Gentlemen: In regards to par fives -- on average, my drives end up in the 280 range, sometimes more. That means that anything up until 480 is very reachable in two -- after that I have to go at a green with my three wood, which brings greater risk into the equation.
That's why I find many of Thompson's sub-500 par fives too short to play at their par these days. However, many of Thompson's fives hold their own still -- the ones at Westmount, for example, or 15 at Highlands, 18 at Capilano, 15 at St. George's (though admittedly that is as much Robbie as Stanley).
Matt's concept of a "personal par" is the equivalent of suggesting course set up differently for players with lower handicaps, which is often the case. But I also know of a lot of players who are short off the tee, but low handicaps. Long fours are tough on them.
The reality is that for a vast majority of players, a 420 yard par four (considering they are lucky to hit the ball 240 off the tee) is a long hole. The same can be said of a 530 par five.
I often think we get bogged down in talking about the impact of distance on classic courses like Thompson's because we are judging how the courses play for the best players -- which are not the majority. Most players will never break 90, let alone 80, at St. George's regardless of the length of the par fives and the same can be said of Capilano.
Tour pros? Low handicappers? Who cares about those guys.
