Which kind of course suits you?

[One Planer]

Something I've been giving a little thought to recently and thought I'd share it out with the forum.

The course I play has 6 par 3's, 4 of them on or over the 200 yard mark.

What kind of course, of the 2 stated, would suit you and how you play the game better?

A course with long par 3's (Over 200 yards)

Or

A course with long Par 4's (Over 450 yards)


Which do you think you would score better on?

 

[garyinderry]

long par 3 as you are already hitting your approach shot.

on a 450 yard par 4, I would have to have knocked it 250yards off the tee and in play, then take whatever lie I had.

on a par 3, I can tee it up, pick my lie, choose the angle to come in from.


into the wind, I should make a long par 3 with the driver at most. a long par 4 into the wind, I might not make with 2 sunday best!

 

[blackpuddinmonster]

Par 3s' all day.
I'd rather hit a 3w of a tee peg than of the fairway any day of the week.
To be honest not a fan of either, though thats due to my lack of ability.

 

[dotty001]

where is the dont know option ?

 

[patricks148]

Neither

 

[Keeno]

Both would be tough, but I would fancy my chances at a 3wood hitting on or near the green rather than a good long drive followed by a long iron.

The more long shots I hit, the more chance I have of hitting a bad one

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I've never been a fan of long par 3's, I prefer them to be no longer than a mid iron. I look on them as scoring holes where you get a chance to pick up a shot. Don't mind long par 4's as I generally drive the ball reasonably well. To me though, every course should have a really short par 3 where you are just going in with a wedge or 9i.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

The par 3s at our course generally dictate how well you score. We also have 6 of them, 2 over 200 and 3 around 180.

I don't know what would suit me better but I think in general you would have to say Par 3s purely because, for most people, hitting a 450yd par 4 requires two good shots of over 200 yds to either hit the green or get very close, a long par 3 requires just one such shot so the chances of success have to be greater.

 

[One Planer]

I've never been a fan of long par 3's, I prefer them to be no longer than a mid iron. I look on them as scoring holes where you get a chance to pick up a shot. Don't mind long par 4's as I generally drive the ball reasonably well. To me though, every course should have a really short par 3 where you are just going in with a wedge or 9i.

We have one of those too :thup:

A 104 yard S/I 18

 

[GB72]

I have gone with the long par 4s. I reckon that I have more chance of hitting my tee shot, laying up and hitting a wedge close to give me a change of a par than hitting a green with a 3 wood off the tee. A lot would depend on the greens on the par 3s though. If distance was the main/only defence on the hole then I would take that option.

 

[D4RK1]

It's a tough choice but I went for the long par 4. If I don't quite get a driver away it will still leave me a chance of getting on for 2, so, in regulation. Or very close leaving a good chance of getting close with my third. I guess it all depends on the trouble that's involved with the holes but we have a only 4 par 3's and only 1 that's over 200. A long par 4 would usually be of a lower stroke index than any par 3. Par 3 greens should always be well protected and can cause a fair bit of trouble especially if the winds up and your hitting a long club in. I know I see fewer pars on the long par 3 than I do on the 2 450ish par 4's we have.

 

[jimbob.someroo]

Long par 4's for me.

I would like to think that with a normal-ish drive, I'd have less than 200 yards in which would mean hitting an iron as opposed to a wood/hybrid. If I'm out of position I'd feel more comfortable laying up on a par 4 and taking my chances getting up and down, than I would on a par 3.

That said, it's entirely dependent on the course. If the par 4 has water in front so you have to carry it over in two or lay up to 100 yards, then it changes the dynamic somewhat. Likewise if the par 3 had a lot of trouble or was a difficult up and down.

I'd based my answer on a 'boring' hole with nothing hazard-y surrounding the green.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I'd based my answer on a 'boring' hole with nothing hazard-y surrounding the green.

I like that word

 

[richart]

I've never been a fan of long par 3's, I prefer them to be no longer than a mid iron. I look on them as scoring holes where you get a chance to pick up a shot. Don't mind long par 4's as I generally drive the ball reasonably well. To me though, every course should have a really short par 3 where you are just going in with a wedge or 9i.

I agree, we have a lovely 125 yard one. Short par 3's must still be properly designed, and not just a squeezed in hole to make up the numbers. I always think the short 15th at Hindhead is just such a hole.

 

[cookelad]

Par 3s for me out of the 2 but in reality it's neither, I think courses should have a good mix of par 3s (4s and 5s) so one that's little more than a flick, two that play short to mid irons and one for a long iron or fairway wood!

 

[jimbob.someroo]

I like that word

I believe it's the technical term

 

[Imurg]

We have a 200 yard par 3 immediately after a 450 yard par 4.
Without checking I can be pretty sure that, on average, I play the par 4 better - relative to par- than the par 3.
Play either in regulation and they're equal but the par 4 is a pretty straight-forward bogey where the par 3 can be a very easy double if you put yourself in the wrong place.

Another way of looking at it is that, to me, a par on the par 3 means more to me than a par on the par 4, even though I get more points for it in Stableford.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

No option for a wide open course with no trees or water hazards. I can usually get around those! If I had to make a preference par 3's every time so I'm not reliant on the driver getting me into position A

 

[pbrown7582]

can't seem to buy a par on a par 3 lately so ive opted for the long par 4's maybe is just down to expectation........

 

[tsped83]

Par 4s all day for me. A 200yd par 3 that starts with a poor tee shot is bad news all day. 450 yard par 4 please.