Tommy N:
Good point!
You can really give long hitters a little heart burn if you design courses with interesting and demanding angles. If you don't add some real element of risk (I don't mean throwing water on both sides of the fairway and / or a zillion bunkers) long hitters will simply take the driver and bomb away with impunity. That's one element to consider.
I've played quite a few modern courses that opened this year (i.e. The Kingsley Club, Pac Dunes, Wolf Creek, Arcadia Bluffs, Carnegie Abbey) that all had interesting long par-4's , to name just a few types of holes at each course) because they added back tees that provided a different angle on long par-4 holes. Believe me, change the angle on the back tee by just a few degrees and the bunker / hazard complex / fairway angle that's in play from the white tee will be just as challenging, if not more so, when played from the tips.
But do not, REPEAT, do not make playing the driver a shot of impossibility. Good players who hit the ball long are not idiots. If there is no real possibility of success with the driver we will simply club down and proceed from that point. Tempt the long player in hitting the driver to me is the secret of the long par-4. Watch the top players on tour and if they know they can play the same long par-4 with something less than the driver they will do so.
I hasten to add another great long par-4 I saw this year. The 7th at Pac Dunes is a superb hole. When I played the course this summer I had the hole downwind and had nothing more than a SW approach after playing from the tips. Doak's design still challenges you because of the hump and hillocks in the fairway (what a treat!) and the green has enough character (something Ran mentioned) to still keep you interested in the hole. I'd love to play the hole in the opposite direction and see what it must be like -- a holy terror!!!
Tommy -- I don't get bored when I know I'm playing a course with great character that understands the pysche of guys like me who can bust it big time. I do get bored when playing a great number of Vegas courses (one area among others) where it's just grip and rip at all times without any real penalty. The courses I mentioned above have a superb collection of different holes but the long par-4's on them do TEMPT the driver from the long hitter without TAKING AWAY that option.
When I play courses with forced lay-ups what the architect is saying in my mind is that "we have no way to beat you so we will end the fairway." That's not golf -- I call that GOTCHA GOLF!
Controlled length off the tee is a great weapon and should be rewarded when executed in a sound manner. Guys who hit the ball shorter will possibly have other strengths in their game (i.e. chipping / putting) because few really long hitters have great touch.
There is plenty of jabbering on GCA about short par-4's and I agree they should be a fundamental element of golf design. Great short par-4's offer another real element in quality shotmaking. But golf holes should not be all about finesse -- the ability to stripe one is still, in my mind, a core element of the game. From my experience the great architects understood the connection between power and accuracy. You don't have to add one at the others expense.
My final point -- I too enjoy holes with great strategic value so yes, I agree with BillV and Tom MacWood. Thinking is fundamental the game -- so is developing holes that provide a high level of risk and reward. Too many designers today are taking the driver out of the hands of the long hitter -- think of it this way it would be no less different than having greens that are dead flat because you don't want to give any advantage to the player who can read greens and stroke the ball accordingly.
Tommy N:
It does concern with me about the length people hit it today. But, let's understand this -- if you scale back the yardage the long hitters gain today they will still be the longest. It's really relative.
The obvious plus is that it would be saving acreage for golf course development without having to constantly adjust tees and push them further back with each passing 5 years or so.
Not all of the courses I listed above are super long courses, but they do possess plenty of opportunities for the long hitter to decide whether or not the driver should be used. The worst courses I find are the ones that take away that option -- I just play such holes with my Hawkeye 12.5 or Ping ISI 1-iron. Trust me -- I get plenty of distance with these two clubs than most people get with their Sunday best drive and I say that without sounding arrogant or smug.
If you want to keep long hitters in check use some of the suggestions that Brad Klein mentioned. Put bunkers in the middle of the fairway -- just like the 3rd at Pac Dunes. Angle the tees at the back slightly to the side of the forward tees. Make carries to preferred fairway positions possible, but with clear penalities. Tommy, when I play I'm looking for the "quick kill" off the tee on any hole I play. Most holes today that I find in visiting them during rating trips for GD completely collapse after I play the tee shot. That's not the case with well thought out courses and I will add the Sky Course at LC as another example of making the long hitter think about it before busting it (i.e. the 9th, 11th, 12th, etc.).
Brad also mentioned keeping the ground as firm and fast as possible. All of these things need to happen. The longish par-4, in my mind, is where the rubber meets the road. Properly designed they reward the best drivers (no pun intended!).
Regards,