The Scariest, Most Nerve-wracking Par Three on the Planet

[TEPaul]

That hole adds new meaning to the idea of a right place and wrong place to miss the ball.

It kinda reminds me of when I was a kid in Daytona Beach and we used to throw half-rotten grapefruit at passing cars. Every now and again you'd get it just right and the rotten grapefruit would sail right in an open window and catch the driver or passenger upside the head. Then you'd laugh like hell for about five seconds and then run like hell.

[Garland Bayley]

That hole adds new meaning to the idea of a right place and wrong place to miss the ball.

It kinda reminds me of when I was a kid in Daytona Beach and we used to throw half-rotten grapefruit at passing cars. Every now and again you'd get it just right and the rotten grapefruit would sail right in an open window and catch the driver or passenger upside the head. Then you'd laugh like hell for about five seconds and then run like hell.

And to think they let this man play with dangerous instruments such as clubs and hard balls. 

[Lou_Duran]

MPCirba,

Flip that hole around and you have the 17th at Ohio State's Scarlet.  From the upper tees you are hitting a 200+ yard shot over a small valley to a slightly elevated green whose left edge is not a dozen steps from the wire fence boundary to the four-lane Kenny Road.  I still remember my pull hook on that hole that hit the blacktop on a fly and one-bounced into hood of a lime-green Chevy Vega.  The guy hit the breaks, but then kept on going.  The ball richochetted nearly back in-bounds where I retrieved it.  The black asphalt and green paint marks seemingly showing off its travails made it a keepsake, but I misplaced it in a move.  I still dread par 3s with tight OB on the left and north to south orientations.

More telling, in my last year in Columbus, I had my opponent closed out in the finals in the first flight of the club championship on that 17th hole when, for reasons I still can't explain, I allowed him to take an illegal drop (his ball was directly under the wire fence that served as OB, making his ball OB).  Had I enforced the rule as he was willing to concede, I would have won the match 2-1.  Instead I allowed him to take a free drop, three putted from 20' to tie the hole, then proceeded to lose #18 and #1 to lose 1-0 in sudden death.  I sometimes think it had something to do with my Catholic upbring and paying penance for hitting that poor Vega years before. 

[D_Malley]

just to make sure everyone is clear
that hole mike pictured is on Mt. Pocono Golf Course
not to be confused with Pocono Manor Resort,
the two courses are about a mile apart.

[JLahrman]

MPCirba,

Flip that hole around and you have the 17th at Ohio State's Scarlet.  From the upper tees you are hitting a 200+ yard shot over a small valley to a slightly elevated green whose left edge is not a dozen steps from the wire fence boundary to the four-lane Kenny Road.  I still remember my pull hook on that hole that hit the blacktop on a fly and one-bounced into hood of a lime-green Chevy Vega.  The guy hit the breaks, but then kept on going.  The ball richochetted nearly back in-bounds where I retrieved it.  The black asphalt and green paint marks seemingly showing off its travails made it a keepsake, but I misplaced it in a move.  I still dread par 3s with tight OB on the left and north to south orientations.

More telling, in my last year in Columbus, I had my opponent closed out in the finals in the first flight of the club championship on that 17th hole when, for reasons I still can't explain, I allowed him to take an illegal drop (his ball was directly under the wire fence that served as OB, making his ball OB).  Had I enforced the rule as he was willing to concede, I would have won the match 2-1.  Instead I allowed him to take a free drop, three putted from 20' to tie the hole, then proceeded to lose #18 and #1 to lose 1-0 in sudden death.  I sometimes think it had something to do with my Catholic upbring and paying penance for hitting that poor Vega years before. 

Lou, my hook at the 17th at the Scarlet did not hit any traffic.  However, it was last seen bounding into the neighborhood across Kenny Road.  I believe it did bounce in the left-hand turn lane, so there was no moving violation.

Regarding the hole pictured at the top of this thread, it looks better suited to the Reverse Jans.

[Lou_Duran]

JAL,

Actually, I didn't visit Kenny Road all that much.  Much of the time the upper back tee just off the back of 16 green was not played, so I just punched the ball up the hill from the lower tee holding onto the club for dear life.  The right bunker regularly, and occasionally the huge cottonwood tree on the right and even the 18th tee, would come into play.  With the diagonal tier, it made the up and down nearly impossible.  By the way, that green was the only one that had been rebuilt since the course's construction during the Depression, quite a remarkable thing given that they were built on a clay base (dug from the irrigation lake).

[Jay Flemma]

First I vote for 17 at Sawgrass, then 10 at Philly Cricket Club..hit it left and you bought a BMW windshield.

[JeffTodd]

I'll nominate #11 at Golden Pheasant, NJ (a course I saw mentioned in the worst course ever thread, not surprisingly).

It is 179 yards from an elevated and exposed tee, and set at an angle where you're aiming slightly toward the road. Add to that, there is a hazard hard up against the left side of the green that leaves the layup as your only bailout option.

The only upside is that the road to the right isn't heavily traveled. But at 179 yards, downhill, there is plenty of time for a car to come into play before the ball comes down.

[archie_struthers]

 

The scariest ...most nerve racking par three I have ever played is at the Country Club of Charleston

It isn't that long....doesn't have any water or out of bounds....the green isn't filled with dead elephants....but anyone who has played it in a tournament (stroke play) knows of what I speak

 Other than the original and  infamous "sharks jaws " at Stone Harbor...now radically altered to make it easier....nothing has been more terrifying to me

[Garland Bayley]

The scariest ...most nerve racking par three I have ever played is at the Country Club of Charleston

It isn't that long....doesn't have any water or out of bounds....the green isn't filled with dead elephants....but anyone who has played it in a tournament (stroke play) knows of what I speak

 Other than the original and  infamous "sharks jaws " at Stone Harbor...now radically altered to make it easier....nothing has been more terrifying to me

That hole at CC of C made the worst 18 individual holes of the book titled something to the effect of "Worst Golf Courses of All Time". If I recall correctly, other threads here have said the members are proud of the hole.

[Mike_Cirba]

Jeff Todd,

I've played Golden Pheasant.   Your description made me burst into laughter sitting alone in my office and my co-workers are giving me strange looks. 

Chris,

The hole before...the Grand Canyon hole....is basically a 120 yard par three with the first 80 yards over  what best can be described as a trash dump.   

All,

Great stuff...keep em coming.

[Mike Bowline]

That hole adds new meaning to the idea of a right place and wrong place to miss the ball.

It kinda reminds me of when I was a kid in Daytona Beach and we used to throw half-rotten grapefruit at passing cars. Every now and again you'd get it just right and the rotten grapefruit would sail right in an open window and catch the driver or passenger upside the head. Then you'd laugh like hell for about five seconds and then run like hell.

Ever since that grapefruit came flying in my car window in Daytona Beach years ago, I have kept the windows up when in that part of town........... Now I know its source

[Chris Burgard]

I would have to nominate the 18th at North Berwick.

Sure it is a par 4, but at 270ish you have to have a go at it.

Cars, houses and unloading golfers are all in play for those who hit the ball left-to-right...and most people have driver in their hands....not a short iron!!

[Allan Long]

These proabably can't match Mt. Pocono, but I'm going to stray a little and nominate the most nerve racking par threes on a course. Situated right below the enormous Aaron Spelling mansion, Armand Hammer GC, a fun little par 3 course in a very wealthy part of LA, is quite nerve racking in spots. Although the holes don't even average 100 yards, BMW's, Mercedes, Jags and the like are parked on the streets lining this course. A thin shot at the wrong time, and you can be sure car alarms will be ringing and you half expect a team of lawyers to be on you before you make it off the tee.

[Jeff Grossman]

Dont know if it is the scariest, but it is nerve-wracking.  The 12th on the Coal Creek course at Newcastle Golf Club.  Its 180(back tees) and 166-130(middle tees) plays down hill to a green that is maybe 3000 sq.ft.  To the left of the green is a steep slope, to the right is bunkers with a small wall, to the right of the wall it slopes down 5-8 ft with trees planted on the slope, which by the way is not grassed.  To the right of that is another wall 15-20 ft high then the road that enters the course.

I tried to post some pictures, but did not seem to work, I am new to the site so I will try to post some later.

[Tim Bert]

It isn't evident to me from the photo or the description why one couldn't choose one of the following options as opposed to laying up:

1) Putt from the tee
2) Controlled Bump and run

The land looks completely open between the tee and green.  Is the grass too long?  Is it uphill?  Is the green a plateau?

[J_McKenzie]

The old par-3 9th at Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte, NC.  From the back tees, it played approximately 205 yards to a two-tiered green that seemed to slope from back to front at a 45 degree angle (it wasn't that much, but sure felt like it) with strong runoffs on the sides and in front.  Single bunkers guarded both the left front and the right front and there was a third bunker directly behind the green.  There was an entry road that wrapped completely around the green that was entirely OB and anything hit slightly off-line that would carry center of the green deep would more times than not bounce hard and out of bounds.  If you hit it long, you hoped it would go in the back bunker, although you knew your next shot had very little chance of holding the green in any direction. 

Now for the scary part- along this entry road, located on both sides of the green, were parking lots- both quite reachable with a hooked or blocked mid to long iron.  To make matters worse, the swimming pool was located off to the left of the green, not really reachable from the tee, but with a solid bounce off the entry road- very doable.  And just to top things off, the bar was located just across the entry road, directly behind the green, with large one-sided windows where they could see you, but you couldn't really see them.  However, you always knew someone was there and they would usually let you know by banging on the glass whenever you did something good or bad.

Needless to say that after completely taking out the back window of a fairly new car, I never attempted anything more than trying to run something onto the front of the green in hopes of walking away with an easy four....

[Kevin_Reilly]

Thankfully the 4th at Gleneagles in SF hasn't been nominated yet, so I don't have to come to its defense.

Here is a short scary one, at Diablo Hills off busy Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek, CA.  Danger mitigated a bit because it is a very short hole.  The tee shot is a bit elevated, so a pull to the left could end up on the road without much trouble....the trees on the left aren't very thick.

[Mike Mosely]

The scariest ...most nerve racking par three I have ever played is at the Country Club of Charleston

It isn't that long....doesn't have any water or out of bounds....the green isn't filled with dead elephants....but anyone who has played it in a tournament (stroke play) knows of what I speak

 Other than the original and  infamous "sharks jaws " at Stone Harbor...now radically altered to make it easier....nothing has been more terrifying to me

Are you guys talking about the redan at CCC?  I love that hole.  The bunkers are ridiculously deep!

[Patrick Boyd]

Thankfully the 4th at Gleneagles in SF hasn't been nominated yet, so I don't have to come to its defense.

What makes 4 at the Eagle so nerve racking?  The housing project on the left side? The cypress on the right waiting to give you a beat down going if you hit a skanky block? The psudo sand in the pit on the left? Being above the hole during the summer when Iggy has had a chance to work his magic?

[Kevin_Reilly]

The housing project on the left side?

  Yeah...that comes up often.  Tom is a friend of mine and I love the place.

[Lou_Duran]

Waterwood National, Huntsville, TX,  #14, 225 yards

from the tee:

http://txexile.org/waterwood/DSC_0591_s.JPG

right of green:

http://txexile.org/waterwood/DSC_0595_s.JPG


Horseshoe Bay Resort- Ram Rock Course, #4

http://www.hsbresort.com/leisureactivities/golf/ramrock/detail.php?course=ramrock&hole_id=4


PGA West- Stadium Course, #17

http://www.eyardagebook.com/eyb4/?i=197018&s=105926&o=3500


Prairie Dunes, #10

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/images/Prairie10t2.jpg

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/images/Prairie10g.jpg

We onced played #10 after an "accidental" fire burned-down the natives to the left of the green and saw the charred remnants of hundreds lost balls.

[Mike_Cirba]

It isn't evident to me from the photo or the description why one couldn't choose one of the following options as opposed to laying up:

1) Putt from the tee
2) Controlled Bump and run

The land looks completely open between the tee and green.  Is the grass too long?  Is it uphill?  Is the green a plateau?

Tim,

Ahh...sometimes the problem with two-dimensional aerials is that they only tell part of the story.

I would estimate that the hole goes downhill no more than 10 feet from tee to green.   The conditions are bumpy and unkempt and the grass is rather long...it's certainly not fairway conditions one would attempt to putt.

This leads to the "controlled bump and run" option.

Here's the deal.   As mentioned, about one giant step off the right side of the green the edge of the course drops about 3 feet to the roadside.    Thus, a bump and run that takes a funky bounce (on the bumpy conditions), or even one that is simply "running" at that point and runs out of terra firma could easily manage to strike an oncoming vehicle...about 3 feet up the car, or windshield-level of most vehicles.

It's clearly risk-reward, but given that I'll never be able to get the club back past knee-height on that hole again after the "Burger King Incident", I think next time I might just go from the 2nd green to the 4th tee. 

[Mike_Cirba]

I just measured using Google Earth.

From the right edge of the green to the highway (NOT the shoulder, mind you..the ACTUAL ROADWAY) is 3.05 yards.   To the shoulder is 1.61 yards.

From the back edge of the green to the macadam parking lot of the diner is 4.12 yards.

Of course, the bailout left is no picnic either.

Sitting just 17.58 yards from the left edge of the green is the actual DINER itself!   

Surely none of us here ever miss a green by 56 feet to the side!   

[Anthony Gray]

At Casa De Campo, I think the hole is 16 or so, a par three, a severe right pin placement, with a left to right wind for a guy who can only hit a draw, the ball must be started off over the ocean and only hope niether the wind counters the draw or the draw fails at this particular time.

To the right of the green is the Atlantic Ocean.

    Correct.....a very good hole