Par 4 converted to a Par 3?

[Ben Hollerbach]

There are ample examples of courses converting par 5's to par 4's, both temporarily for tournament play and permanently for all play, but I can't recall an example of a par 4 ever being converted to a par 3. There have been times when a hole has been replaced or modified to make a subsequent change in par, but has the change in par occurred with little to no change to the hole?

[Jason Thurman]

I am 95% sure that Clovernook's closing hole was originally a par 3 on the card. It would've been an absolute bear in the 1920s. It plays around 280 yards today from the members' tees and I'm not sure how many of the current tees are original, but it would've been at least 250 yards when first opened.


I guess that's sorta the opposite of what you're looking for, though.

[mike_malone]

Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe the famous Redan at North Berwick had been a par four first.

[Tom_Doak]

The second hole at The Country Club (aka Brookline) was a 300-yard par-4 played as a 200-yard par-3 when the invented the Composite course for the 1963 US Open.  I’m not sure if it’s still a par 4 for the members.


The first at Walton Heath was a 260-yard par-4 and is now 230 par 3.


The opening hole at Victoria in Australia has gone from a 4 to a 3 and maybe back again?

[Jim_Coleman]

   I’m pretty sure St. David’s in Wayne, PA changed the 17th hole from a par 4 to a par 3 by creating a new green.

[Ronald Montesano]

The 18th hole at Niagara Falls Country Club was designed as a short four by Tillinghast. The location of the original tee, some 80-90 yards behind the current tee, is now the corner of a busy intersection. Lord knows how original any of it is...RTJ and Cornish, along with Robert Moses, impacted the course beyond words.

[Matthew Rose]

#1 at Victoria is a par four, but they have played it as a par three in the Australian Open. I attended one there about 20 years ago where this was the case.

233 metres.

[Tim Gavrich]

18 at Royal Burgess in Edinburgh is listed as a 244-yard par 4 from the Medal tee, but a 232-yard par 3 from the Member tee, which is very strange to me and tells me it probably was an across-the-board 4 in the past.

[Mike_Clayton]

The second hole at The Country Club (aka Brookline) was a 300-yard par-4 played as a 200-yard par-3 when the invented the Composite course for the 1963 US Open.  I’m not sure if it’s still a par 4 for the members.


The first at Walton Heath was a 260-yard par-4 and is now 230 par 3.


The opening hole at Victoria in Australia has gone from a 4 to a 3 and maybe back again?

They played the 1st at Victoria as a par 3 in the 2002 Australian Open - from a new tee forward and right of the regular tee.
(It's now the back tee at the 10th hole)
We rebuilt the green to ensure it'd never be played as a par 3 again. It's a 260y par 4. Just an easy 4 iron for Rory.

[Doug Bolls]

Luna Vista, a muni in Dallas, changed a par 4 into a 3 and a par 3 into a 4.


Hole #3 used to be a par 4 dogleg right with certain trouble at the dogleg.  Lots of high grass, shrubs and scattered trees.  Put your ball in there and it was lost.  So, they shortened it up and now you hit up to a plateaued green about 160 yards long and 50 yards left of the old dogleg.


Hole 4 used to be a straight-away par 3 with a pond right-front of the green.  Uphill approach into the green with a bunker between the pond and green.  They just moved the tees back closer the the #3 green so now it's a par 4.


Since there is no reason to hit into the trouble and try to carry the dogleg, it probably speeds up play.