Long par 3's - Are they fair?

[HickoryShaft]

I The 9th at Grimsby is a great example of a long par 3, at about 242 yards off the YELLOWS! Its a very easy hole to get a 4 on if you lay up to the tree, pitch on and putt out. To get a 3 need at least two good shots. On a course of top quality par 3s this one is as good as any of the shorter ones (2nd and 13th).

I read through this post thinking that you guys have it easy!! As SB says the 9th at my gaff is 242 off the yellows and actually 248 off the whites. For the whites it is offset a little to the right of the yellow tee so you get a big oak tree in your line also!! OOB all the way on the right and on the left there is a load of trees in the first part of the hole opening up to a big fairway bunker at about 210 yards.

It can be a round make or break hole. Go for it with a driver and you could have a tidy score or a mare. Lay up and you may take a par or walk off with a bogey and take your medicine. SI is 10 so all but the single figure golfers get a shot (my usual partner gets 2 shots!!) - guess how many of us try and play it as a par 4!!

I noticed in the clubhouse that someone had got a hole in one on there recently!!

As for the initial question - I actually think its a very clever hole. True risk and reward.

We all have the option to lay up but rarely do that and can easily card a 5 or 6 if we get into trouble- it goes to show that course management is more important than length.

 

[garyinderry]

some of you guys must never get a two around some of those courses. was in the shop the other day and was given my vouchers for my recent 2's. one was for £7 and the other was £20! well chuffed with that. the most id ever lifted for a single 2 around my place was £12!

 

[mcbroon]

Our place has four 'normal' par 3's -

2 - 143yds
9 - 162yds
12 - 203yds
17 - 196yds

And then there's 18. 230yds, uphill, OOB along the right, upturned green. It's a very difficult hole and can easily ruin a card. I don't think it's a good finishing hole, but I don't think it's particularly unfair - it's the same for everyone and is SI 12, so mid to high handicappers get a shot.

As others have said, par is just a number on the card. The focus should be to get round in as few shots as you can possibly manage.

 

[ScienceBoy]

As for the initial question - I actually think its a very clever hole. True risk and reward.

Its a cracking hole Hick(oryShaft), I love it, as I love all the par 3s at Grimsby. Its a quality layout as a whole anyway.

I know I got a par there at our meet last year but that was only because of a good drive to about 12 feet. I really should have layed up but I was not playing well and found it much more fun to blast away!

The long par 3, the 10th or 11th I think, at Brockenhust was also an uphill par 3. Another few that I enjoyed where the two at Blackmoor and Brampton.

All great but long par 3s! The more I think about them the more I realise that generally I prefer long par 3s to short ones

 

[richart]

Hardest par 3 I have played was probably the 9th at St Andrews on the New Course. When I teed off straight into the wind I assumed it was a short par 4. Lovely hole and next time I might take a three wood as I put driver straight through the 10th tee.

Some of the hardest par 3's can be the shortest ones, where if you miss the green you have little chance of saving par. Postage Stamp springs to mind. We have a couple of 200 yard ones, but if you come up short you do have a chance of a chip and a putt.

 

[Ian_S]

Course I just joined has 5 par 3s, 165, 148, 140, 167 and 176, so nothing excessive. However, the 148yd 8th is hitting over water and the scorecard tells me that it is a 205yd hole from the championship tees. That should be fun on the days we play off the very back tee.

 

[Threeoffthetee]

If people can't reach a 220yd par 3 then they probably can't reach 400+ yd par 4s in regulation either so what's the difference.

The difference is on a par 4 you can get run off the fairway and make good use of your driver. On a par three you don't want run under any circumstances if you are having to go with driver (as some do) as your ball is going to finish on the next tee. You hit a good shot you benefit, on the par three you hit a good shot and lose out anyway.

I like the comments of some people here with the good idea of basically learn the best places to bail out safely to...if you are going to miss, miss well.

 

[Junior]

Ours are 161, 185, 176, 152 and 183, all to the middle. Apart from the 152 yarder, they can play between a 3i and 8i depending on the wind.

A good course should require all types of shots and I think the par 3's should be a good mix of long irons and short irons, and the difficulty of the hole should be reflected in the stroke index.

 

[Threeoffthetee]

I have nothing against them, longer par 3s means I probably get a shot.

The slight problem with this logic is that your shot is only of use if you can leave your tee shot somewhere safe, but whilst this works on par fours and fives par threes are often designed to prevent this, if you don't make the green and come up short you could be in water, or an unplayable position and no amount of shots help then

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Even if the par 3's are long, the majority of players are getting shots and so in essence they become mini par 4's. The problem lies in the expectation that some higher handicappers, nay, some middle handicappers too, feel obliged to go for the green. Reckless, they hit 3 wood, driver or whatever, and end up in trouble and take the fur net three out of the equation. It's surely about course management and realising your own limitations

 

[Imurg]

I love the idea that just because you have a low handicap you're capable of hitting a green 230 yards away on a regular basis.....

If there's room to run the ball up onto the green then it's hard, it's tricky but it's achievable.
Add in a hazard at the front and it's a nonsense...

 

[Snelly]

I agree with this.

Par is only a number printed on the card.

If a 240yd hole was a par 3 we'd be thinking very difficult to make par (ie. a 3).
If it said par 4 on the card we'd be thinking good birdie chance (ie. a 3).

Ignore what the card says and just play to get down in as few shots as possible.

I totally agree. Don't get hung up on the number for par. Play the course as best you can in the fewest shots possible at your level of ability.

Saying a hole is too long is a bit lame in my view. Why not make the holes a bit bigger so crap putters can get more putts in? Same argument. Similarly weak.

 

[brendy]

I totally agree. Don't get hung up on the number for par. Play the course as best you can in the fewest shots possible at your level of ability.

Saying a hole is too long is a bit lame in my view. Why not make the holes a bit bigger so crap putters can get more putts in? Same argument. Similarly weak.

Nah just give them roadsweeper handled putters

 

[Slab]

I think part of the reason that 3's even exist is so that any player can be in the position of standing on the tee of at least one hole per round and actually aim for the flag (thinking to themselves I have a chance here!)

All the rubbish talked about the h/cap system giving high h/cappers a shot (& so sorting it for them) is off the mark, who has ever claimed a gross 2/net hole in one!!

 

[Imurg]

who has ever claimed a gross 2/net hole in one!!

Fragger did today.
Our long par 3 - it was 203 to the pin.
He took a 3 wood and stuck it 7 feet to the left of the pin and rolled it in.
A few weeks ago it would have been a 2 nett 0.............

I could only 2 putt for a par though.....

 

[Foxholer]

who has ever claimed a gross 2/net hole in one!!

Relatively frequent at a course near me.

Pin Front/Back/SI off Yellow blocks.

127/142/14
147/180/8
165/185/7
171/190 (add 10 for the hill)/9

Seen 2 nett 1s in same group once.