. What makes it difficult is that you have to thread your ball between tree limbs that over hang both the left and right side of the hole about 100 yards out. There is a pretty tight and narrow window to thread your ball through. I wish the owners would saw a few limbs off because every year they keep growing and sticking out further than the previous year.

[Fairway_CY]

18 hours ago, inthehole said:

BERKSHIRE VALLEY (NJ)  #2. 

Here's a flavor of what makes this particular hole SUCK !!!!!!!!

- From the WHITES, it plays anywhere from 210-230 yds.  PGA long for guys that routinely play 6000 yards - it's just wrong ... read on.

- Green is long from front to back, but very narrow.  A 6 ft high hump runs directly adjacent to the entire left side of the green - basically no fringe & demands a flop shot if you wind up on the wrong side of it due to the narrow green.

- Gnarly deep oversize bunkers on each side of the green.  

- Steep inaccessible hillside OB left, cliff OB right, OB fescue long.

- It runs parallel to the top of a mountainside - always have a stiff wind in your face.

I've played the hole probably 50-60 times & held the green maybe a half dozen times, probably less.    A good shot almost always winds up in one of the bunkers.    It's so tight, I know a split second after contact without even looking at the ball if I need to start reaching in my pocket for another ball - it's without question the most bastardly par 3 I've ever encountered.    One guy that is a much better player than me lays up and plays for bogie - I've never seen a good player do that anywhere else on a par 3.

 

I keep thinking one day the stars might align & if I ever birdie it, that sucker is going on the wall  !!!!!!!!!

 

I have played Berkshire Valley about 10 times and I don't think I've ever had better than a bogey on that hole.  In fact, looking back at the 3 rounds I have on Scorecard for that course... I posted... double - triple - quad.  I think the bogey I had on that course came in a tournament, and I hit a chunky hybrid that came up about 30 yards short.  I pitched to the back-left corner and it stopped in the fringe... 2 putts from there.  

The course makes up for it with #11, though.  I've eagled it the last 2 times I've played there.  I think I'm cumulatively something like -6 on that hole in the 10 rounds I've played there.  

The toughest par 3 I played last year (I only played it twice) is #17 at Stonebridge Golf Club in Monroe, NC.  It's listed at 167, but on Day 1 of a 2 day tournament, it was playing about 200.  It's all carry over water.  Right of the green is water.  Left of the green is water.  Long is safe, but... you still have to carry the water.  

In 2 days there for a tournament, I put 3 balls in the water on that hole.

In the attached photo... 

Berkshire Valley #2 is closest to the trees.  A 240 yard (blue tees) par 3, against the prevailing wind.  As was said... left is dead... right is dead... long is pretty much dead. 

On the opposite side of the hill (where the marker is)... is Berkshire Valley #14.  It's a very downhill par 4 that plays WITH the wind and measures only 275 yards (blue tees).  

It's funny how difficult #2 plays and how easy #14 plays.

I actually miss that course.  It was my favorite to play up there.

CY

Edited December 2, 2015 by Fairway_CY

[Grumpter]

I tend not to go back to courses with tricked up holes so I wouldn't have one that I regularly play. The ones I find can be tough.

17 at Raven Claw in Pottstown, PA
225 yards into the wind, red staked right, sand traps short right and what makes it hard is that it is usually into the wind. I have had to hit driver on windy days. I would probably hate it more if the finishing hole wasn't a drivable par 4. Nice finishing hole.

4 at Macoby Run in Green Lane, PA
Short at only 135'ish yards, very downhill to the green. What makes it tough is the green slopes severely away from the tee and there are two upside down wheelbarrow sized humps in the middle of a very sloped green. It's a bit tricked up but for some reason I go back occasionally.

 

[Dave2512]

IMO every par 3 is difficult. If I split GIR 50/50 on the par 3's it's a good day for me. Typically it's maybe one GIR and often I am scrambling for bogey at least once. My home course looks short at 6500 yards but it's par 71. The back has the lower rating but it's plays tougher with the 3 par 3's. The 3 hole stretch with the most difficult par 3 is followed by the longest par 5 then a par 3 over water with a peninsula green. If I get through there +2 I am happy.

[inthehole]

16 hours ago, Fairway_CY said:

I have played Berkshire Valley about 10 times and I don't think I've ever had better than a bogey on that hole.  In fact, looking back at the 3 rounds I have on Scorecard for that course... I posted... double - triple - quad.  I think the bogey I had on that course came in a tournament, and I hit a chunky hybrid that came up about 30 yards short.  I pitched to the back-left corner and it stopped in the fringe... 2 putts from there.  

The course makes up for it with #11, though.  I've eagled it the last 2 times I've played there.  I think I'm cumulatively something like -6 on that hole in the 10 rounds I've played there.  

The toughest par 3 I played last year (I only played it twice) is #17 at Stonebridge Golf Club in Monroe, NC.  It's listed at 167, but on Day 1 of a 2 day tournament, it was playing about 200.  It's all carry over water.  Right of the green is water.  Left of the green is water.  Long is safe, but... you still have to carry the water.  

In 2 days there for a tournament, I put 3 balls in the water on that hole.

In the attached photo... 

Berkshire Valley #2 is closest to the trees.  A 240 yard (blue tees) par 3, against the prevailing wind.  As was said... left is dead... right is dead... long is pretty much dead. 

On the opposite side of the hill (where the marker is)... is Berkshire Valley #14.  It's a very downhill par 4 that plays WITH the wind and measures only 275 yards (blue tees).  

It's funny how difficult #2 plays and how easy #14 plays.

I actually miss that course.  It was my favorite to play up there.

CY

Thanks for the aerial photo of Berkshire #2 - getting twitchy just looking at it.   That bunker on the left side of the green is a MAGNET.    I'd love to see how the pga guys would fare on that hole - I bet there wouldn't be many birdies ...

 

#14 is definitely a fun downhill short par 4 hole.    I play it too conservative & usually wind up a tad short - unless you really mess up the tee shot, it's tough to not make par.   Agree, probably the most eagle-able hole I know of (although I've never done it) ...

[Dave325]

The 3rd hole Par 3 at my home course is my nemesis. The sloped green is well protected by a lake on the left that wraps around the front, with large oak tree just off the front right. Hifg grass and woods on both sides, which both have an appetite for eating golf balls. Its about 205 yards from the tips and requires a straight long ball to hit the green. A miss to the right can be the safest option. Today, I managed to hit a 3/4 swing driver straight and hit the green 5 feet in frint of the pin... but ended up on the backside of the green (by another tree). Oh well.... someday, I will conquer that one.

[trombettista_vecchio]

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I've got eight par threes, ranging from 107 to 220 yards, and they're all tough.

One is the #2 handicap hole, toughest on the back nine.  On a golf course with most greens nearly the size of Minnesota, this green is the size of a female flea's G spot.  A miss short is in thick rough.  A miss left or long is bunkered.  A miss right is an almost vertical thirty foot drop that's in play.   It's 175 yards and usually plays into a right to left cross wind so you have to play it right at the steep drop if the wind is strong. 

A five is really easy to make on this hole.

[Pretzel]

Heritage at Westmoor, 17th hole. 229 yards from the back tees to a fairly small green guarded by a large hill and bunker on the left with two bunkers on the right side. Long is in native trash, as is too far right. The hill on the left can, if you're unlucky, kick you all the way across the green and into a bunker or into the native since the ground can get pretty firm. The bunker on the left is no fun to play out of either since the whole green slopes away from you, and the bunker lie is always downhill.