I recall George Thomas' preference was a par 5 starter and a long par 4 second, usually pretty tough, to get golfers out on the course. I don't know whether or not this worked, but I know the second at Riviera is a pretty tough good par 4 during the LA Open.
If my home course is any gauge, a par 5 opener followed by a moderately tough par 3 is guaranteed to cause an immediate bottleneck.
The short par 3 2nd at JohnV's home course is not generally highly regarded, according to what John's heard, but I thought it was pretty cool. It's kind of like the 7th at Pebble, with bunkers ringing a tiny green and, of course, no ocean behind - but long is definitely wrong.
The short par 4 2nd at Lehigh is also pretty fun. The fairway seems kind of reverse bowled, so the second shot isn't as simple as it would seem.
The 2nd at Mystic Rock is kind of a shock, after the easy opener. Must be tons of balls down in that rock quarry.