Reputable courses that start with a Par 3

[Tom_Doak]

Walton Heath Old! I'd say it's a very underrated hole as it is skipped for the composite course, but a hell of an introduction to the round at a modest 238 yards.

It was actually a short par-4 for a lot of years, until traffic safety concerns made them abandon the original tee, on the other side of the small road that leads into the club.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Not sure if these are in any way "reputable" but they add to the nos. ..


Upminster. (Colt did something? there)


Alnmouth Village
Bamburgh Castle aka the famous Dinkie!


PS. Huntercombe today is another who's routing has changed.

[John Keenan]

I am not I am not totally clear what reputable means in this context but Napa Valley Country club opens with a par 3. Length varies from 130 to 106. 

[Robin_Hiseman]

Yes, that's the trick. Meyrick Park is about the worst possible model for an opener.


The issue in the case I'm describing is that the alternative is to play a blind tee shot over a rocky hillside behind where I would put the par 3 green. It's just long enough for weaker golfers to not make it and then have to play ping-pong off the rocks. There would be inevitable delays as the fairway is completely blind beyond. It would call for an Elie periscope to overcome the problem and there is unfortunately no other way around it due to associated developments. A par 3 is the pragmatic solution.

Robin:


If that's the case then you should just tell the client their plan for development makes a par-3 starter the only real option, and not waste time trying to tell them it's ideal.


I've only once considered using a par-3 for an opening hole -- it was at Stone Eagle.  The clients, who had developed several courses previously, just couldn't get their heads around it.  Then I suggested it as the 18th, and they didn't like that, either.  We wound up moving a mountain to find space for an additional hole out away from the clubhouse, so that the perfectly natural hole by the clubhouse site could be the 19th instead of having to start or finish with a par-3.

Tom


If that were the only factor then I wouldn't have a problem. Unfortunately, as you'll be only too aware with your own work, there is a bit of a domino effect to other holes already planned out. I've worked it out, but for now I'm keeping it under wraps. I have no issues with the par 3 I've laid out. It will be very scenic and respectful of the landforms around it. This is purely about perceptions and being armed with evidence IF it became a problem. They may not give two hoots when I raise it. My problem might be with the operator, but I know them well enough to bring them around.

[Alfonso Erhardt]

Robin,


Both courses at Puerta de Hierro start with a par 3. One is 180 meters, slightly downhill and the other is 175 meters.


Its fantastic for pace of play and you can it simplifies the starter’s role as people know when they can tee off.

[Ronald Montesano]

The wretched beast called Tan Tara, begins and ends each nine with a par three hole. Don't know who pitched the idea to the developer. The practice range is located out in the course. My number one candidate for blow it up and start anew. Located in North Tonawanda, NY. Completely disreputable course.

[Joe Bausch]

The wretched beast called Tan Tara, begins and ends each nine with a par three hole. Don't know who pitched the idea to the developer. The practice range is located out in the course. My number one candidate for blow it up and start anew. Located in North Tonawanda, NY. Completely disreputable course.

I need to see the beast!

[Forrest Richardson]

Glad that Jeff B weighed in on the Bill Yates philosophy — "...a first hole being a par-3 of moderate length actually meters play quite nicely because all groups, in essence, play this hole in about the same time..."  Bill and I used to discussed this regularly, with my take being that clients simply cannot get their hears around it, as Tom D aptly points out. It is the same with our decades of hearing from clients that they wanted (demanded) only "18-holes...7,000 yards...par-72...four threes...four fives...ten fours..."

I have a transformation project on the front burner currently. It is an 18-hole regulation that has been abandoned for three years. The "new" concept is to create a precision-length 18-hole course. To get it all to work, the opening hole will be a par-3. At first we got pushback. Thankfully, I had Bill Yates in mind and went though some "science" to get my clients to understand the benefits.

I can also attest that at Mountain Shadows (18-holes, all par-3), we have seen very little in the way of pace issues. The course simply handles the load — and again, it centers on the fact that we have holes that are all "equalizers" — nearly all groups complete the holes within accepted "time pars" and, unlike long fours and fives, the par-3s do not have multiple groups waiting to hit up, etc.

[Tim Martin]

You would have to be the judge of “reputable” but the 1st hole at Roseland GC in Woodstock, Connecticut is a 170 yard par three. Original holes went in the ground in 1896 and although once 18 now plays as 9.

[JWinick]

It is a bad hole - doesn't fit with the rest of the course and looks visually like a cheap muni.   The other 35 holes are great but the 1st hole is not a good hole in my view. 

Walton Heath Old! I'd say it's a very underrated hole as it is skipped for the composite course, but a hell of an introduction to the round at a modest 238 yards.

[Michael Felton]

It is a bad hole - doesn't fit with the rest of the course and looks visually like a cheap muni.   The other 35 holes are great but the 1st hole is not a good hole in my view. 

Walton Heath Old! I'd say it's a very underrated hole as it is skipped for the composite course, but a hell of an introduction to the round at a modest 238 yards.

As Tom said, it used to be a short par four. The green slopes from front to back, which I think is fine when you're hitting a wedge onto it. At 235 or so, it's a very long iron or a fairway wood depending on the wind and how firm the ground is. That's not a good combination IMO. I agree it's quite out of place with the rest of the course. I am sure it was fine as a 4 although I never got to play it as such.

[Adam Uttley]

I also grew up on courses that started with par 3s.  In fact I’ve been a member at four courses that start with one-shotters, more than those that start with anything longer.  I suspect, though, the likes of Ryburn, Halifax West End and Settle weren’t the calibre you were looking for. 


One that hasn’t been mentioned is Royal Mid Surrey. 

[Robin_Hiseman]

Thanks Adam


I was also a member of Ryburn in my youth, which is why I don't have a problem with a short hole opener. I loved that drop shot 1st hole there.


And thanks for spotting Royal Mid Surrey.

[Jon Wiggett]

Adam,


Halifax West End is a name from the past. As you say not of a top calibre but a solid example of how to utilise a small site to the upmost. Was always in good nick too.

[Adam Uttley]

Thanks Adam


I was also a member of Ryburn in my youth, which is why I don't have a problem with a short hole opener. I loved that drop shot 1st hole there.


And thanks for spotting Royal Mid Surrey.

Wow, I didn’t expect to find anyone else on here from Ryburn; I was there as a junior from 88-98 and also loved that first hole and the rest of the ‘bottom loop’ in fact.  Looking back, it provided a lot of options for a drop-shot hole, including running it round the Huntercombe-esque mounds to the right, which were a great feature.  I liked it less from the 10th but I suspect it influenced why I think nothing of par 3s being blind - are there any other fully blind drop-shot holes in existence?


I read recently that the MacKenzie Society found evidence of him having consulted there in 1911.  I’d love to know where he influenced the course.

[Adam Uttley]

Adam,


Halifax West End is a name from the past. As you say not of a top calibre but a solid example of how to utilise a small site to the upmost. Was always in good nick too.

Jon,


Yes it was always in good condition - it had to be to keep its reputation as one of the ‘posh’ clubs!  I always found it to have a good set of par 3s, especially the 12th, a devilishly small green surrounded by bunkers on all sides which it turns out is a MacKenzie hole.  He was called in to fit another hole in as they could only find 17 on such a small property.

[Robin_Hiseman]

Adam


We missed each other by no more than a few months. I left in 1988 when I went off to uni.


The 10th is one of the most bizarre holes in all of golf. For the benefit of those who read this that have no idea what we're talking about, it played from a high tee at the end of the car park at right angles over the 4th fairway, a woodland (which made it blind) and the 2nd fairway behind the wood to a green hidden in a dell. They've cleared some trees away in recent years, but when you learn golf on a course with this inherent quirk then nothing much will ever shock you.