Par Three 10th's - A Routing Trick?

[Mike Hendren]

I notice Oyster Harbors' 10th hole was a par three.  In Tennessee alone, Cherokee, Richland (NLE), Memphis and Belle Meade all have par three 10ths.  Coincidence or did Ross, and perhaps his contemporaries often use par three tenths to make a directional transition in the routing or to perhaps to pierce the property's interior for a loop within a loop or to effectively utilize a corner of the property (Beverly's 10th)?

Mike

[Jeff_Brauer]

Not familiar with the coures you mention other than Belle Meade, but it seems to me Ross often had sites where the Clubhouse was in a corner and sometimes there isn't enough room to fan out four full holes. I think he had more than a few par 3 ninth holes, too.  Its not all clubhouse, and while he wrote he liked to finish 5-3-4, he didns't specify the order.

I had a client ask for a par 3 10th once on the basis of the slowed play resulting in more halfway house sales.

[Jim_Coleman]

   Rolling Green, Bel Air, Winged Foot.  I'm sure there's hundreds of them.  Just statistically, 4 out of 17 courses should have par 3 10ths (assuming 4 par threes per course without one on #1).

[Alex Miller]

Since it's got its own thread going, can't forget Wilshire's too!

[J_ Crisham]

Beverly, Quaker Ridge, Lawsonia , Eastward Ho come to mind from recent plays as good par 3  tenth holes.

[Kevin Cahoon]

#10 at Prairie Dunes is a fantastic par 3 that transitions you to the back 9 very nicely. I realize it is not #10 on the original routing but it functions the same way as a number of the courses that have previously been mentioned.

[Ronald Montesano]

At times, the land around the clubhouse lends itself to a change-in-elevation par three (Orchard Park CC and Park CC, near Buffalo.) The former is a Travis, the latter an Alison. I find a par three opening hole on either side to be a shock to the system, especially if it is long and uphill, as both of these are. For golfers coming off a respite/libation at the turn, the need to hit a solid hybrid or long iron is a daunting challenge. Count me a fan.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Westchester

[mike_beene]

Perhaps a way to keep them from switching the nines on you later

[Tom_Doak]

At Stonewall, both courses have the 8th hole come back to the clubhouse and a par-3 9th going away, so that members can start on either #9 or #10 as they desire.

Another great course with a par-3 at the turn:  Royal County Down.

[mike_beene]

Austin Golf Club, Brook Hollow and Winged Foot West have nice 10th hole par 3s. Really like Brook Hollow where the entire hole is in view of the clubhouse and putting green

[Lester George]

Ed Ault used a par 3 ninth or tenth frequently.  I always heard he used it as a deterrent to switching nines.

Lester

[Carl Nichols]

Congressional's par 3 10th is no worse than its old par 3 18th, and by flipping that hole around they were able to have the course finish on the terrific par 4 18th and reduce the walk from the 9th green to the old 10th tee.  The new 10th tee is right in front of the clubhouse and overlooks the pond in front of the 10th, providing a great place from which to watch play.  In fact, that's where they now hold all of their member-guest playoffs.

Unfortunately, the new walks from 10 green to 11 tee and 18 green to clubhouse are pretty long. 

[Mike Hendren]

Austin Golf Club, Brook Hollow and Winged Foot West have nice 10th hole par 3s. Really like Brook Hollow where the entire hole is in view of the clubhouse and putting green

Similar dynamic at Cherokee and Memphis in TN.  Particularly Memphis where the tee is directly in front of a massive porch and the hole plays directly away.

[Terry Lavin]

I wouldn't call it a routing trick.  The examples I've seen (Beverly, Bel-Air and Prairie Dunes come to mind) are all terrific holes that utilize the natural land to perfection.  The Beverly hole is a great corner hole, where the architect  used a minimal amount of very uninteresting land and build a devilishly benign but difficult flat hole.  The Bel-Air 10th with the iconic swinging bridge traverses a barranca of some sort that is hard by the clubhouse.  Just a terrfic hole.  And the best of the bunch, as Cahoon mentioned above, just may be the 10th at Prairie Dunes, with a tee box that could double as a spot for al fresco dining, it's so close to the clubhouse.  The tee shot is semi-blind up to a Spion Kop-like green that is ingeniously built into a natural dune with some very wicked and deceptive bunkers.  An outstanding golf hole.

[Curtis Woods]

Interestingly, the 10th at Prairie Dunes was the 7th in the original 9-hole course that Perry Maxwell first designed and built in 1937.  It became the 10th in1957 after Press Maxwell designed and built the additional 9 holes and the course was renumbered. 

[Mike Nuzzo]

Tom Doak also used one at The Rawls course.
He obviously could have done what ever he wanted.

There seems to be a number of silly reasons if the goal was not to produce the best course possible.

[D_Malley]

St. Davids - 9th & 10th are both par 3's

[Ally Mcintosh]

At Stonewall, both courses have the 8th hole come back to the clubhouse and a par-3 9th going away, so that members can start on either #9 or #10 as they desire.

Another great course with a par-3 at the turn:  Royal County Down.

You had that 8th / 9th setup in East Lothian also (before new holes and maybe even before new clubhouse if there is one?)

[V. Kmetz]

Hello,

By the measure of the question, then Quaker Ridge is the "trickiest" of them all...a par 3 9th AND 10th!

Likely the only Top 200 course with this feature, if not the only well-regarded course with such an offering.

But to the original intent of the question, I think having a Par 3 10th is less a "trick," and more like a thesis from the architect about what worked best for the property.

If the:
a. quality of the hole available for that par 3 is outstanding...
b. and the subsequent 8 holes of the Back Nine route are of a pace where the player won't get starved with only 1 remaining one shotter...
c. and the site of the hole works with the property plan (near clubhouse turn, a congregation point, allows a range or parking or maintenance bldg to be sited well)

then...hot dog sales or not...

I say let it be a Par 3. 

It is "tricky" to pull off well and WFW #10 is a great example of something that meets the criteria, the flow and quality of the subsequent routing is such that even with the final  Par 3, the 13th, coming just 2 holes later, the breakup of 4s, and 5s  from 10 and around 13, do not make a player regularly note the absence of a one shotter in the final 5.

Though it's a different foxhunt altogether, I have to note that although I feel as though it is some sort of unwritten taboo, I have found myself liking, more than disliking, an opening Par 3 when I have encountered it.  Ideally I would like to have that hole be 210-240, with little hazard or wild topography, but an interesting green.  A hole where most can take a swing with a wood...5w, 4w, 3w, Driver and start their day with a short solvable pitch for their 3, an easy 4...2s get the day off to a nice start as well.

cheers

vk
   

[Kris Spence]

Michael, the 10th at Memphis was originally a short par 4, the green was @ 35 yards behind the current green.  We suspect it was altered in order to lengthen 11.  If you study the 1940 ground level photo of the approach shot into the 14th, you will notice the fill pad shoulder of the 10th in the background of the green.  Comparing the photo to what you see today it is obvious the 10th was relocated.

The current 10th green hooks into a back left hole location, the original hooked into a back right thumb location.  The bunkering was kept somewhat in line with Ross' original plan when they moved the green.  The cross bunker 30 yards short of the green in the aerial now abuts the front left corner of the green.

I am hopeful we will get to recapture all of the lost green space in 2013.  It was pulled out of the project in 2010 to give the club more time to evaluate grass varieties for the putting surfaces.

[Mike Hendren]

Kris, thanks for the info and update onb Memphis.  Surprised to hear they're considering grasses for the greens as Rod Lingle is one of the pioneers for Champion bermuda and maintains a wonderfully fast set of putting surfaces. 

MIke

[Bill Brightly]

At Stonewall, both courses have the 8th hole come back to the clubhouse and a par-3 9th going away, so that members can start on either #9 or #10 as they desire.

Tom, did the owner give you any grief when you first routed the 8th hole as the returning hole at the Old Course at Stonewall?

Did you make concerted effort to find other routings that would have a 9th hole returning?

Of course, what works well is that even if a member only has time for 9 holes, it is just a short walk back after a par 3 ninth.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Par 3 10ths seem to be common on Tillinghast designs.

Quaker Ridge, Winged Foot, West, Baltusrol Upper to name a few.

Spring Brook in NJ has three par threes in a row, 9, 10 and 11.

Do any of Bethpage's courses have a par 3 10th ?
Shawnee ?

[Tim Martin]

The 10th hole at The Orchards is a par 3 where Ross used a creek that runs north/south across the property as a diagonal hazard. The creek is a prominent feature of the routing and it is used on a number of holes throughout the round. I think the par 3 works well as it allows Ross a segue to get you out to the southern section of the property while incorporating the hazard.