Par 3 Finishing Holes

[JerryK]

I have noticed that a number of new courses are including a par 3 19th hole to settle bets or offer a little more action for those of us who feel that a wager is an intricate part of the game.  What I was wondering is how many of the great courses finish with a par 3 18th hole and does it add to or diminish the quality of the course.  I immediately think of Congressional where the 18th plays approximately 185 yards downhill with water short and left, a bunker right, and a two-tiered green.  The USGA played it as the 10th for the Senior Open but kept it as the 18th for the US Open.  It is quite a dramatic and challenging finish since the 17th requires a strong second shot to what is effectively a peninsula, although there is an opening to the front of the green for a shot to run on.  We do not normally think that a course should finish with a par 3 but since most members play match and not stroke play, would not a par 3 be a good finish to a course which is almost always limited to member play?

[Craig Van Egmond]

I have only played one course with a par 3 finishing hole and that is Pasatiempo.  What a fabulous course and a cool finishing hole.

Pasatiempo is the longest 6500 yard course I have ever played.

[Jeff_Mingay]

In the process of routing a course to take advantage of the best natural features on a property, if the last hole ends up being a par 3, so be it. That's what I say!

By altering a solid routing to avoid a par 3 18th, the potential quality of the course in question would undoubtedly be sacrificed.  

Off the top of my head, I can think of two Stanley Thompson layouts with par 3 eighteenth holes: 1) Ladies Golf Club of Toronto, and 2) Oshawa Golf Club. [Although, come to think of it, Thompson might have inherited the routing at Oshawa. Nonetheless...]

The 18th at Ladies GC, which sits right next to one of the classiest clubhouses (circa mid 1920s) I've ever seen, is excellent: an uphill shot of medium length to a semi-blind putting surface surrounded by bunkers. It's a really simple hole, that's equally cool... it's probably the best hole on the course in fact.

Toronto's Scarboro G&CC (remodelled by Tillighast in the early 1930s) has a par 3 19th hole, which is fun to finish on... as long as you win the bet, of course  

[Mike Hendren]

Cascades comes to mind.  I like the par-3 finish, but the  18th is the fourth best one-shotter on the premises IMHO.

[Jeff_Stettner]

East Lake G.C. has one, and it's pretty darn hard at that.

[Rick Nowosad]

I was going to mention the Cascades also.

Another is the Edmonton G & CC which hosted the 1996 DuMaurier where Laura Davies was victorious. Of the other 300+ courses that I've played, I know of no others. I imagine it's a rare phenomenon and will be curious to see what the final tally runs up to!

[Matt_Ward]

Two grand ones I've played --

the 18th at Garden City GC and the one I enjoyed the most ...

the 18th at the Geronimo Course at Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, AZ). After you play the hole the course has a bronzed statue of Geronimo at the back of the putting green. A neat finish indeed! Try playing the hole from the tips, just under 200 yards and you is certainly cut out for any player. The green is well protected by a deep bunker on the left side. From the tee the approach shot makes the golfer believe he is landing a 747 on the deck of an aircraft carrier!!! If you have th eleast bit of nerves shaking in your hand the hole will grab you big time.

Regards,

[Jeff_Mingay]

Matt Ward:

How old is that Geronimo course at Desert Mountain? And who designed it?

The reason I asked is, I wonder which is the youngest (notable) golf course in the US finishing with a par 3? And who designed it?

Rick Nowosad:

Good call on Edmonton CC! I played there earlier this summer. 18's a pretty neat par 3, played nearly 200 yards over a deep gorge, on an otherwise forgetable course.

I was excited to play there, but came away quite disappointed.

[ForkaB]

Three examples from Scotland that come to the top of my mind:

Aberdour--210 yards, slight plateau green with a very subtle spine running lengthwise in front of the green requiring a run up shot to be absolutely perfect.  Small copse of trees to the left and bunkered right.  Once you get to the green you have a fantastic view across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh.

Brora--200 yards straight uphill with the smell of the twice-poached salmon wafting through the air and the punters in the bar watching your shots from the overhanging windows with disdain.

Kinghorn--200 yards straight UPHILL!!!.  If there was ever a place in the game for the feathered brassie this completely blind tee shot with a 40ft wall of grass about 80 yards in front of the tee is it!  
Really nice green complex too, once you get to see it.

[Archie]

Don't exactly know why but really don't like a three par as the finisher. Played Congressional, (one tough golf course) with the Open routing and don't like it early as much as Playing 17 as the last hole.

However, this being said, its a personal thing and this is what makes the world go round.

Speaking of round, old Jewish proverb from Woodcrest (Flynn) CC. As a player strikes his putt a little two hard, invariably one of his fellow competitors would say. Oye!
Nothing, but nothing rolls like a ball! Corny but oh so true.

[GeoffreyC]

The best par 3 finisher I've played is at Lindrick Golf Club in England.  It is slightly uphill and about 210 yards to a well bunkered green complex.  Its the best hole on the course.  Lindrick hosted one of the first Ryder Cups and the photos in the clubhouse are priceless.

In the US, the finishers at Pasaitiempo and and Garden City are both fitting endings to fantastic golf courses.  At Garden City, the proximity of the 18th green to the veranda and the crowds eating and drinking give a bit of extra tension to the putting.

[Ben C. Dewar]

Jeff,
The 18th at the Ladies is a great hole.  I have had many a lunch overlooking that wonderful hole.  How difficult a hole must that have been for the women when it was designed?

A couple of others.

Cascades and down the road, Old White (though not as strong.)

I am looking forward to Pasatiempo this February.

I have no problem with a par three finisher so long as it is a solid one.

[MAC]

We use the porch to settle bets at Secession.  It is about 50 yards from the green (bunkers front and back with marsh long).  Tee mat is optional!

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jerry K

Preakness Hill, Forest Hills, and perhaps White Beeches, all New Jersey courses.

[Bill_McBride]

Sandpiper north of Santa Barbara is tough, long across water.  But I hear they are redoing the course and maybe the routing will change.  

Did anybody ever think the 18th at Pasatiempo would make a fabulous par 5 from the 17th tee, if there was a way to add another par 3 somewhere along the way on the back 9?  Just ruminating.

[Matt_Ward]

Jeff:

The Geronimo was designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened, I believe, in 1991. It was part of the original three courses (Renegade and Cochise) that christened the development's existence.

Sad to say the original Geronimo course has been altered with major changes carried out at the 13th and 14th holes. Don't know if that was at Lyle Anderson's behest or some tinkering by Jack. Either way -- it really hurt the actual standing of the course, in my opinion. When I first played it I just loved the course and the 18th was indeed a grand way to climax the round.

Regards,

[JerryK]

So I get from the discussion a consensus that a par 3 finishing hole is not something which should automatically be eliminated from consideration when routing a course.  Next question is what would be the ideal hole if we are considering it as the last hole of a typical round with three presses and a number of carryover greenies.  The question is not only how difficult should it be to get it close to the hole, but what kind of a safe shot should it have, i.e., a safe side away from the trouble but leaving you with a very difficult two putt.  

[Paul Perrella]

 Dev Emmet ended at least two of his courses with par 3's. Congressional has been mentioned and McGregor Links in Saratoga NY also ends with a par 3. With this being said my personal favorite is Garden City even though a bogey there cost me a match.

[Gimpy]

Hope Valley CC in Durham (Ross) finishes with a nice Par 3.  

The 19th hole at Forest Creek is a great Par 3 to settle bets and aptly named, "the Hog Hole".  

[Gib_Papazian]

Here is one I like:

Deep in the bowels of Bakersfield, there is an old line track called Stockdale CC.

(Par 70, with all sorts of wild twists and turns on a flat property)

The last hole is a 220 yard par 3 that requires a string straight fairway wood or one iron into the throat between hazards.

It is interesting because it is a great finishing hole in match play. An all or nothing swing - if you miss the green, the up and down is unlikely.

[CHrisB]

Oak Hills CC in San Antonio (Tillinghast, 1921), where Watson won the Tour Championship in 1988 and where the Texas Open was played until they moved it to La Cantera, has a super par 3 finishing hole: just under 200 yards, hitting from a chute of trees downhill to a green framed by live oaks and deep bunkers; made for an exciting finish to the tournaments played there.  Interesting also that both nines end in par 3's, and both nines finish at the clubhouse.

[SPDB]

The way the senior tour sets up the Meadow Brook course for it's Lightpath ends the course on the par 3 ninth hole (they flip flop the nines).

This means the day comes to a close on a very demanding par-3. Uphill all the way and totally blind to the player from the tee. And that's not its only defense. The green is severely sloped from back to front. This can be tremendously nerve wracking, since there is a premium on placement of the tee shot to a green you can't even see.

[Ray_Cross]

Ben...you got there first with Cascades and Old White: Cascades by Wm Flynn at The Homestead and Old White by Macdonald/Raynor at The Greenbrier. Virginia and West Virginia, respectively.
Seems that par3 finishing holes were more a technique of older style architects than post 1970. Have never read why that seemed to be the case, but they do not diminish the quality of a course, IMHO.  

[Tim_Codd]

Here is another, Greenspring Valley Hunt Club in Maryland. TO the best of my knowledge this is the only golf course in America that ends AND begins with a par 3.
18 is short but to a green the size of Volkswagen, with contours to match.
          T.P.C.

[Mike Hendren]

ChrisB

I found the 18th and 9th at Oak Hills redundant, same direction over the same valley with maybe one club difference.  I liked them both, however.  Any idea how much of Tillie's original work remains?  I thought the first, sixth and eighth greens were way cool - perhaps the genuine articles?