Tongo
Journeyman Pro
Thought of some others near me:
Wellow (if you start on the Ryedown loop first)
Leckford New
Wickham Park
Furzeley
Wellow (if you start on the Ryedown loop first)
Leckford New
Wickham Park
Furzeley
Rickmansworth opens with a par 3, innocuous from the scorecard, 133 yards off the yellows. SI 13
But it’s a bit of a sod, up a steep hill, so the green is invisible, and the green is tilted away from the hole in all directions, ( now that’s what I call a crown), in the summer with hard ground it’s almost impossible.
I like a par 3 opener, as has been said, it spaced the groups out nicely
I remember playing that in the middle of summer about 30 years ago. Tough start when you don’t know what is up the top. I seem to remember some of the holes had sloping fairways. Being summer I was landing my ball as far right of the fairway as possible only for it to roll off the left side into the rough.
Cleveland Golf Club, Redcar, 168yds from a raised tee to raised green, good start to a good course.
Largs, Cathcart Castle, Whitecraigs, Cochrane Castle, Newtonmore (I think) Aberdour (first 2!!!) Kinross Montgomerie, Walton Heath (old) St Boswells, Glencourse, Winterfield, Kingussie.
That's all I can think of at present!
The other thread (how to warm up) got me thinking about opening holes, particularly par 3's which seem to be fairly uncommon
Orikuru's place, Haste Hill, at 150 ish doesn't sound too bad
Royal lytham starts with a 3 also at between 169 and 199 depending on the tees, also if I remember correctly the Nicholas course at Carden Park has a par 3 opener at around 160.
The 1st at Whitecraigs is a bit of a tester as it has out of bounds tight down the RHS and straight into the car park. Just what you need if you are nervously standing there having had a dose of the s****s previous time out.
They have planted trees down that side since I last played it (30yrs ago) to make it less daunting and to protect the car park. Without the trees it was a mare. Still - a good ol' s***k will see you hurtling towards the car park not 50yds away and praying for a deflection off a tree.
Alsager dodle downhill 170 ish wide open easy peasy.
Mad isn't itBut Church Stretton is impossible. Three of us stood on the first tee trying to figure where the green was. One pointed to the green on the hill, and I laughed and said for him not be so stoooopid. Luckilly a bloke came wandering down the hill to the left with his clubs so we asked him. Good job we had decided to play stableford. No scores for any of us. Impossible. In fact the first three are par threes I think. All impossible holes for a first timer.