[Dan Joseph]

I was having a discussion with a friend who said he thinks having 3 par 3's on one nine diminishes the quality of the golf course.  I disagree and I am wondering if anyone has any examples of better known courses with 3 par 3's on one nine to help keep him quiet.

[Jordan Wall]

Ask him about Pacific Dunes, the back has four par three's...

[mike_malone]

 Why don't you just tell him he is an idiot


    I think par threes are the critical holes on a golf course; the more the merrier. BTW Rolling Green, which is a pretty good course, has three on one nine. Two new tees make #10-260 yards-#14-235ish-#16 165.

  Glen Mills, also in the Philly area, has #10 210 drop shot ;#14 160ish with redan features, and #16 150 yards over water.

[Ryan Crago]

Ballybunion (Old) has 3 in 4 holes on the back, and 4 in 8 holes.

#s: 8, 12, 14, 15.

[RDecker]

Berkshire Hills Country Club, expertly maintained by your very own Steve Curry has 3 par 3's on it's excellent and very challenging front 9.  Tillinghast balanced this up by placing 3 par 5's on the back 9.  It happens to work in this instance and the par 3's all play differently and if memory serves in 4 different directions with the 5 all being slightly different styles and yardages.

[SL_Solow]

A wonderful old course (circa 1903) in Flossmoor,Il. has 3 par 3's and 3 par 5's on its front nine.  A very enjoyable course.

[Padraig Dooley]

Dan

Out of curiosity, what reasons does your friend use to back up his argument?

Ask him what he thinks of back to back par 3's? e.g.Cypress Point 15th and 16th, Ballybunion (Old) 14th, 15th.

The Red Course at the Berkshire has 6 3's, 4's and 5's. I've never played it so am not sure what the configuration is but Tom Doak does give it a 6 in the Confidential Guide.

[John Kavanaugh]

You need to be married to an ugly woman for a while before you can see the benefits.  I agree that 3 par threes on one side is not the best situation because I like to tee it up and hit driver.  Now that I have seen great courses and understand the nuances I am not so quick to judge.  This guy will just have to see for himself.  Even now, when going in cold I would avoid the course with the over abundance of threes just like I would and did prefer to marry up.

[JESII]

JK,


Even if the greens are great?

[John Kavanaugh]

I think the guys on this site look at golf like an old man at the end of his life looks at the choices he has made.   There is a chance of missing some of the great times brought on by the ignorance of youth by always being so wise.  The best argument I can come up with why 3 par threes on one side makes little theoritical sense is to ask how many par 3's are on each side of Shadow Creek?  

[Phil McDade]

Lawsonia has a very good set of par 3s on its back nine -- the long and slightly uphill 10th, the medium-length 12th with its wild green, and the downhill, short 14th, where going long is discouraged. They are part of the course's famed stretch of holes -- 9 through 14 -- that contains not a single par 4, but three very good par 3s and three very good par 5s, including the wonderful par 5 13th.

[ed_getka]

Dan,
  It just depends on how the course flows IMO. There are the 4 3's on PacDunes but most people wouldn't notice unless they looked at the scorecard.
   Kingsley Club has 3 on the front 9, and I would stack that 9 holes up against anything I have seen in the world.
   I'm sure there are many more examples. If the course doesn't flow well though and you end up always getting stacked up on the par 3 tees and waiting, that would be a real drag.
   I suppose your buddies wouldn't like Cypress very much with 3 par 5's on the front 9. #'s 2,5, and 6.

[Kalen Braley]

Dan,
  It just depends on how the course flows IMO. There are the 4 3's on PacDunes but most people wouldn't notice unless they looked at the scorecard.
   Kingsley Club has 3 on the front 9, and I would stack that 9 holes up against anything I have seen in the world.
   I'm sure there are many more examples. If the course doesn't flow well though and you end up always getting stacked up on the par 3 tees and waiting, that would be a real drag.
   I suppose your buddies wouldn't like Cypress very much with 3 par 5's on the front 9. #'s 2,5, and 6.

And to boot Pac Dunes has 3 par 5s on the back 9.

[JESII]

I think the guys on this site look at golf like an old man at the end of his life looks at the choices he has made.   There is a chance of missing some of the great times brought on by the ignorance of youth by always being so wise.  The best argument I can come up with why 3 par threes on one side makes little theoritical sense is to ask how many par 3's are on each side of Shadow Creek?  

JK,

If that quote was for me about my 'great greens' question...you misinterpreted...my opinion is that you never know if it was wise to marry the ugly woman until later on...isn't that about the same position as yours?

[Garland Bayley]

If I remember correctly Stanley Thompson, who is no slouch as a designer, believed a course with 5 par 3s was the ideal number. With 5 par 3s, you have to have a nine which has 3.

[Kalen Braley]

If I remember correctly Stanley Thompson, who is no slouch as a designer, believed a course with 5 par 3s was the ideal number. With 5 par 3s, you have to have a nine which has 3.

Ummm...no you don't.

You can put all 5 on the front or back, or some combination of 4 and 1 on the front and back..  

[John Kavanaugh]

I think the guys on this site look at golf like an old man at the end of his life looks at the choices he has made.   There is a chance of missing some of the great times brought on by the ignorance of youth by always being so wise.  The best argument I can come up with why 3 par threes on one side makes little theoritical sense is to ask how many par 3's are on each side of Shadow Creek?  

JK,

If that quote was for me about my 'great greens' question...you misinterpreted...my opinion is that you never know if it was wise to marry the ugly woman until later on...isn't that about the same position as yours?

The fact of the matter is is that you generally don't even end up marrying the ugly woman and if you do you don't appreciate her until she is gone.  This does relate to why we love some courses and some not so much.

[Garland Bayley]

If I remember correctly Stanley Thompson, who is no slouch as a designer, believed a course with 5 par 3s was the ideal number. With 5 par 3s, you have to have a nine which has 3.

Ummm...no you don't.

You can put all 5 on the front or back, or some combination of 4 and 1 on the front and back..  

Which part of 3 < 4 and 3 < 5 don't you understand?
 

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I had the pleasure of playing Lawsonia Links with Dick Daley and Brad "even par" Swanson yesterday. Lawsonia has 3 par 3's on the back nine and it was a delight as was the whole course. By the by all 3 are strong holes and I tend to agree with Dick and Brad they are the strength of the course. The GCA world should make Lawsonia part of their golfing life if only for a day.

[Mike Benham]

MPCC Shore has 3 3's on the front and 3 5's on the back ...

[Wayne_Kozun]

I see nothing wrong with a course with 5 or 6 par 3s.  Generally the par 3s and 5s are the most memorable holes on a course so what is wrong with having more of them.

What I hate is courses that have 4 par 4s in a row that are all 420-460 yards.  That gets REALLY monotonous.

[Kalen Braley]

If I remember correctly Stanley Thompson, who is no slouch as a designer, believed a course with 5 par 3s was the ideal number. With 5 par 3s, you have to have a nine which has 3.

Ummm...no you don't.

You can put all 5 on the front or back, or some combination of 4 and 1 on the front and back..  

Which part of 3 < 4 and 3 < 5 don't you understand?
 

Garland,

If I put 5 dollar bills on the table and asked you how many dollar bills does that table have, what would you say?  3??

Your statement said "you have to have a nine which has 3".  Please use the above analogy if none of this is making sense.

But if you wanted to use the English language as it was intended so we can all communicate with each other then I suppose you could have strategically placed "at least" somewhere in that statement.  

[Mike Benham]

Bayley Braley, Braley Bayley ...

Uma Oprah, Oprah Uma ...

[Garland Bayley]

If I remember correctly Stanley Thompson, who is no slouch as a designer, believed a course with 5 par 3s was the ideal number. With 5 par 3s, you have to have a nine which has 3.

Ummm...no you don't.

You can put all 5 on the front or back, or some combination of 4 and 1 on the front and back..  

Which part of 3 < 4 and 3 < 5 don't you understand?
 

Garland,

If I put 5 dollar bills on the table and asked you how many dollar bills does that table have, what would you say?  3??

Your statement said "you have to have a nine which has 3".  Please use the above analogy if none of this is making sense.

But if you wanted to use the English language as it was intended so we can all communicate with each other then I suppose you could have strategically placed "at least" somewhere in that statement.  

My statement was factually correct without the at least.
Haven't you heard the joke about the pilot landing successfully after getting factually correct but totally useless info from the MicroSoft engineer?

[Garland Bayley]

Bayley Braley, Braley Bayley ...

Uma Oprah, Oprah Uma ...

Kalen Garland, Garland Kalen, ...

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