#15 at Pine Valley is longer than #7. I do know someone who reached #15 in 2. That is the best par 5 I've every played.
Chris,
I believe that Gary Groh was the first golfer to hit # 15 in two.
My friend Peter Kapsimalis Jr was probably the second, and, the first amateur to hit it in two.
David Stamm,
I think we get misdirected when we context the play of golf holes by the best golfers in the world, the PGA Tour Pros, who probably represent less than one one thousanth of one percent of all golfers.
Par fives have a specific role in the play of the game, and that's to challenge the golfer to hit three good consecutive shots.
That's a meaningful test as the element of luck diminishes and the need for proper execution increases when the number of consecutive shots required increases.
If one of architecture's functions is to provide a thorough examination of a golfer's game, then par 5's, real par 5's should be an integral part of that examination.
Par 5's where the third shot is akin to a recovery shot don't provide that examination.
The problem is, that presenting that examination for PGA Tour Pros would probably require an 800+ yard par 5.
However, for the bulk of the golfing universe, par 5's of 500 to 650 are more than ample.