Short Par 4 Opening Holes

[Doug Wright]

The opener at The Minikahda Club (Ross in MPLS) is a nice short par 4, good fronting bunkers.

These short openers are something I like about golf in the British Isles, including the aforementioned Prestwick, Troon, Crail Balcomie.

Isn't the first at Wild Horse shortish too, or did it just play that way when I was there?

Best,

[ian]

Prestwick's opener is not reachable, it's 370 yards. Great opening hole though.

Detroit Golf Club (North Course) (Ross) has a wonderful 325 yard opener.

Is it possible to hit the green at Pacific Dunes with the trouble in front?

[Jim_Bick]

Ardsley CC in Westchester NY first hole is about 290 overlooking the Hudson with about a 100 foot drop on the tee shot, which is usually a mid iron layup short of a pond which runs from 100 yards to the green. It is an often photographed hole, but I don't have the technical skill to find one or post it.

[Michael Goody]

michael wharton-palmer got the answer that first came to my mind- i think #1 at merion east is about 350-360. i love that hole

#1 at merion west is short too, think about 310. from what i remember it's drive-able, with a mound and top-shot bunkers guarding front left (it's been 10 years since i last played there, but that's my memory of the hole)

[Ian Dalzell]

Ardglass in Northern Ireland has a very short opener, but fun along the water with a steep climb to the greensite.  I played in a junior ireland event here one year and my matchplay opponent drove the green, after I had punched my 3-iron off the tee to get things off to a smooth start!  Needless to say, he went on to win the match and the whole event.

Friars Head is another short opener, and gives me the feel of hole #2 at PV without some of the length.

[Brad Swanson]

Isn't the first at Wild Horse shortish too, or did it just play that way when I was there?

Best,

Wild Horse's opener qualifies for sure, although the only time I tried to drive it (and did so) was during the early fall one man scramble on my first tee-shot, with the esteemed Mr. Wright as my witness .

Cheers,
Brad Swanson

[THuckaby2]

Point of reference on Wild Horse #1:  yes it is shortish, and driveable... if your name is Brad Swanson, Dave Schmidt or Hank Kuehne.

The rest of us kinda need Hurricane Ivan behind us.

 

[Brad Swanson]

Point of reference on Wild Horse #1:  yes it is shortish, and driveable... if your name is Brad Swanson, Dave Schmidt or Hank Kuehne.

The rest of us kinda need Hurricane Ivan behind us.

 

Tom,
   I don't buy your conclusion about me hitting the ball any longer than the average low/mid single digit player at all, if I can take my experience at the Cuscowilla outing as an example.  Nearly everyone I played with there was right there with me or a few steps ahead.  I saw some tee shots from the guys playing behind be that were out there as well (Ed G. for instance).  I've come to accept that in this as well as many other things, I am merely average.
   Now, #1 at WH is a fun one to go at with the driver as the contours leading up to and around the green are banked on the right to help a gentle draw find its way to the putting surface, and the firm conditions there help as well.  A great start to a great course.  

Cheers,
Brad

[THuckaby2]

Brad my friend and former partner:

Don't you dare ruin my delusions.  I still think of you as prodigiously long off the tee, and my great hope is to somehow have you go toe to toe with Schmidt some day.  So perhaps you have come back to average but I don't want to hear about it if so.

 

In any case, I agree with you that #1 at WH is mega cool and the perfect start to that course.  For me it meant getting my eyes opened as a wedge landed on the green and bouded 30 yards over... for others it surely can me driving the green, getting 100 yards worth of roll.

TH

[peter_p]

Holyhead in north Wales opens with a 277 yard par 4. Ian Scott-Taylor nominated it as his favorite hole by design in Paul Daley's new bool. Hidden green, fronting mound, small
Braid 4500 sqft green with diagonal ridge. OB left. Sorry I missed this on my great tour.

Machrihannish's 1st is 400+

[Doug Siebert]

Point of reference on Wild Horse #1:  yes it is shortish, and driveable... if your name is Brad Swanson, Dave Schmidt or Hank Kuehne.

The rest of us kinda need Hurricane Ivan behind us.

 

Tom,
   I don't buy your conclusion about me hitting the ball any longer than the average low/mid single digit player at all, if I can take my experience at the Cuscowilla outing as an example.  Nearly everyone I played with there was right there with me or a few steps ahead.  I saw some tee shots from the guys playing behind be that were out there as well (Ed G. for instance).  I've come to accept that in this as well as many other things, I am merely average.
   Now, #1 at WH is a fun one to go at with the driver as the contours leading up to and around the green are banked on the right to help a gentle draw find its way to the putting surface, and the firm conditions there help as well.  A great start to a great course.  

Cheers,
Brad

I think you are exaggerating a bit there, Brad!  We both seemed to hit it pretty much the same distance the day we played together so I've got a pretty good basis for personal comparison, and while I'd laugh out loud if someone mentioned me in the same sentence as Hank Kuehne, I think it is safe to say you are longer than the average low/mid single digit handicap, though certainly not hugely so -- I got a friend who plays around scratch who can outdrive me by at least 40 yards, if you can picture that!  Of course if your concept of an average 2 handicap is now some freshman you get paired up with on the Scarlet who is working hard in hopes of walking on the OSU squad, the meaning of "average" for you may be a bit off the mark!

[Tom_Doak]

Was the category supposed to be SHORT par-4 opening holes, or DRIVEABLE par-4 opening holes?

I'm a big fan of the former.  I used to think Dan Jenkins was wrong to put the first at Merion (East) on his list of America's best 18 holes, because it's tough to hit two such precise shots right out of the box.  But a short par-4 with a little leeway off the tee is a great start.  The opener at Pacific Dunes doesn't have much leeway, so I would tend to favor the opening holes at Lost Dunes or The Rawls Course from my own courses.  The first at Sebonack will be a shorty, too.  

Some of the men's team at TTU think the first at The Rawls is driveable downwind.  In general, though, I don't think you'll find many driveable par-4's being included as the openers on new courses.  It is a speed of play issue, but aside from that, few architects or clients want the opening impression of their course to be "short" or "easy".

I was shocked to hear someone talking about the first at Riverdale Dunes being driveable; equipment [and altitude] must make a difference, because we never thought about that twenty years ago!