so what makes a good par 4?

[patricks148]

after my post yesterday about short par 4's and some of the replies on difficulty etc, got me thinking about what makes a good par 4.

Our short 8th at Nairn is a prime example. Its only 320 off the white, downwind most of the time and if you play it well its a birdies chance. to some its drive able... but the raised green slopes front to back so anything chipped on rolls straight though the back, there gorse on both sides of the fairway and 2 fairway bunkers one for a duffed shot ( prob for ladies) one right, theres also a deep bunker right and one short left that gathers the guys that try and drive it as the fairway slopes from right to left.

All in all its a great hole... just shows it it doesn't have to be 460 yards to be a challenge

 

[Scrindle]

I love our par 4 16th. Off the yellows it is quite tame at 330 yards with a semi island green that also has 2 bunkers protecting it - pin high left and long right. 280 yards to the waters edge. Hole is straight with no dog leg but trees and waist high grass line both sides of the fairway after the fringe rough so you have to be accurate off the tee or you will end up hitting on the green in 3 (unless you want to try a Mickelson shot!). On anything but a still day the wind is in your face so the hole plays longer than it is. Tame but still tricky.

Off the whites the hole becomes 400 yards long with a raised tee box and a drive off the top will normally leave you a long iron approach shot to hit the island in 2 even for long hitters due to the wind.

I have birdied it before and almost did again a few weeks ago off the whites nailing a 3 wood down the middle (that's my 1 time out of 100!) to leave me a 5 iron into the green. Pitched and stopped 5' from the pin.......buddies crowding around because it's now twighlight and we can't see properly....pulled the put to 2" left of the pin . Got a good ribbing in the club house for that one .

 

[Deleted member 1147]

There isn't one version of a good par 4. A good hole can be driveable, but with risk for those that go for it (like your example), or it can be 450yd slog uphill, or anything in between. It can be straight or doglegged.
But a good course will have a selection of all different types of hole.

 

[fundy]

after my post yesterday about short par 4's and some of the replies on difficulty etc, got me thinking about what makes a good par 4.

Our short 8th at Nairn is a prime example. Its only 320 off the white, downwind most of the time and if you play it well its a birdies chance. to some its drive able... but the raised green slopes front to back so anything chipped on rolls straight though the back, there gorse on both sides of the fairway and 2 fairway bunkers one for a duffed shot ( prob for ladies) one right, theres also a deep bunker right and one short left that gathers the guys that try and drive it as the fairway slopes from right to left.

All in all its a great hole... just shows it it doesn't have to be 460 yards to be a challenge

Not sure this would fit my description of a good, let alone a great hole!

Have played good par 4s at less than 300 yards all the way up to those in the 470s. There are different types for me, those with risk/reward, those that require 2 strategically placed shots, those that need 2 long hits and a variety thereof. All in their own right can be good holes depending on the design

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

For me a good par four is one that gives me options from the tee. So a hole that I can hit a mid-long iron off the tee for position and risk avoidance and still able to hit the green with a mid-long iron or wood; or take timber off tee and go risk reward - looking for the pitch- short iron. What the hole looks like and the nature of the hazards I'm not that bothered.

 

[Rooter]

At my home course, my favourite to play is the 424 yard (white tees) 8th hole.

It has everything for me, risk/reward with a ditch at about 250 yards, dogleg left, elevation changes, tricky green. It should be SI1 in my opinion as its the hardest hole on the course (although it has got easier with them removal of an oak on the apex of the dogleg)

I can birdie it, but also card a 10. my approach now is 5 wood, 5 iron, tap in birdie. well thats the plan!



Here is a look back down it from near the front edge of the green:

 

[garyinderry]

elevated tee box is always a good start! lets you survey the land and plan the hole appropriately. then announce, "hand me my driver" ! :swing:

 

[JCW]

Played at Carden Park in may on the Nicklaus course , it has 2 short par 4`s with water , play around the lake or go direct , its about a 260 carry so the wind , your scorecard and how you hitting it comes into your mind set as one is the 17th , very clever and you got lots of choice , too many ...............................EYG

 

[Airlie_Andy]

elevated tee box is always a good start! lets you survey the land and plan the hole appropriately. then announce, "hand me my driver" ! :swing:

Oooo get you having a caddie!

 

[garyinderry]

Oooo get you having a caddie!

he gets to spend some time with his fav uncle. :thup:

 

[cookelad]

There should be a couple of different ways of playing it but, as with any hole, hitting good shots should give you a putt for a birdie and an easy par, hitting bad shots should leave you scrambling for par/bogey!

 

[CheltenhamHacker]

There should be a couple of different ways of playing it but, as with any hole, hitting good shots should give you a putt for a birdie and an easy par, hitting bad shots should leave you scrambling for par/bogey!

I wish that my bad shots still left me scrambling for a par

 

[BoadieBroadus]

a drive, an iron and a putt and any par 4 is an excellent hole in my view

 

[HomerJSimpson]

One that gives the whole range of golfers from pros to the high handicappers a way of playing it and being rewarded. Length isn't the be all. I quite like our 12th. SI 1 (although I'd argue it doesn't play it). Only 409 off the whites but a big dog leg. The big boys have the choice of carrying a large oak adjacent to the 11th and then a row of trees at about the 230 yard mark. Pull it off and avoiding the fairway bunker left and its only a flick in with a short iron

Get it wrong and you'll be blocked out by trees and forced to chip back into position. Go too wild, right and long and it could be lost ball in deep ferns. For the shorter hitters there is a straight shot with a ditch to carry at about 170 yards. They have even introduced a fairway area short and left of the ditch for the seniors to aim at to take it out of play and give them a shot. If you go for the safe route and hit it too well it'll run through the fairway and into semi rough which can sit the ball down for a shot of some 180 yards in. It really does have something for everyone. The sting in the tail is the environmental area (protected and an enforced drop if you go in it) no more than 10-15 yards off the back and the slope off the back edge will definitely send the ball dangerously close if you don't hold the putting surface. Sand left and right too.

http://www.royalascotgolfclub.co.uk/course/hole-12