Par 3 woe

[JV24601]

Anybody out there had issues specifically with par 3 holes when the rest of the game is seemingly ok?

Irons are pretty good currently, but on every par 3 they turn into a horror story and I record a heavy score.
I have tried over clubbing, no tee, swinging much easier, all sorts, but I cannot play a par 3 in regulation and haven't for some time.

Anybody experienced anything similar?

 

[User 99]

I shot 3 over gross on Saturday, I was 4 over for the par 3s.

 

[inc0gnito]

Sounds like a mental block if your irons are normally good

 

[Capella]

Don't be too hard on yourself. Pa3s are meant to be tricky. The greens are ususally smaller than those of the par4s and par5s and very well protected, so there is a big difference between hitting an iron shot as an approach shot off the fairway of a par4 from 150 yards to hitting a tee shot into a 150 yard green.

 

[JV24601]

Sounds like a mental block if your irons are normally good

I'm thinking exactly this. Which means it's going to be a lot more difficult to solve than had it been a swing issue.

 

[Orikoru]

It's been the opposite for me. Last weekend I managed four pars, and three of those were on par threes. On the other two par threes I got bogeys.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

What is it that's going wrong:
Are you going at pins you shouldn't?
Are you short siding yourself, or missing in bad spots?
Is it your short game letting you down once you've missed the green?


At my club I've learnt the best place to miss on the par 3's - 2 of the holes you are perfectly safe if you miss short, and have a pretty easy up&down, the others are trickier. But for the one where it's safer to miss left, I tend to aim left half of the green and play a cut. If I miss the green because it doesn't cut (or I pull it) it doesn't matter too much as it's the safer side. So hopefully a 4 is the worst I'll get.

 

[JV24601]

It stems from not long being out of a real bad spell of golf.
Confidence definitely, along with the fact I've played them so badly and I'm really anxious now when on them. I've tried the positive mindset and all that but at the end of the day it doesn't work.

My short game is saving me from double figures on them actually. It's the actual tee shot causing the damage and can be a massive block or a vicious hook.

What is it that's going wrong:
Are you going at pins you shouldn't?
Are you short siding yourself, or missing in bad spots?
Is it your short game letting you down once you've missed the green?


At my club I've learnt the best place to miss on the par 3's - 2 of the holes you are perfectly safe if you miss short, and have a pretty easy up&down, the others are trickier. But for the one where it's safer to miss left, I tend to aim left half of the green and play a cut. If I miss the green because it doesn't cut (or I pull it) it doesn't matter too much as it's the safer side. So hopefully a 4 is the worst I'll get.

 

[Marshy77]

Can you just aim to try hit the green or the safest place in front or to the side of the greens? I'm rubbish on Par 3's and now just aim to get on the green or to safest nearest point and hope I can wedge on and 2 putt.

 

[thesheriff]

I find our par 3s a mare too. There are a couple of stinkers where it is very difficult to find the green, but even the easier ones on paper get in my head.

2nd hole is only 120ish yards, but the green uphill and can usually only see the top of the flag. Nonetheless, should be a simple flick to get it up there thought the number of time myself or PPs duff a very short iron there is unreal.

9th is a difficult hole as the green sits at the top of a rocky hill 180 yds away. Requires a very precise shot to pitch near the top of the hill bounce over the brow and rest of the green anything else will leave a tricky chip up the hill or will be in the bushes.

Sorry waffling, my point is par 3s can be very tricky. I'd try to step up there with confidence cos if the rest of your game is good then there is nothing stopping you hitting good shots into par 3s but your own head.

 

[drewster]

Like you Par 3s are my nemesis. All four of ours require a decently struck medium iron between a 4 and a 7 but the 12th was a knock down driver for me on Saturday which surprisingly resulted in a par !!!! Maybe that's my lightbulb par 3 moment, hit driver !!!!!!

 

[NorwichBanana]

This just goes to show that a Par 3 doesn't need to be 160+ yards to be a challenge!

 

[pinberry]

you don't have any mental block, most likely you have expectations that are too high.. As someone said already, Par3s are meant to be tricky. On a 160yds par3, a PGA pro on average makes a par. At every level, par3 are the hole where you score relative to your average will be the worst.

So next time you step onto a Par 3, think that Russel Knox will, on average, walk away with a par. It's not a big deal if you miss the green. If you walk out with a 4, it's probably ok..

 

[JV24601]

you don't have any mental block, most likely you have expectations that are too high.. As someone said already, Par3s are meant to be tricky. On a 160yds par3, a PGA pro on average makes a par. At every level, par3 are the hole where you score relative to your average will be the worst.

So next time you step onto a Par 3, think that Russel Knox will, on average, walk away with a par. It's not a big deal if you miss the green. If you walk out with a 4, it's probably ok..

I am most certainly not walking away with a par, or a bogey for that matter.
They are destroying my card so much so that they're not far off stopping me playing any strokeplay rounds.
They're that bad at the moment that I would happily accept a double before teeing off.

 

[bobmac]

How long are they?

 

[Deleted member 1147]

How long are they?

...and how many of them are there?

 

[patricks148]

I find if you score well on all the par 3s at most courses you will have a good score.

 

[JV24601]

2 short ones and 2 long ones.
The 2 short ones (130-160) cause me the most issues. Getting nowhere near the green and can almost feel my hands blocking it at the last millisecond.
Very strange

How long are they?

 

[bobmac]

Are you fairly confident playing the 50yd pitch shot with a PW/GW?

 

[JV24601]

Are you fairly confident playing the 50yd pitch shot with a PW/GW?

Yes definitely, I like that shot..