Hi all, first serious post here. I just got back from Streamsong a few weeks ago (I was between jobs, COVID be darned) and rather than prepare a lengthy post on likes and dislikes, I thought I'd focus on one great element that stood out to me--the short par 3s.
I think short 3s are underrepresented at most golf courses, which I think is a shame. Even on sites that generally present with "difficult" conditions (e.g., firm and fast greens, lots of wind), you can design interesting, undulating greens with small pinnable areas that are playable for the average player, because you know they'll be approaching with a scoring club. They guarantee that at least once in the round, you'll be approaching a green with a wedge or short iron from the short grass, something that higher handicaps (and I think, frankly, all of us) appreciate. And they present at least the illusion of being birdie-able to all players approaching them.
By contrast, I think there are far too many courses where, from the back or even second-to-back tees, all four of the 3s are between 170 and 200, have relatively uninspired green complexes, and multiple of the holes play within five yards of one another. You end up hitting yet another 7-6-5-4 iron, likely miss the green, and have to scramble to make par. It's certainly "harder" than including a short hole, but it rarely feels particularly interesting to me.
I think all three of the Streamsong courses do a great job of mixing up the distances of the par 3s by including at least one very short hole (among other features, like big elevation changes), even from the second-to-back tees. Red 6 and Black 15 are solid examples of short threes, but I wanted to highlight Red 8 and Blue 5 (check out the full course recaps on the Fried Egg for some great pictures of all the holes).
Red 8 is a tiny 118 from the second-to-back tees. It's a very short transfer from the great par 5 seventh, and it's nestled in amongst a stand of low trees. It feels like the savannah back there. There's water long left that's not visible from the tee and no less than six bunkers--the green sweeping in and around them like the batman symbol. You only have a wedge in so you're thinking attack, but the fingers of the green are relatively small and the ridges within it relatively large. And if I remember right, it's difficult to make out all of those features from the tee box due to the way the ground is pitched and the lips of the front bunkers elevated, so you're coming in a bit blind. Just an exciting and nerve-wracking shot at the same time.
Blue 5 is really tremendous, if exceptionally challenging to some pins with some winds. It's 121 from the second-to-back tees, but can play almost 40 yards longer or shorter depending on the pin. The green is at least 70 yards long, and no more than 10-15 yards wide, with a buried elephant center right and a three-foot tier running vertically through the back half of the green with the left side higher than the right. Left of the green is a massive cliff falling off, and right is shaved and falls away. The front portion of the green can't be more than 20 feet wide at any point. Truly a tremendous hole--it would be comically narrow if you were approaching with a longer club, but with a short iron it feels doable, if still a significant challenge.
As to how it can be so hard, we played to a back left pin (up on the tier), with wind howling 20-25 mph from left to right. Keeping it right of the death cliff but on the proper tier was almost impossible with that wind and with how firm and fast the greens were playing. You had a hit just the right amount of draw to keep the ball entering the green on a straight line, in order to not kick left over the cliff or right down the tier. Most of the group ended up down the tier back right, leaving a very difficult two-putt back up the slope into the howling wind. Ultimately that's not unfair of course, but it can make for a very difficult 3 for such a short hole, and darn near impossible if you're playing the very back tees.
When playing these holes, the contrast I kept thinking of was Pinehurst #2 from the second-to-back tees. The yardages there are 174, 203, 183, and 185. That's one of America's best courses, deservedly so, but those 3s present pretty similar tests. I can't help but think a postage-stamp style hole there, with how great the conditions usually are, would have been truly tremendous.
Would love to hear about why I'm wrong, your favorite short 3s, or other reflections on Streamsong. Really a spectacular place for those of you that haven't been.