[Greg Tallman]

Was having a conversation with some well traveled golfers last week and began discussing which course(s) might boast the finest collection of par 3 holes in the world.

A step further...

1. BEST collection
2. SPECTACULAR collection
considering no less than 4 par 3 holes.

Any thoughts?

[Phil McDade]

Greg:

I'm not sure they are the best in the world, but Langford and Moreau's Lawsonia's links course has a very solid group of par 3s (yardages from tips):

-- No. 4, a near-Redan (lacking only the requisite strong tilt of the green), with severe front bunkering and trouble elsewhere. 203 yds.

-- No. 7, which I've argued is Langford's ode to a Short, 161 yds to a severely pushed-up green.

-- No. 10, which Ron Forse describes as one of the hardest par 3s around, 239 yards to an enormous green sharply tilted back-to-front, and strong bunkering flanking left and right.

-- No. 12, 183 yards over level ground to a wonderful green featuring a two-to-three-foot swale.

-- No. 14, a downhill tee shot to a volcano-like green, again severely pushed up from its surrounds. 154 yards.

What is particularly noteworthy about Langford's par 3s at Lawsonia is the variety of clubs one uses. Depending on conditions, approaches to the par 3s for me might be (in order): 5-wood/utility club; 7-iron; 3-wood or maybe even driver with the wind against; 4 or 5-iron; 8-iron.

That to me is a sign of a course with not just holes of merit, but variety as well. Langford really wanted to test the ability of players to hit a variety of clubs into greens, and he certainly accomplished it at Lawsonia with his par 3s there.

[Tim Leahy]

Olympic Club for best collection.
Stone Eagel for most spectacular collection.

[Tom Huckaby]

What's the difference between best and most spectacular?

Greg, you have a darn fine set of par threes there at Cabo del Sol Ocean course.  I'd call each pretty spectacular too - some more than others.  In any case you can hold your head high.

It's tough to beat Cypress Point... Winged Foot West.. Shinnecock Hills...

But this has been debated before, several times.  No harm rehashing though!

TH

[Dan Boerger]

Pine Valley followed by Merion in this neck of the woods.

[David_Tepper]

Tim -

Do you really think the OC Lake has the best collection of par-3's?

Aside from the 3rd hole, I find no great merit in the other 3 par-3's (#8, #13 & #15).  One reason I am not especially fond of those 3 holes is that the green surfaces are pretty much blind from the tee. You cannot see where your shot lands or where it comes to rest.

At the very least, those holes deny one the thrill of watching the ball go in the hole should one ever be fortunate enough to make an ace on one of those 3 holes!

DT

[Greg Tallman]

What's the difference between best and most spectacular?

Greg, you have a darn fine set of par threes there at Cabo del Sol Ocean course.  I'd call each pretty spectacular too - some more than others.  In any case you can hold your head high.

It's tough to beat Cypress Point... Winged Foot West.. Shinnecock Hills...

But this has been debated before, several times.  No harm rehashing though!

TH

Tom, Thank you. Actually the eventual redesign of 6 and 7 here led to the discussion as they will both be markedly better than the current holes which are pretty darn good as they are.

Each will photograph as well or better than the 17th and I personally feel the only non ocean of the group is the finest of the lot... the longish 13th.

[Steve Verde]

Out of the courses I have played, I would probably say that the best set of par 3's belongs to Banff Springs.  The mix of uphill and downhill as well as short and long gives it a great collection.  The 4th is obviously an all world hole but I think the 2nd is understated.  A good mid-length par 3 and it is one of the more fun iron shots you will hit after watching your ball soar with Mt. Rundle in the backdrop.  I also really like the 8th hole as a short par 3 that demands accuracy and I love the setting of the hole.  The 10th and 13th holes are bears.  I can't imagine many courses having a better collection of 5 one-shotters.

Other courses I think have an outstanding collection of 3's are Golden Horseshoe and Harbour Town.  I have heard criticism of there being to much similarity between the par 3's of Golden Horseshoe but I think the par 3's make that course.  Harbour Town's par 3's require such a premium for accuracy and I think it is a fun test.  14 and 17 are great holes.

[Don Hyslop]

 Agreed Steve,I would have to suggest that Banff Springs has four par 3s that would qualify on anyones list in either category. The 171 yd  4th hole, Devils Cauldron, is egual in beauty to anything I have ever seen. The 8th hole, a 138 yd par 3 plays as the second easiest hole on the course but usually playing into the wind offers plenty of challenge in club slection with water in play for anyone who has misjudged. Again the backdrop on this hole is world class in beauty. Then the two par 3s on the back are virtual monsters. The 10th hole plays at 220 yds over water. This long par 3 requires a very demanding shot to a green protected by a large bunker to the left and water in front and to the right. The wind is usually head-on.  The final par 3 is the 13th which is a 230 yd hole. It requires an accurate tee shot with a long iron or fairway wood. Several large bunkers and mounds loom left and right of the green.
  They are four great holes set in some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world. Check out the photos:  
  
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/banffsprings1.html
 

[John Blain]

At least in the northeast it has to be Winged Foot GC.

[David_Tepper]

One criteria I would submit for selecting the best collection of par-3 holes is that a different club would be used on all 4 holes.

[Greg Tallman]

varied distance, direction, carry/run up characteristics

[John Kirk]

Without careful consideration, the first set of par 3s that comes to mind is at Riviera CC.  In particular, the 4th hole is a great long par 3.

[Tim Leahy]

Tim -

Do you really think the OC Lake has the best collection of par-3's?

Aside from the 3rd hole, I find no great merit in the other 3 par-3's (#8, #13 & #15).  One reason I am not especially fond of those 3 holes is that the green surfaces are pretty much blind from the tee. You cannot see where your shot lands or where it comes to rest.

At the very least, those holes deny one the thrill of watching the ball go in the hole should one ever be fortunate enough to make an ace on one of those 3 holes!
DT

I actually like the view from the tee on those par three's, much like the 12th at Augusta for most of the pin placements. From the tee you are staring at a huge bunker, and like Christmas day you have to wait to see how you've done.

[Andy Troeger]

I agree with Tom H...pretty tough to beat Cypress Point. Pebble Beach has a nice set too.

They wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea necessarily but I loved the par threes at Wolf Run as well. The Golf Club would be high on the list too along with Harbour Town.

If you're looking for my one vote its CPC.

[wsmorrison]

Dan,

I'd put Rolling Green's 5 par 3 holes up with just about any club, including Merion, Pine Valley and Shinnecock Hills.  I've often said, and am probably accused of bias by many, that William Flynn's collection of par 3s is about as good as anyone has ever produced and on a course by course basis, they are at worst solid but often superb.

[BVince]

My vote is for CPC.

I am surprised that no one has mentioned MPCC - shores.  The course has an excellent collection of par 3 holes and each one has a different feel.  Another course that has great par 3s is Victoria National.  The only problem is that they are the hardest that I have played.  Pacific Dunes is another course with excellent par 3 holes.  The 11th is one of the greatest looking holes I have played.  Waterwood in Livingston, TX has truly memorable par 3s with great variety but the course always struggles with finances and its reflected in the conditioning. Pasatiempos set of 3s are great.  There are more to mention, but the ones listed above have a great overall collection of par 3 holes.

[Joel_Stewart]

Olympic Club for best collection.

You're kidding?   They have 1 good par 3, the 3rd?   The 8th was a great hole until Jones bulldozed it before the 1966 US Open and its been so badly maintained its an embarrasment to the club and classic architecture.

Then you have 13 and 15 which play in the same direction and are fairly close in distance depending on the tees.

[JESII]

I've often said, and am probably accused of bias...

Who? How dare they...

[John Kirk]

Oops, I forgot about Pacific Dunes.  That's my favorite set.  Sand Hills has a really great and difficult set, too.

[CJ Carder]

Having just watched the video on the "Videos" thread, I'll throw Royal Dornoch into the discussion.  Aside from the view on #10, they don't win too many visual awards, but I'll be darned if they're not all solid, stiff one-shotters.

[Jim_Coleman]

    Teeth of the Dog.  3 spectacular ocean holes (165/ downwind; 225 downwind; 200/ into wind); 1 inland hole (180, crosswind to thin, deep green in island of sand).  I think Senor Doak called them the best set of par threes in his "Gazetteer" (sp.?).

[Bill Satterfield]

Of what I've played Cypress Point is my favorite.  Beyond that I like Shadow Creek's (I actually like the 13th more than the famous 17th), Sherwood CC, Whispering Pines in Trinity, TX has a great set with the 15th and 16th being reminiscent of Cypress Point's concept, Los Angeles CC North, Eugene CC, and I love the collection at Thanksgiving Point in Utah.  I'm not doing a good job of just selecting one.

Spectacular:  Cypress Point.  Everyone knows them so there isn't much need to elaborate.

Best:  I'll throw Whispering Pines out there.  #3 is 210 yards and plays downhill with a pond and bunker right and a bunker and run-up area left.  #8 plays 194 yards to a raised, severe tiered green and features a collection of bunkers right of the green with natural grass patches in the sand.  #15 is 178 yards to a near island green resting in Gator Cove off Caney Creek with a massive bunker in front.  #16 is a 228 yard brute that requires 200+ yards of carry over water.  Pretty dang good collection.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

Rye
Woodhall Spa
Bel Air
Friars Head
Somerset Hills
These courses are worthy of consideration among the the more famous great courses.

[Bob_Huntley]

The panegyrics of Cypress Point's par threes seem misguided. Does anyone think that the third and seventh are great holes? I don't.

Go over to MPCC Dunes and look at the fourth, the seventh, the tenth and then the fourteenth and you have a collection of some serious par threes.  On the Shore the seventh and the ninth garner much praise, rightly so, but the eleventh seems to capture the imagination of the visiting firemen.

At Riviera ,where I was also a member, the fourth, sixth and sixteenth stand out. The fourteenth was not much of anything.

In passing I must confess that I find the sixth at Riviera, the fourth on the Dunes and the eleventh on the Shore to be superlative  par threes. I have aced them all! 

Bob

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