Par Three Bankings

[peter_p]

   Somehow I lose a little bit of interest as my latest attempt at a hole in one doesn't track at the hole, again. No I didn't get one.
   But at Faldo's Desert Shadow, the shortish 17th has a large slope into the green from the left hillsidet. The hole was conveniently cut, so I hit out a bit to the left, apparently picked the right club and swung properly. As the ball trickled down towards the hole with That Chance, everyone got excited.
   That doesn't happen very often, so any design feature which amplifies one's interest is greatly appreciated.
   

[Garland Bayley]

Once again the Kirk Unified Theory of Golf Course Design explains the heightened joy of a shot!

Once again, today I hit almost exactly the same shot as my Mother's Day hole in one, the ball hit into the slope on the green and one of the members of the foursome called out the play by play as the ball moved towards the hole. Unfortunately, I had landed it slightly shorter than the previous time and the ball did not climb high enough on the ridge to continue to the hole, but eventually came back down.

[Tim Taylor]

A few that I can think of off the top of my head, both long par 3s:

#3 at Southern Dunes in Florida has a nice left-to-right slope that can be used to feed a running ball onto the green.

#3 at Barona Creek outside San Diego. Again, the slope is left-to-right.

Both courses maintain the firm and fast conditions that make such a shot possible.

TimT

[Tyler Kearns]

Peter,

I think greens designed in such a way add a lot of excitment to the round. Glendale, a late Thompson design features a green partitioned into a upper right and lower left halves by a severe contour. When the pin is on the lower section, nearly all balls played right-to-left will funnel down towards the pin, and often look like they are going in from the players perspective. The fact that the group ahead and behind can also witness the action adds to the excitment. Just this past weekend, my playing partner burned the edge for an ace, and the "go in" cries from the tee prompted the players behind us on #15 to scurry over to take a look. They stayed to watch me hit a similar shot that trickled for an eternity before coming to rest 6" from the hole.

TK