Par 6

[Matthew Petersen]

I grew up not far from a private club in southeast Denver called Los Verdes that had a par 6. Played it in a HS tournament once. It was a bit over 700 yards, dogleg left. You weren't cutting the corner, but it also wasn't really a huge burden to reach (or at least get around the green) in three shots, so it was definitely an eagle/birdie opportunity, especially in Denver where even the listed yardage was somewhat misleading.

That course has since been plowed under and I think is now called Cherry Creek CC? Nicklaus group redesign work from what I understand.

[Mark Fedeli]

I consider such a hole refreshing  and a brake in the race to homoginization

Jeff, I agree with you in spirit, and enjoy the occasional par 6 as a lark. Are there any out there that present the extra lay-up shot as an equal and exciting challenge to all the other, more unique types of shots?

To me, that's the challenge. It's asking players to lay-up for positioning twice on one hole, which can just seem tedious and unnecessary. The drive is its own kind of experience, the lay-up for positioning is its own kind of experience, and the approach is it's own kind of experience. Same with the lag putt and the tap-in. Once you add a duplicate shot in there, on the green or on the fairway, its excitement is quickly diminished.

[jeffwarne]

I consider such a hole refreshing  and a brake in the race to homoginization

Jeff, I agree with you in spirit, and enjoy the occasional par 6 as a lark. Are there any out there that present the extra lay-up shot as an equal and exciting challenge to all the other, more unique types of shots?

To me, that's the challenge. It's asking players to lay-up for positioning twice on one hole, which can just seem tedious and unnecessary. The drive is its own kind of experience, the lay-up for positioning is its own kind of experience, and the approach is it's own kind of experience. Same with the lag putt and the tap-in. Once you add a duplicate shot in there, on the green or on the fairway, its excitement is quickly diminished.

Mark,
Why is it asking for 2 layups?
Why is the second or third on a  par 6 anymore of a layup than a drive on a par 4 or 5?
I would argue it's asking for back to back drives, then perhaps a layup
The player who plays 3 bold shots in a row can be rewarded, the same as a player who hits 2 bold in a row on a par 5.
And, should they occur on a tournament venue, par can merely be changed to 5 rather than building new tees

[Garland Bayley]

... The concept of a par 6 seems very uninteresting to me and crazy with today's length.It also seems crazy in 1912.I assume the people in Dallas knew next to nothing about golf. ...

If you define par by what can be reached in a standard number of shots, then the first at TOC used to be reached in 3 shots, and therefore would have been a par 5. So there probably used to be a plethora of par 6s and par 7s when the feathery was in use. So par 6 was probably not that crazy an idea in 1912. I remember reading about par 6s in the 60s when I took up golf.

I believe that par 6s were probably more common before RTJ (I assume) moved golf design towards a standard par 72.

Get yourself a Cayman ball to play with, and you will find par 6s popping up all over the place.

[Mark Fedeli]

Mark,
Why is it asking for 2 layups?
Why is the second or third on a  par 6 anymore of a layup than a drive on a par 4 or 5?
I would argue it's asking for back to back drives, then perhaps a layup
The player who plays 3 bold shots in a row can be rewarded, the same as a player who hits 2 bold in a row on a par 5.
And, should they occur on a tournament venue, par can merely be changed to 5 rather than building new tees

I agree. That's absolutely true if the hole is extra strategic with great risk/reward, and I'd love to learn more about any real-life examples.

If it's just added fairway length with no interesting options, those middle two shots can easily become a needless slog. And I'm not defending the concept of par by any means or advocating homogenization. But some things become the standard because they work the best. The 3 regulation shots taken on a typical Par 5 each have a very unique personality. An additional middle shot will have to be very special to not lack in comparison.

[jeffwarne]

Thanks Mark
Sometimes....I think it's interesting to have a hole where you can simply drive fearlessly with reckless abandon to see how far out you can hit it. 13 at Augusta CC used to be my model for that
Might be cool to have back to back shots like that to set up a go in three for a longer hitter i.e. the "strategy" is to hit it as far as possible.

and to piggyback off GJ's comment, that's what I find fun about Caymen golf-more emphasis on freedom as there is much less chance of leaving the field of play.

[Matt Glore]

Purgatory Golf Club outside Indy has a par 5 from all but the "Purgatory tees" and it plays as a par 6 from there.

[Mark Fedeli]

I love it, Jeff. A 300yd wide fairway with no hazards and very little visual sense of what's to come. You're essentially getting into position to begin the hole—driving to your preferred teeing ground.

[V. Kmetz]

I think the idea of a 1000 yard hole is very cool, and can certainly see the relevance of 750 yard holes in this era.
It's actually a faster way to cover terrain as there's no need to stop and putt two or three separate times!
Kind've like cross country golf and could involve a lot of strategy.
I consider such a hole refreshing  and a brake in the race to homoginization

I also consider something like this refreshing and optimistic (as far as a possible future for design) I'll also sound the old trumpet again and say, why does any individual hole need a par assigned to it? In the traditional 18 hole model, it should add up to 72.

150 years ago, championship golf was played over 12 holes...it was as many as 22 before that...and excellent golf still exists at 9 holes...who is to say that the future will not be something just as seemingly foreign, but equally popular....maybe 20 holes, maybe 15...maybe 10,000 yard courses, maybe back to 4,000 yard ones...

It is a piece of recreation, so I'm open to such ideas.

cheers

vk

[Chris Clouser]

The only one I've played as a par 6 was on a course in a high school tournament in Lapel, IN I think.  Birdied it and eagled the other par five in the round.  Don't ask about the other holes.   

[mike_beene]

It is strange this hole existed on as tight a piece of property as we have at Lakewood.It was stated as 110 acres then and we probably have 120 now. The problem I see with a hole like this is that it severely penalizes the short or inconsistent player in an unnecessary fashion. Distance has its own rewards without beating up people who don't have it. Another version of the forced water carry perhaps.

[Zack Molnar]

The International Golf Club outside Boston measures over 8300 yards from the tips and has 656 yard, 675 yard, and 750 yard par 5s, along with several par 4s over 530 and par threes over 250. Any one played there?

[Doug Siebert]

The International Golf Club outside Boston measures over 8300 yards from the tips and has 656 yard, 675 yard, and 750 yard par 5s, along with several par 4s over 530 and par threes over 250. Any one played there?

From the tips?  You'd have to be a glutton for punishment, that's for sure.  Maybe if I had been born 20 years later, so I'd had modern equipment as a 15 year old...

I remember reading about the International when I was a kid, in Golf Digest probably.  Surely it wasn't 8300 yards back then, but I remember reading about how long it was and thinking it was ridiculous.  Of course, 7500 yards would have seemed ridiculous in 1980, now it doesn't even raise an eyebrow.

[Doug Ralston]

Played Black Diamond in Millersburg, OH. It's got a 720yd par-6 on the front nine. Actually a very mundane hole on a otherwise
quite cool course [I'd say Top 10 Public in Ohio].

Doug

[Carl Rogers]

A par 6 represents 100% lunacy, banish the thought!!

[Garland Bayley]

A par 6 represents 100% lunacy, banish the thought!!

So the golden age architects that felt that putting was becoming too prevalent in the game and argued that all 18 hole tracks be reduced to 12 holes by eliminating greens and extending the length of the holes were lunatics?

[Philip Hensley]

We have a winner!
I often hear long par 4's,5's, and now a 6 (or7!) described on here as a slog.
I think the idea of a 1000 yard hole is very cool, and can certainly see the relevance of 750 yard holes in this era.
It's actually a faster way to cover terrain as there's no need to stop and putt two or three separate times!
Kind've like cross country golf and could involve a lot of strategy.
I consider such a hole refreshing  and a brake in the race to homoginization

I'm all for this. Played a 5 hour round on Pinehurst #1 Saturday because of a junior tournament going on where every little Rickie Fowler read every putt from all 4 sides and 12 different angles.

It seems like this would work well on executive length course where people are looking to play faster and not worried about par or keeping score. Great for people that just want to use walking golf as morning exercise.

[Sven Nilsen]

The June 1910 edition of Golf Magazine had a description of the Tom Morris Competition, an event between different clubs played on their own courses against Par.  Part of the article lays out the various limits for each class of Par, including Par 6 holes that were longer than 576 yards.

[Garland Bayley]

Cool find Sven.

[Jim_Kennedy]

In 1903 the Lambton G&CC had a long par 6.
   






(GI, 1903)

[Doug Siebert]

The June 1910 edition of Golf Magazine had a description of the Tom Morris Competition, an event between different clubs played on their own courses against Par.  Part of the article lays out the various limits for each class of Par, including Par 6 holes that were longer than 576 yards.

At the rate we're going, it won't be long before we see 576 yard par 4s.