TOC - the home of golf - only has 2 par 3s. Why do the others have 4 or more?

[John Kavanaugh]

The camera. Par 3's are the easiest holes to photograph. Now that everyone carries a camera with them at all times we are seeing more courses with even more par threes.

[Jim Nugent]

I would opine that it isn't any more complicated than the golfing public in general prefers playing more than 2 par 3's during an 18 hole round. 

bingo, I think we have a winner. My thoughts exactly. Golfers like playing them.

In that case, how and when did the golfing public make this preference known? 

[Ally Mcintosh]

Just looked back at my history of Lahinch:

Original course (until 1907) - 5 par threes
Gibson redesign (1907) - 3 par threes
Mackenzie redesign (1928) - 4 par threes

Can see a bit of weight in the initial premise but I'm not sure there's enough for conclusive proof of a trend in the direction stated.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Because just after I posted, I remembered that one of Portmarnock's only routing changes was in 1908 to change two short par-4's at 6 and 7 in to a par-5 and a par-3...

So in 1900 it only had two one-shotters...

So your premise may be right that there were more courses at that time with only 2 par-3's... But the list would still be considerably shorter than those with 3 or more... The Haskell probably had something to do with this if true...

I agree it would be an interesting study

Ally,

According to the centenary book, Portmarnock had - in today's language - three one shotters in 1896. The 7th was 190 yards (it was 181 yds in 1909 and a bogey 3), the 12th at 125 yards (bogey 3) and the 17th at 170 yds (bogey 3).

The old 2nd hole which ran between today's 2nd and 3rd holes was 230 yards long, but would have probably been considered a bogey 4 at that time.

Note that Royal Dublin had only three holes under 200 yards in 1909 and the original OTM layout at RCD had only two holes under 200 yds in length in 1892.

TOC had only two holes between 200 and 300 yds in 1879, and the shortest was the 9th at 277 yds; the other was the 10th at 290 yds. Isn't it just accidental that TOC didn't possess holes in the 200-250 yds range that would become par threes today.

It's only natural that the number of "par threes" on courses increased, once it was decided that holes less than 250 yds would be classed as par threes, but for one reason or another, TOC had a "gap" of 100 yds in the hole ranges, and this gap just happened to lie on either side of the future cut-off point between par threes and par fours.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Because just after I posted, I remembered that one of Portmarnock's only routing changes was in 1908 to change two short par-4's at 6 and 7 in to a par-5 and a par-3...

So in 1900 it only had two one-shotters...

So your premise may be right that there were more courses at that time with only 2 par-3's... But the list would still be considerably shorter than those with 3 or more... The Haskell probably had something to do with this if true...

I agree it would be an interesting study

Ally,

According to the centenary book, Portmarnock had - in today's language - three one shotters in 1896. The 7th was 190 yards (it was 181 yds in 1909 and a bogey 3), the 12th at 125 yards (bogey 3) and the 17th at 170 yds (bogey 3).

The old 2nd hole which ran between today's 2nd and 3rd holes was 230 yards long, but would have probably been considered a bogey 4 at that time.

Note that Royal Dublin had only three holes under 200 yards in 1909 and the original OTM layout at RCD had only two holes under 200 yds in length in 1892.

TOC had only two holes between 200 and 300 yds in 1879, and the shortest was the 9th at 277 yds; the other was the 10th at 290 yds. Isn't it just accidental that TOC didn't possess holes in the 200-250 yds range that would become par threes today.

It's only natural that the number of "par threes" on courses increased, once it was decided that holes less than 250 yds would be classed as par threes, but for one reason or another, TOC had a "gap" of 100 yds in the hole ranges, and this gap just happened to lie on either side of the future cut-off point between par threes and par fours.

Donal, I'd need to look back on the yardages as I've some info pre-1908 when the changes were made... I know that Dr Tim Healy - who wrote the centenary book - and I have since realised that the routing map at the 6th and 7th holes that he had depicted in the book was wrong, the 6th green being much shorter and to the right thus indicating that the 7th was also longer at the time... Darwin also wrote in 1910 that the holes around the 6th and 7th had been much improved and made more difficult...

The 17th was an old par-three that is the only complete hole (i.e. hole corridor in totality) that has been removed since the back nine opened in 1896... It was replaced by the current 15th.