Most intimidating par 3's?

[Dan_Callahan]

David,

Whether or not the ocean is in play at Kittansett depends on the tide. In other words, the hole can play very different depending on the time of day. At low tide, the water is pretty far to the right. However, I took my high school golf team there last spring, and one of my players airmailed the green because he was so determined not to go in the water. The green is an island surrounded by sand. It really is a beach, not a bunker, so there are pebbles and shells everywhere. From that position long, he then skulled his shot back over the green and, ironically enough, into the ocean.

The Waverly Oaks par 3 is exceptional. Much like Cypress, it gives you a huge bailout spot short left. So it really plays like a par 3.5. You can choose to go at the flag if you want, and the green is big enough to hold a hybrid coming in hot. But the safe play is out to the left and then trying to get up and down. Of course, for a beginning golfer who has trouble off the tee, the hole is a nightmare.

[Mark McKeever]

Agreed Dan.  Last year I played the third at Kittansett in low tide.  Unfortunately I missed the green right and it buried in the sand amongst shells and pebbles.  Gotta love unique shot challenges like that!

Mark

[Bill Crane]

Kittansett - # 3 is very intimidating if the wind kick's up that can really whip on Buzzards Bay.  I have played there twice and once had my shot knocked down by the wind and there are more than shells and sand on the beach, there are rocks, too.  The second time was in a one day M-G and I hit the green, sunk the putt and won closest to the pin and a skin.

The 11th at Kittansett is a pretty stout par 3 as well.  Intimadating  green - a true DOGLEG par three, as is the 17th at Merion.

My choices would be #17 at Merion, #9 at Yale ( with pin on the back tier !!), #3 at Kittansett and.............................# 5 at Pine Valley.

All good holes, but I gotta go with #5 at PV - the shortest par 5 in golf.   No where to hit the ball but on the front half of the green or the fairway in front of the green. Right ,left, long are all WRONG !  Much more intimidating than the #10 or #14 at PV.

[Mark Chaplin]

Scott I have to disagree re Pine Valley 5 and 14. Although I know nothing, 14 is a 4 or 5 iron from the middle tee with no bail out, fortunately I've hit it 2/3 and got up and down on the miss. 5 is a tougher shot to hit the green and chase par but there is a generous bail out option and a reasonable chance of making par from short and relatively straight. My nemesis is the 3rd!!

[Phil McDade]

any list that doesn't have #12 at ANGC is incomplete

David:

Augusta's 12th may seem intimidating, but to the pros, it has played as easier than all but one of the other par 3s at Augusta during the Masters. Its fear is over-rated, at least in that tournament.

[Bob_Huntley]

Mauna Kea      275 yds over water

Carnoustie       240 yds

New Course     198 yds  With inclement weather this can be a real bitch.

Bob

[Jason Topp]

New Course     198 yds  With inclement weather this can be a real bitch.

Bob

Bob are you referring to that hole at the end of the New Course (9 or 10)?  I consider that hole one of the best spots on earth. 

[Dan_Callahan]

No to take this thread on a tangent, but I wonder if there is a more intimidating back-to-back sequence of par 3s than 13 and 14 at Newport CC. While the 4th is probably the most difficult par 3 on the course, I find 13 very difficult, with an uphill tee shot to a semi-blind green, with bunkers and rock outcroppings staring you in the face. At 165 yards, it isn't long, but from the tee you really can't feel any wind, and you know that when your ball gets above the hill, it'll almost always hit a serious headwind.

That is followed by 14, a 210-yard par 3 that is completely exposed and has been into the wind every time I've been there. It plays slightly downhill, but even so I usually have to hit a hybrid to get there.

[Howard Riefs]

#6, Cape Kidnappers

From the website: "An epic par-3 across a deep gully. Miss to the left and you can kiss your ball goodbye, but the green does bank sharply from right to left to steer balls back toward the hole"




http://www.capekidnappers.com/cape-kidnappers/course_idl=28_idt=3577_id=20800_.html

[Josh Tarble]

Howard,
On the course, I don't think that hole is too bad...the carry isn't crazy long (I did play it down wind).  6 is really good though, has a lot of characteristics of a redan.

 I thought hole 8 and 11 were more intimidating.

[Sven Nilsen]

Chicagoland:

12 at Skokie - carry over water to a raised green
5 and 8 at Butler - water carry on both, 5 has a peninsula green, 8 just doesn't fit the eye
17 at Beverly - long with a severely slanting green

Australia:

7 at Barnbougle - don't go left
7 at RMW - perhaps not the hardest hole, but you can't see the green surface on the uphill tee shot

[Ash Towe]

Howard,

I will second this nomination.  It is intimidating but the design of the green does help bring the ball from right to left.  However if you miss the green to the right or you are above the hole, you are left with a very difficult chip.

[Dan Kelly]

Minikahda No. 3 -- short but dangerous. Nowhere to miss, and a killer green.

[JMEvensky]

How about the 2 or 20 at Engineer's?

[Philip Gawith]

Surely 14 at the Ocean Course belongs in this list? A tough green to hit and a brutal recovery shot if you miss.

Philip

[jim_lewis]

For me it's Pine Valley #5 by a wide margin. I start thinking about that tee shot on the plane enroute to PV.

Previously mentioned is Carnoustie #16.

Not mentioned:  Country Club of Charleston #11

[Sean_A]

Addington's 13th is a nasty bugger especially after playing the 12th.



Rye's 7th too is intimidating once you know the hole.  At first glance it looks a run of the mill good hole.  There is quite easily a high number to be had by anybody on this hole.


I find Little Aston's 13th infuriatingly intimidating.  Again, once one knows the hole he knows the danger lurking.


Of course, what is intimidation if it can't be with a short iron in hand?  The Postage Stamp looks awfully small.  A hole which outposts the Postage Stamp is Burnham's 8th on the Channel Course - geez - it doesn't just look small it is small.  

Ciao

[Tom_Doak]

I am amazed at how many of these holes have been stretched 30-40 yards since I first saw them.  The Port Royal hole is one, I think it was 165 yards in the older course and it looks silly at 240.  The sixth at Crooked Stick was nowhere near 200 yards back in the day, either.

One of the most intimidating-looking holes I've ever seen was the ninth at Brancepeth Castle, England.  It was getting dark when I got to it, but I think the hole was 220 over a ravine, and played between trees from the back tee.  Looked impossible!

I am guessing that one or two of the short holes at Dismal River will earn a place on this list when they are open for play.  Perhaps one or two at Streamsong, as well.

[Mark Saltzman]

I said it earlier, but here's a picture..

The 8th at Uplands, 232 yards of intimidation...

[Ben Jarvis]

#4 at Royal County Down

#2 at Royal Dornoch

#15 at Kingston Heath

#5 at Royal Melbourne West

#16 at Thirteenth Beach (Beach) in windy conditions

[Mike Hogan]

These intimidate me.

#5 Dismal River


#9 Kingsley

[David Davis]

Some great photos of intimidating holes although I have to say that by far the most intimidating thing I've seen yet is in Howard' s photo of #6 at Cape Kidnappers. I can see how to deal with the difficult tee shot, however, that bridge looks really exciting with the front section missing like that. Is there an alternative route to the green?

[Scott Warren]

Patrick and Mark,

The lay-up on the 5th at PV is at least as hard to hit as the green on 14, and many of the misses are worse.

On 14 I have between a four iron and a six iron depending on the wind. If it goes in the water you drop down below and pitch on for three. But the reasonable area to hit your shot - grass and sand - is quite large for a drop shot mid to long iron. And the green is not nearly as treacherous as the 5th.

I have missed the green both right and left in a few different spots and recoveries don't even approach the terror of a simiar miss on the 5th.

You can make lottery numbers on the 5th through a comparitively marginal miss, it's uphill ever so slightly and at least three clubs longer than 14.

It's not even a contest.

[Patrick_Mucci]

any list that doesn't have #12 at ANGC is incomplete

one more

Oakmont #8

I don't think that either hole is intimidating.

# 8 may be long, but intimidating doesn't come to mind.

# 12 is moderately challenging, but I think it's length prevents it from being intimidating.

[Patrick_Mucci]

# 11 at Fenway and # 11 at Pacific Dunes