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Tim Martin

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #25 on: May 06, 2023, 03:17:27 PM »
In thinking about the question, I realized that several of my favorite Par 3s that seemed to play uphill (CPC 7 just mentioned, Brora 18, Golspie 16, Swinley Forest 4 just mentioned, Ballyneal 11, Sleepy Hollow 3) actually do not play uphill but rather across a valley to a perched green.


Hope Valley 6 is a true uphill Par 3 similar to Bedford Springs 4 noted above. An extremely challenging hole given the large false front, but an excellent one. Pasatiempo 3 noted above is outstanding.


Ira


Ira-I agree that Sleepy Hollow 3 isn’t really uphill and wonder if it gives that impression because it’s sandwiched between two holes that are? Additionally you have to cross the bridge to get to the green which may add to that feeling.

Mike Hendren

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #26 on: May 06, 2023, 03:44:35 PM »
The 11th at Yahnandisis and 12th at Vanderbilt Legends Club based on the greens alone.  The 11th at Tumble Creek warrants mentioning.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2023, 03:48:14 PM by Mike Hendren »
Two Corinthians walk into a bar ....

Matt Schoolfield

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #27 on: May 06, 2023, 04:20:17 PM »
I think an uphill par 3 can have a lot of potential, but I think there are plenty of elevated par 3's that are good, but that I'd probably prefer without the elevation (Pasatiempo #3 is in this bucket for me, a great hole, but the elevation seems to merely make it more penal).

First, I think the biggest tool is the use of the sight line. I think a semi-blind target (you can see the flag, but not the surface), is one of the most effective, but subtle tools in an designer's toolbox. With a bit of hidden contours, it can always leave a hint of doubt on attack angle. I think this is most effective on shorter holes where players may be tempted to attack the semi-blind pin.

Next, elevation plays with launch angles and landing angles dramatically, and this is exaggerated by longer club selection. High-lofted shots will always be front facing bunkers, so a course with a mid-length, but elevated and bunkered par 3 might get a 7-wood into a golfers bag who might otherwise prefer a hybrid 4. Here, I think a wide flat green should greet players smart enough to play for height an correct distance, with trouble only in front and behind.

I'm sure others might have different takes than mine, but when I think of elevated par 3s, it is really difficult to for me to think of many genuinely fun shots to hit. Probably because elevation is incredibly limiting for club selection, and can make holes much more penal. A lot of folks enjoy extreme displays of skill, but to me, I only truly enjoy highly penal holes that should be trivially easy to play: #8 at Royal Troon, #7 at Pebble Beach, etc.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2023, 04:23:59 PM by Matt Schoolfield »
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Rob Marshall

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #28 on: May 06, 2023, 04:37:26 PM »
Only one I could think of was the 3rd on Oak Hill East.

Played just the one course then? 😎

Ciao


There are a lot of uphill shots on the west but no par 3's that I remember......


What about # 2 at Irondequoit?


Tim, I like Irondo but not number #2. Back nine is incredible.
If life gives you limes, make margaritas.” Jimmy Buffett

Wade Whitehead

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #29 on: May 06, 2023, 04:58:17 PM »
#11 at Hidden Creek is brilliant.

WW

mike_malone

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #30 on: May 06, 2023, 05:42:12 PM »
Play some Philly Flynn.


I've played Philly CC. I remember going downhill not up. It's been a while.


15 is a major uphill tester at Philly Country.
AKA Mayday

mike_malone

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #31 on: May 06, 2023, 05:49:50 PM »
   15 at Philly Country is uphill.  Rolling Green 6, 10 and 14. Mannys 6 and 11. Lancaster 8. To name a few Flynn’s.


Not sure that Lehigh has one.
AKA Mayday

Steve_ Shaffer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #32 on: May 06, 2023, 06:16:54 PM »
#11 @ Hidden Creek
#11. Uphill par 3 (121 yards).
"Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses ... "  Adlai Stevenson
Hyman Roth to Michael Corleone: "We're bigger than US Steel."
Ben Hogan “The most important shot in golf is the next one”

Tal Oz

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #33 on: May 06, 2023, 08:39:24 PM »
Maybe not significantly uphill, but #7 at CPC would qualify.  In my opinion, this is one of the best par 3's anywhere--probably overshadowed by #15 and 16, but I would still call it one of the greatest par 3's in the world.  Mackenzie was a par 3 genius, and #7 is probably the most under-recognized and under-appreciated hole on the course.   
Jim, I'm curious to hear why you think 7 is a world class par 3? In my opinion it's the weakest hole at CPC with a green that's almost unpinnable. Heaven forbid you go even a foot long of the green because you can keep your wedge in hand for your next shot. It's greatest attribute is the routing component getting you from dune ridge to ridge which sets up 8 and 9.

Some uphill par 3's I enjoy:
Soule Park has a pair #3 and #16 (which reminds me of Swinley's sublime #4)
Friar's Head #8
Chicago #7 and #13 both have great greens

Brent Carlson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #34 on: May 06, 2023, 09:55:57 PM »
17 at Oakland Hills South is a good uphill par 3.  The green is a master class.


Interestingly all four par 3's at Dr. MacKenzie's Green Hills are uphill. although #7 is likely not original.  Even the best designed par 3s uphill.

Max Prokopy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #35 on: May 06, 2023, 10:00:55 PM »
Essex County #11
Cypress #7
Wannamoisett #12




Isn't Pac Dunes #11 uphill?

Pat Burke

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #36 on: May 06, 2023, 11:58:47 PM »
Sounds like you haven't been to Australia yet.  :)


Kingston Heath 15 - definitely one of the best 5 short holes in Australia
Royal Melbourne West 7
Royal Melbourne East 4 (which should be back on the Composite Course)
Victoria 4 and 16
Barnbougle Lost Farm 17
Royal Adelaide 7
Seven Mile Beach 2. (Hopefully!)






Well, there a damned good list.
Kingston Heath 15 is so good!


RM West 7 is really good too

Mike_Clayton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #37 on: May 07, 2023, 04:45:50 AM »
Pat,


Victoria - a course with good memories for you! -  might be the only course in the world with four uphill par 3s. All of them very good.

Dean DiBerardino

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #38 on: May 07, 2023, 05:03:51 AM »
All four par-3s at Prairie Dunes
The Country Club at Pepper Pike #11
St. Louis CC #2 (Biarritz)
Scioto #9
Congress Lake #2 & #5
Ditto on Shinnecock #11

Scott Warren

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #39 on: May 07, 2023, 05:34:08 AM »
I think Mike Kaiser hacked Rob’s account!

Thomas Dai

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #40 on: May 07, 2023, 04:29:51 PM »
Sometimes a par-3’s will visually appear to be uphill but it isn’t, it’s knob-to-knob and the valley in between creates an optical appearance of playing uphill. Can be the same for downhill too.
Atb

V. Kmetz

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #41 on: May 07, 2023, 06:51:45 PM »
I can't think of them all in the Westchester Area, but WFE & W has three testing, but rewarding, uphill Par 3s... 3 & 13 W...a maybe the single most brightened hole in the Hanse renovations last decade, 6 East; that's almost a perfect uphill par 3 imo. 


Another uphill one on the WF courses is 7 West, which though it reads as an everyday 150-160 hole can be a frustrating, and delicate clubbing as the target may be the smallest of WF's 36 greens, and either hits it or goes bounding off its push-up/false front design...add to this that the tee is slanted just a bit uphill to a small uphill target, quartering/into the prevailing summer wind, and you learn over time, that day's "hit" itself has to be right, not just the clubbing. .  It's called Babe in the Woods and it belles the trouble you can get into on what seems to be a straightforward mid/short iron....It's the one Miller made a mess in the cavernous front right bunker to a big number.


It's almost too audacious and taxing to be great, but Siwanoy's 13th is an inspiring altar-piece played over a large bunker, blind to a wild, thumb printed green (softened and expanded in its last Devries shovel), steep from back to front.  Even at the more modest white tee yardages in the 165 -76 range, this plays 15-20 yards more with the ascent and into a prevailing west wind.


I dislike almost all of the Knollwood course, save for a few holes and one of them is the short 2nd, which plays only a whisper uphill, but is that rare dink (105-130) yardage hole without water that manages to be equally dangerous and rewarding, according to how well judged/played the shot.


Though the course has seemingly fallen in esteem or notice from where it was 20... 25...30...35 years ago, Stanwich's 13th remains an honest aerial midiron over a meadow pond to a clover shape green featuring a tapered spine at its midpoint.  The job never seems to be over even once the green is achieved, and the green complex seems to complicate every pitch and chip scramble for up and down.

"The tee shot must first be hit straight and long between a vast bunker on the left which whispers 'slice' in the player's ear, and a wilderness on the right which induces a hurried hook." -

David_Tepper

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #42 on: May 07, 2023, 09:45:20 PM »
I have always thought the 5th hole at Sharp Park had the potential to be a really good par-3. Best I can recall it is 150-170 yards to a narrow, slightly elevated green. If/when the course ever gets a proper restoration, it will be interesting to see how that hole turns out. 

Matt Schoolfield

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #43 on: May 07, 2023, 09:59:36 PM »
#5, Hunter, at Sharp Park for anyone curious.


Definitely a tough-as-nails uphill par 3. What the illustration doesn’t convey is that the trees pinch the usable area in the air into an hourglass shape. It’s a tough one.


My understanding is that that hole is part of the course that was added after storms washed away a few of the original 18 holes.


The likelihood of any serious restoration is slim-to-none. The course is host to two endangered species, so serious construction is unlikely (it’s a small miracle that the course still exists). In addition, the course was built around a lagoon which has been slowly filling with silt since its construction (likely accelerating since the construction of the sea wall which protects the course now), so any restoration wouldn’t be able to really mimic the lagoon-adjacent holes.


There is some talk of restoring a par 3 on the north side of the course though, which would be cool.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2023, 10:13:24 PM by Matt Schoolfield »
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Pat Burke

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #44 on: May 07, 2023, 11:18:36 PM »
Pat,


Victoria - a course with good memories for you! -  might be the only course in the world with four uphill par 3s. All of them very good.


Yes Mike, the Sand Belt has incredible memories for me!!   Victoria is really something

Dan McCallum

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #45 on: May 08, 2023, 08:59:30 AM »
13 at Muirfield, 4 at Cruden Bay

Mark Pearce

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #46 on: May 08, 2023, 09:36:33 AM »
13 at Muirfield, 4 at Cruden Bay
At last, someone has mentioned 13 at Muirfield.


Also, Balcomie 13.  Alwoodley 11 has been mentioned.
In June I will be riding the first three stages of this year's Tour de France route for charity.  630km (394 miles) in three days, with 7800m (25,600 feet) of climbing for the William Wates Memorial Trust (https://rideleloop.org/the-charity/) which supports underprivileged young people.

Lenny Polakoff

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #47 on: May 08, 2023, 10:05:53 AM »
Sand Hills #13
Shinnecock#11
Merion#3
Crystal Downs#9
Paramount#12


Many more as well
Incorrect Lapper. Paramount 12 is not a par 3, it's a short par 5!

JNagle

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #48 on: May 08, 2023, 10:09:26 AM »
Play some Philly Flynn.


I've played Philly CC. I remember going downhill not up. It's been a while.


The 15th is a devilish uphill par 3 at 222.  Thankfully there's a small shelf front left that can be played to.  Not the easiest recovery from there but helpful.  Kind of reminds me of the small level area front right of the 10th at Rolling Green.


Others


11 Shinnecock
16 CC of Buffalo
8 Lancaster
10 Rolling Green
 

« Last Edit: May 08, 2023, 10:13:45 AM by JNagle »
It's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or the doer of deeds could have done better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; .....  "The Critic"

david h. carroll

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Re: Are there any good uphill par 3’s?
« Reply #49 on: May 08, 2023, 03:57:25 PM »
BCC Five Farms #9

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