Par 3s or approach shots to greens well below the tee (fairway)

[corey miller]

Sleepy Hollow #7 a reverse redan plays from the highest part of the property along and down a hillside on the left which then becomes the natural kicker for the redan. Pictures from Ran's review are in the link.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/sleepy-hollow-country-club-ny-usa/

The prevailing wind is from 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock.  This certainly influences distance calculation as the green is also angled.  I like this set-up off a giant hill as depending on position it can be a three club difference.  Clearly, on all downhill holes club/distance calculation is essential.  What makes this hole interesting is the variety of places one can aim.

[Jason Thurman]

In the modern aerial game of golf, drop shots are a lot of fun and also a good way to build "equitable" holes that interest both high handicappers and low handicappers.

The high handicapper gets to hit a ball that stays in the air for a long time and goes farther than usual. They'll enjoy talking about the time they hit a 160 yard 9 iron, and it's fun to watch the ball hang in suspense. For the low handicapper, judging club selection and wind is challenging and rewarding when done correctly.

In addition, with so many courses that play soft and thus eliminate the joy of watching a ball bounce over terrain, a ball that hangs in the air and is moved by the wind is interesting to watch in a way that many shots just aren't. Most of us probably wish that was different and that more courses played firm and fast, but we all enjoy watching a golf ball in transit.

I'd love to see a drop-shot hole with a severely back-to-front sloped green. Low handicappers will have to control spin to avoid ripping one right off the front of the green, while the lower ball flight of a high handicapper should hold nicely (and maybe even spin back a bit, which is fun to see for shorter hitters who rarely "pull the string" like they see on tv).

I think there's a big case to be made for the occasional (emphasis on occasional) drop-shot in the modern game.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

There's quite an extreme example of a serious downhill second shot on the 11th at Denham. I've just posted a photo tour of Denham on GCA so it should be easy enough to view. A year or two ago I posted a photo tour of Halifax, which has an extreme downhill par three, the 17th, which is about as far down as it is long. It's great fun. Try the search engine.

[Jim Eder]

Here is the Halifax link:  http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,39453.0.html