Not crazy about par three courses but....

[Hacker James]

My daughter gave me this coupon thing from JC Golf that gives me 3-3-3  (three rounds of golf,  3 clinics, 3 range tokens) playable at 3 different par 3 or executive courses.

Since the closest is Reidy Creek, I went there for a practice session.  All par threes, 54.2/100 rating.  The worst I could do was bogey. Shot 33 on front nine and then quit as it was hot and I just cannot walk that much any more.  Extrapolating that if I did the same on the back  nine, my index would have been 13.4 for a total raw score of 66 (par is 54). So I guess that equates to just about what I have been doing lately on the longer courses.   I really do not like these, but might be good for my iron play which is poor as far as distances.  I score well, but just have to rely on short game more. The course is not that easy, longest hole is 194 and there are several in the 167 range. lots of waste areas, boulders, hills and valleys.  Could be a fun course for most, just not my cup of tea. I might try to use the coupon book at Oaks North in Rancho Bernardo, a bit longer, and has several par 4's. 

[billchao]

I played at an executive course a few times when I was starting out. They had two par fours (one you can drive) and the rest par threes. I don't remember enjoying it either.

Part of it might have been because it was a bare bones muni. They seemed to only have two guys working there, so one ran the stop and the other was the starter/ranger. People would just start themselves because the starter was never around, which means lots of groups of singles and doubles that should have been paired up, weren't. 

Also every hole being a par 3 made for ridiculously slow play. I was always waiting on a group when I got to the tee. At least with longer holes, groups get stretched out a bit more.

I would have probably played there more if the play wasn't so slow, but something about playing a short course in standard time just didn't sit well with me. 

[Typhoon92]

Haven't played a par 3 course in years.  What makes it tough over a standard course is you are forced to hit shots 170, 180, 210...

 

At a regular course I can hit driver and very short irons all day to hit a gir.

[chilepepper]

I think you will find Oaks north more enjoyable. Reidy Creeks greens are tricked up to the " silly" degree. I still play reidy from time to time but ignore the putting unless you want miniature golf type putting. 

[Hacker James]

57 minutes ago, chilepepper said:

I think you will find Oaks north more enjoyable. Reidy Creeks greens are tricked up to the " silly" degree. I still play reidy from time to time but ignore the putting unless you want miniature golf type putting. 

The greens are a bit tricky. I never did worse than a two putt however. On the greens I hit, it was difficult to convert 30 footers and the others that I did convert were under six feet in many cases.  Sometimes I feel it is better strategy to not be concerned about GIR, but leave yourself an approach that gets you close. OTOH, once you can get closer on the GIR approaches  to be able to have a 1 putt, you will score better overall. Having a putter that is working can also cure a lot of problems obviously.

on a side note: I thought I saw a leaf being blown very slowly across the green and there was hardly a breeze. When I got there, I discovered a tiny, turtle (about 1 1/2 inches) lumbering across the green. I picked it up and placed it in the shade and crossed my fingers that the crows or hawks would not spot it. 

Edited July 29, 2017 by Hacker James

[boogielicious]

There is a par 3 course near my cottage that is pretty nice. Holes range from 85 yards to 180. It's never crowed and my wife and I can play 9 in 1:15 or practice if no one is behind us. It is a good way to practice par 3 holes too.

Most of us don't think about it, but the par 3 holes on regular course aren't necessarily the easiest holes, they are just shorter. Practicing these at a par 3 course can really help your game. Try different clubs on holes. For example: a 100 yard tee shot can be a GW choked up 1", 3/4 PW, or full 54 SW if I really give it a go.  If no one is behind me, I will try all three. Same for other holes.

The 9th on this course is a 140 yard uphill shot. My wife has parred it twice in a row with Driver and putter only. 

 

[billchao]

32 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

The 9th on this course is a 140 yard uphill shot. My wife has parred it twice in a row with Driver and putter only. 

She hit putter off the tee? I'm impressed 

[jamo]

I grew up and learned the game playing par-3 and executive/muni courses, and some of them are still my favorite courses. (Some of them are, of course, complete garbage.)

There can be a certain charm to them, and if they're in decent shape it can almost be like playing the forward tees on a regular course.