A par 3 course or "short" course can be a wonderful addition to many clubs/facilities. At Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, VA, Coore & and Crenshaw recently added a 10 hole "short" course (6 par threes, 3 par fours, 1 par five). It's fantastic and is already showing it's tremendous value to the club in many ways:
- wonderful place for juniors, beginners and seniors to learn the game and most importantly, enjoy the game
- tremendous place to work on your short game
- you can easily walk it in 1 hour and 15 minutes, ideal for after work when you don't have much time to play
- it removes stress from the big course
Farmington is a busy, family oriented club so it works very well and is getting a lot of play. At small, golf only clubs the short courses don't seem to get nearly as much use. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can make them harder to justify the cost. At a remote club with a small membership such as Sand Hills, that's a decision that's purely up to Mr. Youngscap. For aging members or those that take children there and don't want to play 36+ holes, it may prove to be a nice addition. For everyone that has seen the awe-inspiring land in every direction, it certainly would be something special.