Are par 3 courses a great way to introduce beginners to golf, or do they contribute to the misconception that golf is an easy sport?

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I used to have lessons with Chris Ryan and he told me that the better you get, the harder par 3's get.
So access to a par 3 course would be of benefit to experienced players as well as beginners.

At times this year, as my 75-130yd game has improved hugely I have been inclined, though didn’t act on the thought, to get myself to our local lovely par 3 course to see how I got on. Indeed it would most probably be good and focussed practice for that aspect of my game given the greens are relatively very small, with some being bunkered. Would really test my accuracy and consistency.

 

[Orikoru]

Gonna answer the thread anyway, even though it was an AI bot. We can salvage something out of it?

One thing I've noticed playing with my wife (would be in 40s handicap-wise) is that the difference between me and her is that par is irrelevant to her. When I see a 200 yard par 3 I hate it, because I feel like I need to be hitting the green on a par 3 which makes it hard work. She only sees a 200 yard hole though, which is shorter than most of the holes on the course, so she's happy as Larry. It gives her a chance to reach the green in two shots which she can't do on a lot of holes. She doesn't car for par or which holes she gets shots on, she just knows that 4 or 5 (and 6 most of the time) are good scores for her.

I don't think anyone believes 'golf is an easy sport' but I'll put that part down to AI nonsense.

 

[PJ87]

I love the par 3 course attached to my club. I play it far to little now. Before I was a member I paid £200 a year to be a member of the 9 hole course. Used to play 2 balls over the 9 to make 18 then used to hit the range after

Now it's included in my membership I've ironically used it about 5 times but such is life

Great to have.

Between 80-130 yard holes .. good fun , great for practicing short game

 

[Imurg]

Before they dug it up for high speed rail track, one of my previous clubs had a short par 3 course that was great fun
Shortest hole was 54 yards, longest 93 so I only needed a putter and 3 wedges.
20 minutes to go round and it sharpened up my short game considerably.
Par 3 courses are great to start on and,mof you have access via membership, will help your short game no end.....

 

[Red devil]

Southport Pitch & Pitt was where I first had a go at getting a golf ball from a tee into a hole - days after my dear old Uncle Les had introduced me to golf by taking me to Ainsdale beach to have a go at hitting a ball. I loved it from the very start…and though I think I realised it wasn’t an easy game that didnt put me off - with the thrill of succeeding every so often being worth the effort and frustration involved.

My old stomping ground as a kid. Was 18 holes then reduced to 9 when they built the leisure park and premier Inn. Think it's foot golf now.
We all had paper rounds when we were kids so had the money to go at least every week in the school holidays.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

My old stomping ground as a kid. Was 18 holes then reduced to 9 when they built the leisure park and premier Inn. Think it's foot golf now.
We all had paper rounds when we were kids so had the money to go at least every week in the school holidays.

I played it back in the mid-late 60s and remember it as being like a mini golf course with mounds and an occasional bunker round proper little greens.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I used to have lessons with Chris Ryan and he told me that the better you get, the harder par 3's get.
So access to a par 3 course would be of benefit to experienced players as well as beginners.

Par 3s get harder as we get better as we gradually lose any shot we might have got on the hole…until one day we don’t get a shot on any par 3…and ooof…

 

[Red devil]

I played it back in the mid-late 60s and remember it as being like a mini golf course with mounds and an occasional bunker round proper little greens.

Always remember the 17th needing a fair whack to get up

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Always remember the 17th needing a fair whack to get up

My memory is good, but not that good…

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Par 3s get harder as we get better as we gradually lose any shot we might have got on the hole…until one day we don’t get a shot on any par 3…and ooof…

It's not that they're actually harder, but they seem it.
When you start, as Ori says, you can't reach most holes near regulation so a par 3 offers the best chance to score.
When you are decent the par 5's offer the best opportunity to score as you may be on or near the green under regulation.
You also feel more pressure to hit the green on a no shotter/short shot, even if statistically we probably don't normally hit it that accurately.

 

[Albo]

My course has a par 3 9 holer attached to it, shortest hole is 80 and longest I think 146, water comes into play on 5 holes so it’s quite interesting, great when working from home as I can get there, do 9 and back at lunch quite easily

 

[Orikoru]

It's not that they're actually harder, but they seem it.
When you start, as Ori says, you can't reach most holes near regulation so a par 3 offers the best chance to score.
When you are decent the par 5's offer the best opportunity to score as you may be on or near the green under regulation.
You also feel more pressure to hit the green on a no shotter/short shot, even if statistically we probably don't normally hit it that accurately.

Agreed. I used to like par 3s when I was a beginner, or before I cared so much about handicap etc. Now I don't particularly like them anymore. It's usually par 3s where I don't get a shot so I feel that pressure to hit the green.

 

[brendy]

And posts like that are why I and others rarely post anymore. Would have expected better from a mod. Didn't realise threads have to follow a strict linear pattern

Its a spam post, poeple have commented as such and you have a history of adding your tuppence without reading the rest of the context the threads have moved to.
Thread closed pending AI becoming human, or is the consenses to crack on?

 

[Imurg]

To be fair, the first part of the question is a valid one...the second part not so much.

 

[clubchamp98]

Par 3s get harder as we get better as we gradually lose any shot we might have got on the hole…until one day we don’t get a shot on any par 3…and ooof…

Two of ours are 6 and 7 index.
204 yds and 197yds not many don’t get a shot.

There to long imo for most ams.
Driver is used a lot on these.

 

[GreiginFife]

Two of ours are 6 and 7 index.
204 yds and 197yds not many don’t get a shot.

There to long imo for most ams.
Driver is used a lot on these.

Likewise, our 3rd is SI 2, 207 yards with a burn in front of a steeply two tiered green with bunkering right and woods to the left and behind.

Not many people don't get a shot and it's the highest scoring hole on the course.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Two of ours are 6 and 7 index.
204 yds and 197yds not many don’t get a shot.

There to long imo for most ams.
Driver is used a lot on these.

We have a couple that are similar at my place. I take driver on both, more should but have a mental block because they don't think you should use one on a par 3. So many people are short on them, by quite a way.

Psychologically, I treat them as par 4's. If I get a 3, great, but I'll take a 4 on them every day.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Spoilt for choice at our place.

We've got a 3 hole academy course - really small greens which aren't maintained for putting on but great for practicing getting close to the target - 55,65 and 75 yards.
9 hole par 30 course with 6 x Par 3's and 3 x par 4's - shortest par 3 is about 80 yards and the longest is around 185.
The shorter 18 hole course has 6 par 3's ranging from 105 yards up to 198 yards, and the championship course has just 4 with an average length of 183 off the whites. SI's are 13,14,15 and 17 - which is quite frankly, ridiculous.
If you go back to the lunatic tee's, that average yardage goes up to 211 - which is quite frankly, ridiculous.

The midweek two's club which is mainly the elder members of the club, often rolls over for several weeks.

Literally something for everyone - the nine hole course - you can wear what you want, share a bag of clubs, have fun - so yeah, it's a great way to introduce people to the game of golf.

 

[sunshine]

I’m a big fan of pitch and putt. It’s how I was introduced to golf, shame the 9 holer where I started is no more.

I played a P&P a few years ago and had a chuckle when I saw a pair walking around with a full bags on trolleys. None of the holes were more than 100 yards

 

[RedEyes]

I started playing on a Par 3 at Castell Coch in South Wales, I've just checked and it's still going strong, I'll take my lad who is 7 and just getting into golf when I'm down there visiting in the summer.
There's nowhere really local to me here in Liverpool to take him.