Par 5 Finishing Holes in Championships

[Duncan Cheslett]

Purely from a spectator's point of view in the grandstand around the green for most of yesterday afternoon, finishing with a par 5 made for great viewing. With most players out of contention, they were playing for places on the prize list, and many were going for eagles. Quite a few succeeded.

One thing that was reinforced to me was that greenside bunkers hold no fear for good players. In fact, I suspect that some were aiming for the pot bunkers in front of the pin with their second shots as that gave them a surer chance of a birdie than playing from rough.

[Adam Lawrence]

It forced players to hit long shots into the home green. For that alone it was a good thing.

[Matthew Petersen]

It was interesting that even though McIlroy took an iron off the tee for safety, when it came time to hit his second shot all the ABC guys agreed going for the green made more sense than laying up, because of the difficulty of the lay up itself, as well as the shot that followed.

It's really nice occasionally to have a finishing hole where most guys expect to make birdie and eagle is in play. Puts a whole different kind of pressure on the leader as the guys in front of him have that extra chance to get closer.

[Carl Rogers]

Aren't the par 5's at Hoylake really half par holes, for the top 100 in the world, unless played into a severe wind.
Agreed no real penalty for a mis-play.

[mike_beene]

Call them whatever par you want. They required two quality shots to get home.That includes 14,16,17and 18.

[Kevin Lynch]

Aren't the par 5's at Hoylake really half par holes, for the top 100 in the world, unless played into a severe wind.
Agreed no real penalty for a mis-play.

Tell that to Dustin Johnson after his Sunday OB on 18.  And Fowler lost 3 strokes to McIlroy in Round 3 on 16, simply for a slight pull. 

Also, penalties don't have to be double bogeys or more - missed opportunities for "easy birdies" can be a punishment as well.

[Mike Terwilliger]

I like the idea of a par 5 finisher for something different, especially when there is a real decision on if you should lay up or go for it...a real risk/reward scenario.  For example....The finisher at the TPC Boston was revamped so the long approach seems to have more difficulty wrapped up in it with the green being tweaked.  Or...I did like the finisher at Hoylake.  I get bored at times with the seemingly standard long par 4 finishers....love some of them (Butler National...Merion etc.), but others seem nondescript. 

[Cliff Hamm]

Par 5's at the end clearly add to the excitement factor.  It allows for a multi-shot  swing and therefore  keeps the interest up even if the leader has a few stroke lead.'

While Baltusrol is not held in high esteem here it makes a wonderful tournament venue ending with two par 5's.  It is not unreasonable to go birdie, eagle or at least birdie, birdie.  If a competitor should bogey just one of them you can realistically have at least a 3 shot swing.

[Carl Rogers]

Aren't the par 5's at Hoylake really half par holes, for the top 100 in the world, unless played into a severe wind.
Agreed no real penalty for a mis-play.

Tell that to Dustin Johnson after his Sunday OB on 18.  And Fowler lost 3 strokes to McIlroy in Round 3 on 16, simply for a slight pull. 
Also, penalties don't have to be double bogeys or more - missed opportunities for "easy birdies" can be a punishment as well.

I think those shots represented bad swings and not a slight mis-play or mis-judgement that gets a penalty.

[cary lichtenstein]

16 and 18 in a way are like 13 and 15 at Augusta, chances to dramatically alter the outcome of the tournament. More courses should be set up this way. Exciting for the viewer. Saturday's eagles by Rory will be long remembered by many of us.

[Jeff Bergeron]

I loved having three par 5s on the back nine. The R&A approach of preserving the par 5s is far superior to the USGA historical approach to 'protecting par' by making short 5s par 4s. I recognize Davis is changing that. That is a change for the better and makes for more excitement particularly at the end of the round.

[Jim Nugent]

Par 5's at the end clearly add to the excitement factor.  It allows for a multi-shot  swing and therefore  keeps the interest up even if the leader has a few stroke lead.'

While Baltusrol is not held in high esteem here it makes a wonderful tournament venue ending with two par 5's.  It is not unreasonable to go birdie, eagle or at least birdie, birdie.  If a competitor should bogey just one of them you can realistically have at least a 3 shot swing.

The point has been made before that par, in theory, shouldn't affect the way a hole plays.  i.e. does the same hole play differently as a par 4 than as a par 5?  Are the actual scores any different? 

I think if you want multi-shot swings at the end, you need to thrown in strategic/penal/heroric elements, that reward the golfer who pulls off the hard shot, but penalizes those who don't. 

[mike_beene]

We are to the point that it would work just as well to call all 18 holes par 4s and then let the chips fall where they may.

[Jim Nugent]

I think par does two main things.  One, it loosely measures how many strokes an excellent golfer should take on a given hole.  Two, it makes it a lot easier to compare scores, especially in a medal competition. 

It can still serve that second function without the first (e.g. if we just use level 4s or 5s, or whatever).  But the first function makes the second more accurate. 

Wonder if any tests have been done on whether changing par on a hole (and nothing else) changes scores. 

[Brent Hutto]

The key to the finish is having two holes where a 240+ yard approach to a firm green is the required or at least normative play. For elite players today that means a very long hole but it is the long iron/fairway wood approach and not par designation that matters.

The important element is having scores of 3,4,5 and 6 truly in play. Hard to get four possible scores in play for Tour players if they can approach the green with 8-iron or less. I suppose a 270 yard Par 3 with copious hazards could perhaps bring 2,3,4,5 into reasonably likely play as a closing hole.

[BHoover]

We are about to have another major with a par 5 finish. Valhalla might not be the most significant venue from an architectural or historical standpoint, it has produced exciting finishes in the past. We should remember that majors are played to produce entertainment more so than promote architecture, for better or worse.

A previous poster made the comment that a par 5 finish produces long irons to the final green. I think that's a shot that's generally been lost in professional golf, so I'm in favor of it.

[Paul Gray]

Half par holes make great finishing holes. Resolved. Moving on.