How long is too long?

HTL

HTL

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Simple question, looking at the length of some Golf holes is there a maximum distance of Par 3, 4 and 5s???

Quick response much appreciated to answer a drunken "debate" between myself and a friend. Yes I also have a 8:30 tee time, DOH!
 
I wondered what the question was going to be then. I guess for a modern pro a par 5 of 700 yards is probably about as far as I'd like to see a hole go. I think on a par 3 anything over 230 is difficult as a lot of greens were never designed to receive shots with such long clubs. I guess on a par 4 most pros can get around 500 yard in two fairly easily and like the par 5 I wouldn;t like to see anything longer than that
 
Next weekends 240 yard + plus par 3 was the major catalyst of this debate.

Have the R & A set a limit?
 
There use to be... I seem to remember that anything over 464 had to be a par5 but I think that's been scrapped now. Sorry I can't be more official :(

This is a copy and paste from an article...

The USGA has periodically issued guidlines for the par-ratings of holes based on their lengths; i.e., if a hole is 200 yards, it is a par-3.

Those guidelines have changed over the years, and the way they are used has changed, too.

The current guidelines are these for men:

Par 3 - Up to 250 yards
Par 4 - 251 to 470 yards
Par 5 - 471 yards to 690 yards
Par 6 - 691 yards or more
Click to expand...
 
Even when I used to play in the '90s we had a 250 yard par 3, which I'm sure was the max at the time.

I think ( vaguely ) that 475 was the cutoff point for a par 4.

And the sky's the limit for par 5s.

I know this doesn't always hold true, though. I'm sure I've seen some par 5s at less than 475, so maybe these were just guidelines.
 
Cant speak for the R&A but for me anything over 200yds for a par 3 is tough. 450 for a par 4 and 550 for a par 5.

Unlike all the top pros who post on here i dont drive the ball 300+ yards, and am very happy if i hit it 240 so when i read 450+ yards for a par 4 then i know i am playing it as a 5.
 
There use to be... I seem to remember that anything over 464 had to be a par5 but I think that's been scrapped now. Sorry I can't be more official :(

This is a copy and paste from an article...

The USGA has periodically issued guidelines for the par-ratings of holes based on their lengths; i.e., if a hole is 200 yards, it is a par-3.

Those guidelines have changed over the years, and the way they are used has changed, too.

The current guidelines are these for men:

Par 3 - Up to 250 yards
Par 4 - 251 to 470 yards
Par 5 - 471 yards to 690 yards
Par 6 - 691 yards or more
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Thanks mate. However, what about the first hole being a 490 yard par 4, is there a different rule for pros?
 
Thanks mate. However, what about the first hole being a 490 yard par 4, is there a different rule for pros?
Click to expand...

I honestly think they've scrapped it. There's something to do with how a hole plays (ie: downhill) but I can't see them making any exceptions nowadays. Anything up to 520 is probably fair game to be a par4. I'm sure I saw one at 505yards recently.................

actually I just found it.. you might recognise it!! (I'm good at this web stuff) :D :D
http://www.cbssports.com/golf/tournaments/masters/course/description_11

There's probably others that are longer.
 
I don't think I'd be worrying about the 248yd par3, but the 3 600+ yds par 5's and the 518yd par 4. :eek:
Click to expand...

I think it's right in the modern game that they should have long courses. It would be great to see more par5's require a series of 3 good shots to make it to the green and not simply have them all reachable in two. I don't mind the occasional short par 3 as they can be equally as testy as a long one (especially if well bunkered or protected by a tough green).
 
We start with two par 3s of 238yds and then 248yds. Both are long holes for a par 3. The second shows on the card a s a par4 but in effect is a par 3 as the SSS is one below the par for the course. At 248 its all carry so it's a hell of a blow to get it across there into a westerly breeze. J_F hit a good one there t'other night and was still 15yds short.

Makes you really glad of a nice wee common all garden 130-150 yd par three :D
 
The start at Homer's course off the whites is frightening enough but at at course near me - Chesham and Ley Hill - they have a 255 yard par off the whites. Slightly uphill too. They have another at 243.

TBH par is irrelevent in the pro game as its all about shooting lower than the rest. You could make a 500 yard hole a par 3 and they'd play it as a par 4. They have drivable par 4's in a lot of tournaments now.

For us mere mortals :-

Par 3 - up to 220yards
Par 4 - up to 450yards
par 5 - up to 600yards

Over 600 yards = stupid!
 
Over 600 yards = stupid!
Click to expand...

Our 10th hole is 606 off the whites. About 320yds slightly downhill to a beck and then the rest is uphill. Many's the time I've only had a half wedge in for my third or if you want to be cautious, a couple of mid irons.

Distance is all in the mind...as you long as you keep it going straight and forward!
 
I don't think you guys can have it both ways you can't have the new technology and not the lengthening of courses

Par 3's 300yrds
Par 4's 500yrds
Par 5's 700yrds

Although those numbers have already been breached on tour
 
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