Seaside par threes better with sea in the background?

[mike_malone]

  The #17 at Royal Aberdeen reminded me of #15 at Ballybunion. I prefer the water in the background for these par threes as opposed to running along side  the hole. The look is impressive and the wind comes at you unimpeded. You are given the full width to shape shots.

   When the green hugs the water on one side then the only choice is to avoid that side. This reduces the amount of space available on the hole to deal with the wind.


     When the PGA was at Whistling Straits last year there was some talk of Kohler asking Pete Dye "to build me a Ballybunion". If they had not  put all the par threes parallel to the water, then I could have believed it was "like" Ballybunion.

   #15 at Portmarnock has the water on the right, but IMO there is still space to work the ball. It is the wind off the water that affects the hole much more than the "aqua".

[cary lichtenstein]

I prefer to put the sea in play.

[mike_malone]

 Some seaside par threes have an inlet of water on the hole. When the choice exists to carry more of it for more reward then I find that interesting as well. The fun goes out of it when the cost far outweighs the benefit.

[Bill Gayne]

It depends on the length and prevailing winds. If the prevailing wind is on shore (in your face as you look at the Sea) then a short par three to the Sea and a Long par three besides the sea.

If you have a long par three playing to the sea and the wind is blowing hard in your face it becomes extremely difficult. Whereas a short three will be playable in all winds.

The 15th at Ballybunion is a long par three that can be near impossible on a heavy wind day. I was out there on a very windy day and I asked the caddy what I should hit and he said driver. While waiting to hit he mentioned that Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw played the course recently in a similar wind. I asked what they hit and he said driver. I smacked the ball pretty good and it came up short and considerably offline. I then asked how Crenshaw and Watson did and he said that they didn't do much better with both missing the green in deep rough.

[Tom_Doak]

I would prefer to put the sea in play, also, as on the 11th at Pacific Dunes.  However, having it in the background on the tenth is good, too, if it's all you can get because someone else has built another golf course in your way!

Mayday:  that "volcano" shaped thing to the right of the 17th at Whistling Straits is Pete Dye's ode to the similar-shaped feature on the 15th at Ballybunion.  But, you are right, there is less variety to the par-3's at Whistling Straits because all of them are parallel with the lakeshore, a function of the two-loop routing.

[David_Tepper]

Two of my favorite par-3's in the Highlands have the sea in the background.

#9 at Brora is a slightly downhill hole of 150-160 yards, with the sea behind and a bit to the right of the the green.  Only a very poorly hit or misclubbed shot is in danger of winding up on the beach.

#16 at Goslpie could be my favorite par-3 in the Highlands. It is 165 yards slightly downhill to a 2-level green that sits on top of a dune that repels shots hit short, left or right. The green is probably  50+yards inland from the beach, but, due to the elevation of the green, all you see behind the green from the tee is the Dornoch Firth. A great golf hole.        

[Tom_Doak]

For a Scottish hole with the sea in play AND as a background, few surpass the 8th at Kilspindie, just down the road from Gullane.

[Mike_Trenham]

Sakonett's second hole matches this discription and is an excellent hole.  The day I played the wind was really whipping away and was the primary hazard to contend with on the hole.

[wsmorrison]

"When the green hugs the water on one side then the only choice is to avoid that side. This reduces the amount of space available on the hole to deal with the wind."

Mike,

How does a par 3 with the sea on one side differ from the approach shot on a par 4 with the sea on one side?

The 3rd at Kittansett is a wonderful par 3 by the sea.  The sea is always on the right side and during daily tide conditions it fronts the green as well as it floods an inlet.  What a hole on one terrific course!

[mike_malone]

 Wayne,

  I'm not a fan of those par fours either. I wonder if there are some American versions of this "water in back" par threes, other than the classics that use British Isles models. It seems to me we can't resist putting the water along the side of the hole.

[Greg Beaulieu]

Perhaps it is more of a temptation for the designer to want to have a hole running alongside the sea? I hope the following link from Google works; it is a picture of Chester Golf Club in Nova Scotia. At the bottom of the picture is the green for the first hole and the par-3 2nd hole with the ocean on the right -- and it most definitely is in play.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%22chester,+nova+scotia%22&ll=44.535476,-64.220238&spn=0.007135,0.014636&t=k&hl=en

[James Bennett]

Wayne,

  I'm not a fan of those par fours either. I wonder if there are some American versions of this "water in back" par threes, other than the classics that use British Isles models. It seems to me we can't resist putting the water along the side of the hole.

Mayday Malone

I might have misunderstood this, but isn't #17 at Pebble Beach the classic, water at the back (albeit behind #18 tee) par 3?  And played to the west into the setting sun, a la Turnberry.

[Mike Hendren]

For a Scottish hole with the sea in play AND as a background, few surpass the 8th at Kilspindie, just down the road from Gullane.

Apparently this hole was almost lost from complaints of the residents of the cottage between the 8th green and 9th tee. In 1929 James Braid recommended that the 9th tee be moved to its present location, thereby saving the fantastic 8th.  

Kilspindie also has the par three first, a "new" hole added in 1909, that plays directly out to sea from the clubhouse.  

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Some of the very best links par threes have little or no view of the sea - Rye comes to mind.  We have a hole at Conwy, the 6th, a 175-yard par 3, which would be utterly unmemorable inland, yet it is a very good seaside hole (with no sea influence whatsoever).  It is so featureless that it is very difficult to judge the distance and to make allowance for the effects of the wind, the amount of roll on the ball after landing and what will happen to the ball that is played deliberately short.  The prevailing wind is roughly behind the tee shot, but usually a bit left to right as well.  The entrance to the green is narrow between two deep, revetted bunkers (at least 6 feet below their surroundings and absolutely straight walled).  You usually have to aim at the left hand bunker and hope the ball drifts to the right.  The first portion of green is a gentle upslope, but the rear portion (the majority of the putting surface) is flat.  With the wind behind, nothing landing up here will remain on the green, scuttling through into swales or (worse) into long grass and rock roses.  Most of us have to land short of the green, allowing the ball to feed up the narrow entrance between the bunkers.  Good players (using very short irons) have to hit into the upslope and let the ball run on towards the hole.  Too much backspin, however, leads to much egg on face.  As I say, it would be a singularly dull hole on a parkland course, yet it is the essence of good links golf.