At the risk of thread-jacking, I'd like to posit that par 5s, by and large, are overrated and probably unnecessary, especially with the looming resource and land crunch that is closing in on golf. The greatness rate on par 5s is so much lower than that of par 3s and 4s that I think they're inferior as a class of golf hole. There certainly are good and great par 5s, but is the extra land use worth it? I've never walked off a course bemoaning the dearth of par 5s. Elie gets on fine with zero and the CC of Waterbury, one of my favorites in CT, has just one. OK by me!
I agree 100%. And, to further the threadjack, I'd say that in my mind there is no doubt whatsoever about the validity of everything you have written. Granted, what does "my mind" count for in this regard, and here in this august company? And, granted too, I am likely not typical of this illustriously well-travelled group of architectural aficionados because I have played so few 'special' golf courses in my life -- and while I have
liked more than a few Par 5s I've played, I have only ever
truly loved precisely one (1) of them.
Finally, I believe (well, I suspect) that many many others, including architects and industry professionals and media types, actually agree with Tim (and me), but will not say so out loud, for various reasons political, social and professional. But in my mind there would be only benefits -- and no downsides -- in the vast majority of courses having only 1 Par 5. I just hope it's a good one.