Par 3 finishing holes

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

If the land only provides for a par 3 finish, then why not finish with an excellent par 3, rather than some contrived closing hole.  This is the uphill 193 yard 18th at Paramount CC

[Tim Gavrich]

The finishing hole at Manchester (CT) Country Club (the scorecard claims Bendelow, Emmet, AND Tillinghast as having had input) is quite possibly its best: a bunkerless long par 3 with a two-tiered green that drops off sharply toward a reservoir.  Very cool golf hole.

[Howard Riefs]

At the Old White course at the Greenbrier, #18 tips out at only 162 yards, the shortest part 3 on the course.

From Ran's course profile: 
"This Short completes the classic collection of one shot holes defined by Macdonald and Raynor. The gamut of shotmaking demanded by this quartet is timeless. The long Biarritz perfectly offsets this Short and the Redan with its right to left requirements is well balanced with the Eden’s left to right bias. The most common misconception about the Short is that its challenge is derived from the fierce defenses that surround the green. Nothing could be further from the truth. The difficulty of the best Short holes is posed by the wild interior green contours with the two best examples still coming from Macdonald’s first two designs, namely Chicago Golf Club and NGLA. The home green on The Old White mimics those challenges with a nearly three foot tall hump occupying the middle of the green."


Lester can provide more insight on the hole given his restoration work on the Macdonald/Raynor designed course.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

18th Old White

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

18th Homestead Upper Cascades    Flynn

[Steve Scott]

If the land only provides for a par 3 finish, then why not finish with an excellent par 3, rather than some contrived closing hole.  This is the uphill 193 yard 18th at Paramount CC

Robert,  I can say that the closing hole at Paramount has been redone by Jim Urbina and it looks wonderful ....I do not have a pic to post but Urbina has brought back the Reef Hole design that Tillinghast invented...stay tuned!

[Brian Chapin]

Robert,

I'm guessing you took that picture of Paramount a few years ago, probably 2008?  Here is the most recent picture of the 18th at Paramount, restored to its original design.  I think Jim did a fantastic job with this one.  Jim would probably tell you TILLINGHAST did a fantastic job on this one...

[Steve Scott]

Robert,

I'm guessing you took that picture of Paramount a few years ago, probably 2008?  Here is the most recent picture of the 18th at Paramount, restored to its original design.  I think Jim did a fantastic job with this one.  Jim would probably tell you TILLINGHAST did a fantastic job on this one...





There you go... Leave it up to a qualified super to come up with the goods !!!

[JNC Lyon]

The 18th at Garden City is my favorite finishing hole that I have played.  The beautiful Eden replica, the insanely deep front bunker, the green connected the putting green in front of the clubhouse: it all combines for an incredible and very unique finish.

Is the 18th at Cascades as downhill as it appears in that photo?

[Mike Policano]

Brian, 18 looks great! 

Both of Congressional's courses finished on a par 3 until the Blue was changed for this year's open.

Travis's White Beeches finishes on a par 3.

[Brad Klein]

From an article I did years ago, a list that probably would benefit from some editing and updating:

Par 3 finishes; their designers; and significant tournaments they've hosted:      

Beachwood GC, North Myrtle Beach, S.C
Gene Hamm,1968
 
Berkshire GC, Ascot, England
Herbert Fowler, 1928
 
Binghamton CC, Endwell, N.Y.
A.W. Tillinghast,1921

Boston GC, Hingham, Mass.
Gil Hanse, 2005
No. 46 on the Golfweek's Best list     
 
Brackenridge Park GC, San Antonio, Tex.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1915
1922 40, 1950 55, 1957 59 PGA Tour Texas Open

Congressional CC Blue Course, Bethesda, Md.
Robert Trent Jones, Sr., 1957
No. 74 on Golfweek's top classic list
1997 U.S. Open
(hole sequence subsequently changed in 2006)

Congressional CC Gold Course, Bethesda, Md.
Devereux Emmet, 1923
 
Desert Mountain GC Geronimo Course, Scottsdale, Az.
Jack Nicklaus 1989
 
East Lake GC, Atlanta, Ga.
Donald Ross, 1918
No. 52 on Golfweek's top classic list
1963 Ryder Cup; 2001 U.S. Amateur; 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004-07 Tour Championship
 
Englewood GC, Englewood, N.J. (course no longer exists)
1906 Men's Amateur; 1909 U.S. Open
 
Garden City GC, Garden City, N.Y.
Devereux Emmet, 1901
No. 20 on Golfweek's top classical list
1902 U.S. Open; 1908, 1913, 1936 U.S. Amateur
 
Gator Hole GC, North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Rees Jones, 1980
 
Harbour Trees GC, Noblesville, Ind.
Pete Dye, 1973
 
Hershey CC West Course, Hershey, Pa.
Maurice McCarthy 1930
1940 PGA Championship
(hole sequence subsequently altered)
 
Homestead Resort-Cascades GC, Hot Springs, Va.
William Flynn, 1923
No. 46 on Golfweek's top classic list
1928, 1994 Women's Amateur; 1966 Curtis Cup;
1967 U.S. Women's Open; 1980 Senior Men's Amateur
1988 U.S. Amateur

Homestead Resort-Old Course, Hot Springs, Va.
Donald Ross-1912
 
Hope Valley CC, Durham, N.C.
Donald Ross, 1926
 
Inn of the Mountain Gods GC, Mescalero, N.M.
Ted Robinson, 1976
 
Killarney GC, County Kerry, Ireland
Sir Guy Campbell & Lord Castlerosse, 1939
 
Lindrick GC, Yorkshire, England
Tom Dunn, 1891
1957 Ryder Cup; 1960 Curtis Cup

Maketewah Country Club, Cincinnati, Ohio
Tom Bendelow, 1919; Donald Ross, 1929
 
Myopia Hunt Club, Hamilton, Mass.
Herbert Leeds, 1896
No. 33 on Golfweek's top classic list
1898 U.S. Open   
 
Oak Hills CC, San Antonio, Tex.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1921
1961 66, 77 94 PGA Tour Texas Open; 1987 Tour Championship
 
Pasatiempo GC, Santa Cruz, Cal.
Alister Mackenzie, 1929
No. 32 on Golfweek's top classic list
1986 U.S. Women’s Amateur
 
Pittsburgh Field Club, Fox Chapel, Pa.
Alex Findlay, 1896
-
Preakness Hills GC, Wayne, N.J.
William H. Tucker-1927
 
Royal St David's GC, Harlech, Wales
Harold Finch Hatton, 1893

Sandpiper Golf Links, Goleta, Cal.
William F. Bell, 1972
 
Shinnecock Hills GC, Southampton, New York
William F. Davis, 1895
1896 U.S. Open; 1896 Men's Amateur
(original routing no longer exists)
 
Surf Golf and Beach Club, North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
George Cobb, 1960

Tumblebrook CC, Bloomfield, Ct.
Willie Park Jr., 1922; William Mitchell, 1948
 
Uniontown CC, Uniontown, Pa.
Emil Loeffler, 1908
 
Yomiuri CC, Tokyo, Japan
Seichi Inoue, 1964
1966 World Cup

[JLahrman]

Bel-Wood CC and O'Bannon Creek CC in the Cincinnati area both end with 3s.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

The 18th a Paramount was filmed during a Met PGA assistants event in the summer of 2010.  The super had the greens rolling at 11+ which is why there were a couple of low scores and quite a few higher than normal scores.  I had the pleasure of watching Tony DeMaria make 5 comeback putts of over 8 feet and a nifty downhill 20 footer on 1 for birdie--hence his runaway victory!

[Jeff_Mingay]

Another obscure par 3 finishing hole to add to the list - Stanley Thompson's at the Ladies' Golf Club of Toronto. It's a neat one, too.

[Tim Martin]

From an article I did years ago, a list that probably would benefit from some editing and updating:

Par 3 finishes; their designers; and significant tournaments they've hosted:      

Beachwood GC, North Myrtle Beach, S.C
Gene Hamm,1968
 
Berkshire GC, Ascot, England
Herbert Fowler, 1928
 
Binghamton CC, Endwell, N.Y.
A.W. Tillinghast,1921

Boston GC, Hingham, Mass.
Gil Hanse, 2005
No. 46 on the Golfweek's Best list     
 
Brackenridge Park GC, San Antonio, Tex.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1915
1922 40, 1950 55, 1957 59 PGA Tour Texas Open

Congressional CC Blue Course, Bethesda, Md.
Robert Trent Jones, Sr., 1957
No. 74 on Golfweek's top classic list
1997 U.S. Open
(hole sequence subsequently changed in 2006)

Congressional CC Gold Course, Bethesda, Md.
Devereux Emmet, 1923
 
Desert Mountain GC Geronimo Course, Scottsdale, Az.
Jack Nicklaus 1989
 
East Lake GC, Atlanta, Ga.
Donald Ross, 1918
No. 52 on Golfweek's top classic list
1963 Ryder Cup; 2001 U.S. Amateur; 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004-07 Tour Championship
 
Englewood GC, Englewood, N.J. (course no longer exists)
1906 Men's Amateur; 1909 U.S. Open
 
Garden City GC, Garden City, N.Y.
Devereux Emmet, 1901
No. 20 on Golfweek's top classical list
1902 U.S. Open; 1908, 1913, 1936 U.S. Amateur
 
Gator Hole GC, North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Rees Jones, 1980
 
Harbour Trees GC, Noblesville, Ind.
Pete Dye, 1973
 
Hershey CC West Course, Hershey, Pa.
Maurice McCarthy 1930
1940 PGA Championship
(hole sequence subsequently altered)
 
Homestead Resort-Cascades GC, Hot Springs, Va.
William Flynn, 1923
No. 46 on Golfweek's top classic list
1928, 1994 Women's Amateur; 1966 Curtis Cup;
1967 U.S. Women's Open; 1980 Senior Men's Amateur
1988 U.S. Amateur

Homestead Resort-Old Course, Hot Springs, Va.
Donald Ross-1912
 
Hope Valley CC, Durham, N.C.
Donald Ross, 1926
 
Inn of the Mountain Gods GC, Mescalero, N.M.
Ted Robinson, 1976
 
Killarney GC, County Kerry, Ireland
Sir Guy Campbell & Lord Castlerosse, 1939
 
Lindrick GC, Yorkshire, England
Tom Dunn, 1891
1957 Ryder Cup; 1960 Curtis Cup

Maketewah Country Club, Cincinnati, Ohio
Tom Bendelow, 1919; Donald Ross, 1929
 
Myopia Hunt Club, Hamilton, Mass.
Herbert Leeds, 1896
No. 33 on Golfweek's top classic list
1898 U.S. Open   
 
Oak Hills CC, San Antonio, Tex.
A.W. Tillinghast, 1921
1961 66, 77 94 PGA Tour Texas Open; 1987 Tour Championship
 
Pasatiempo GC, Santa Cruz, Cal.
Alister Mackenzie, 1929
No. 32 on Golfweek's top classic list
1986 U.S. Women’s Amateur
 
Pittsburgh Field Club, Fox Chapel, Pa.
Alex Findlay, 1896
-
Preakness Hills GC, Wayne, N.J.
William H. Tucker-1927
 
Royal St David's GC, Harlech, Wales
Harold Finch Hatton, 1893

Sandpiper Golf Links, Goleta, Cal.
William F. Bell, 1972
 
Shinnecock Hills GC, Southampton, New York
William F. Davis, 1895
1896 U.S. Open; 1896 Men's Amateur
(original routing no longer exists)
 
Surf Golf and Beach Club, North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
George Cobb, 1960

Tumblebrook CC, Bloomfield, Ct.
Willie Park Jr., 1922; William Mitchell, 1948
 
Uniontown CC, Uniontown, Pa.
Emil Loeffler, 1908
 
Yomiuri CC, Tokyo, Japan
Seichi Inoue, 1964
1966 World Cup

Brad-As a Hartford area guy I wonder what you think of 18 at the CC of Farmington? My understanding is that this hole was not part of the original Emmet design and was changed due to the construction of Route 10. Either way a pretty good finisher IMO. Thanks.

[Steve Lang]

  Calling Bill McBride...  need another pic of Pensacola CC's 18th  (Jerry Pate)  

Beautiful finisher, great theatre between the clubhouse and the bay...

[Steve_ Shaffer]

As an aside, the front 9 at Paramount also finishes with a par3:

http://www.paramountcountryclub.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=296099&ssid=178049&vnf=1

[Scott Stearns]

I'll stir the pot, and say that the only course where i enjoy a par three ending hole is Garden City--because that hole is just so great.

Everywhere else, the par three closer has been a letdown.  Feels like a bye hole.    I enjoy a strong par four as the closer.  force me to hit a good drive, then deal with the consequences of the drive on the approach. 

A one swing hole, unless its a GREAT swing with lots to trouble the mind, is kinda boring---i's almost rather get to the bar early.

And someone tell me that PAramount's 18th isn't the 10th at WF--man they look alike  (in a good way)

[jeffwarne]

Robert,

I'm guessing you took that picture of Paramount a few years ago, probably 2008?  Here is the most recent picture of the 18th at Paramount, restored to its original design.  I think Jim did a fantastic job with this one.  Jim would probably tell you TILLINGHAST did a fantastic job on this one...

Other than being restored to its' original design, can someone explain to me why this version is better than the one in Robert's picture?
Not trying to stir the pot, just curious.
I realize the pictures were shot from different distances so that could be contributing to my ignorance

[James Boon]

I actually think a par 3 finish is a really good test, though not something I'd want to encounter every week! You've only one full swing on that whole and you'll need to hit the green, but on a par 4 or 5, you could have a bad drive, but still an outside chance of getting on the green for a birdie putt?


Brad,

An interesting list for future reference.

Of those I know from your list, the Berkshire (Red Course) is for me, not a strong finishing hole, especially when compared with the par 3 opening hole on the Blue course there.

Lindrick's par 3 finish, isn't a bad whole actually, and I've often wondered how everyone got on in the Ryder Cup back then? I'm not sure of the origins of the par 3 finish, but I suspect its not from Tom Dunne's original layout and more to do with the amendments made when it was decided to avoid the various holes that crossed the main road cutting through the course?

Didn't Killarney host the Irish Open a few times? Another UK course with a par 3 finish which has hosted professional events is the Forest of Arden.

Cheers,

James

[Sean_A]

My boyhood course, Grosse Ile, finishes with a long par 3, not a particularly good hole. 

Am I correct that Brora hasn't been mentioned? 

Harborne has a short hole finisher - a bit of a let down.  Church Stretton unsurprisingly ends with a par 3 - straight down a steep hill.  Portrush Valley finishes with a short hole - one among a set of perhaps the most disappointing of Colt 3s I know of. 

What about The Players Club Stranahan Course?  This is quite a good finisher over water to a two-tier green.  There is the added bonus of the course starting with a par 3! 

Ciao

[James Boon]

Am I correct that Brora hasn't been mentioned? 

Doh! You are correct! For not mentioning one of my favourites I am a fool. Add to that the par 3 finisher at Painswick, but in comparison to the holes that precede it, that is a very dull hole and very obviously a bad recent addition!

Cheers,

James

[JNC Lyon]

If we're talking strong par three finishers, how about 18 at Brora?  That hole is anything but a letdown, and I don't think I've ever seen a hole quite like it.

[Duncan Cheslett]

The 18th at North Manchester is a gem.





www.nmgc.co.uk

[Brian Chapin]

[/quote]


Other than being restored to its' original design, can someone explain to me why this version is better than the one in Robert's picture?
Not trying to stir the pot, just curious.
I realize the pictures were shot from different distances so that could be contributing to my ignorance
[/quote]

Not to hijack the thread.. but since you asked I'll do my best to explain why I think its a better hole now that it has been restored to its original design.

Here are two photos of the hole as it was before restoration. One from the ground and also an aerial view.





Tillinghast wrote that:  "It is the thought of some that the one shot hole needs only to provide a teeing-ground and a green with immediately surrounding hazards.  But as a matter of fact the approach is of incalcuable value when it is constructed to lend finesse to the play."

The old version of the 18th was exactly this, a one shot hole with immediately surrounding hazards... it did not require "finesse to the play" and did not really provide options of attack.  The fully restored version requires the player to consider many options to find the best way home.  He can play the hole three or four different ways:

1. "The raking shot home" as Tillinghast called it.
2.  "The careful two-to-the-green" from short right of the right side bunker.
3. "a kick to the green from a pulled shot into the throw on the extreme left of the fairway."

The options of attack are in my mind what makes the restored hoe a much better hole than the previous version.  Check out Chapter 40 called "The Reef Hole" of "The Course Beautiful" for the full text.