[Forrest Richardson]

Someone asked me the other day what dramatic drop-shot par-3s are the most famous in all of golf. Hummmm. Only a few came to mind on the classics...Pebble No. 7 being the most severe I can think of. Devil's Cauldron (Banff) is another, although I am not sure how high the tees are. I was there when I was about 10! Some input is appreciated.

[Mark Buzminski]

Not many around here have much positive to say about Torrey Pines, but I like the 3rd (I think its the 3rd!), which is a downhill one shotter with the Pacific in the background.  Also, wasn't the short 12th (again, I think it was the 12th, anyway) at Merion a downhill Par 3? Maybe not really a 'drop-shot', though....

[Pete_Pittock]

Cleopatra at Jasper
9th at Chambers Bay
9th at Merion, 13th
maybe 10 at Pacific Dunes, they other ones at Bandon area Bandon Trails 17 and Old Mac 8
Sagebrush as 4 and 10, 4 with the better backdrop of Nicola Lake
12 at The Oregon Club
The steepest one I have played is the 12th at Mountain View in Boring, OR (an official sister city of Dull, Scotland) TRUISM

[Dan_Callahan]

Not sure if the 12th at The Country Club has enough elevation change to qualify as a drop shot, but the ball sure hangs in the air for a long time. Great hole with a green the size of a pool table.

[J_ Crisham]

My favorite is 16 at Fishers Island

[Tom_Doak]

My favorite is the Duel hole, #7 at San Francisco Golf Club.  The green is divided in two by a rolling ridge; the front is a narrow target, while the back half widens out but isn't too deep.  I'm not sure how famous it is since SFGC is so private, but it's a wonderful hole.  Likewise the 14th at Pine Valley.

There was a fetish for this type of hole in northern Michigan for many years, after RTJ built the 6th hole at Treetops, which plays almost 100 feet downhill as you look over the tops of trees in the forest beyond.  Rick Smith's par-3 course at Treetops has a couple of holes which are even more severe than Jones' version.

[Patrick Kiser]

Clear Creek's 17th would be on my short list.

[Sean_A]

I'm not entirely confident of what constitutes a drop shot, but the most famous short hole with a serious drop in elevation I can think of is #13 at Notts.  

Ciao

[JR Potts]

In Chicago - Shoreacres #12, Medinah #13 and/or 17.

[Pete_Pittock]

ANGC #6 gets a lot of televised coverage.

Also, # 11 at Monterey Peninsula - Shore might get some props on tour

[Greg Chambers]

#13 at Arrowhead Golf Course outside of Denver.  The tee is set in a red rock formation, huge red rocks towering on both sides.  The green sits about 70 feet below, with a pond behind.  Very picturesque.  A very average golf course on a spectacular site.

[Forrest Richardson]

Great stuff. Thanks. Why I failed to recall SF or, for that matter, Olympic, is a mystery. Age  Many thanks.

[Andy Treen]

Would the 12th at Indian Creek count?  Certainly a Par 3 to remember.


The second at Dorset Field Club, 119 yards.


The 9th at Taconic early this season.


The 9th from an alternate view during our 3-Day M/G.


Worthington Golf Club - #6 down the mountain 148 yards.


Here's a look from 60 yards shy, the guarding trees, and mounds/bunkers.


The green is two tiered and the ridge runs left to right at the its middle.


- Andy

[Tim Martin]

The 6th at Shuttle Meadow CC is a nifty downhill one shotter 163/146/133 fronted by a creek. I doubt it is one of the most famous but a solid Willie Park hole on a course full of them in Kensington CT.

[jeffwarne]

Merion West has a couple of sporty ones
particularly enjoyed the 4th

[V. Kmetz]

I've never played, but wouldn't #15 at Cypress Pt, be considered a drop shot? And 6 Riviera, or is that too gentle for a true "drop" shot.

Pretty famous too, if they do qualify.

I really don't dig on such holes, unless they are ultra short, like <135max.  To also clarify, when I'm thinking Drop Shot, I'm thinking a drop of 30-60 feet (or more) in elevation over a one shot space...from 80-240 yards (yes, I've played them that long, drop shot par 3s)

I don't know about you, but I've usually been left unsatisfied by any type of play on such a hole.  I've hit thin ones that worked out, I've hit "pure" ones that went into either a back or a front bunker or blew gently into a side bunker.  

The "hitting out into space" may make for a stunning scorecard picture, a golf calendar or some such; but it has so little in the masterly properties of control, finesse, and matching strategy to execution.

The greens can never be too interesting either, because what's the point of a two tiered thing, or a thing with moguls, when there's no true "shot value" on display to reach that sector, that division? There's a little more of that game element when the hole is truly short, and that's why I included that <135 max figure, as the near limit of my toleration.  

Another thing working against the greens on Drop Shot is the fact that their usually choked for air and light, but a collecting point for water.  It can be made worse by corridors and circles of trees framing the hole and the green - perfect for a photographer, terrible for a player and super.

cheers

vk

[Edward Moody]

Not a classic but here in Austin The Hills CC 14th hole is really cool. Nicklaus circa early 80s.

[Tim Martin]

Merion West has a couple of sporty ones
particularly enjoyed the 4th

Jeff-6 is the other one. Both fun holes and I agree that 4 is the better of the two.

[Tim Martin]

I've never played, but wouldn't #15 at Cypress Pt, be considered a drop shot? And 6 Riviera, or is that too gentle for a true "drop" shot.

Pretty famous too, if they do qualify.

I really don't dig on such holes, unless they are ultra short, like <135max.  To also clarify, when I'm thinking Drop Shot, I'm thinking a drop of 30-60 feet (or more) in elevation over a one shot space...from 80-240 yards (yes, I've played them that long, drop shot par 3s)

I don't know about you, but I've usually been left unsatisfied by any type of play on such a hole.  I've hit thin ones that worked out, I've hit "pure" ones that went into either a back or a front bunker or blew gently into a side bunker.  

The "hitting out into space" may make for a stunning scorecard picture, a golf calendar or some such; but it has so little in the masterly properties of control, finesse, and matching strategy to execution.

The greens can never be too interesting either, because what's the point of a two tiered thing, or a thing with moguls, when there's no true "shot value" on display to reach that sector, that division? There's a little more of that game element when the hole is truly short, and that's why I included that <135 max figure, as the near limit of my toleration.  

Another thing working against the greens on Drop Shot is the fact that their usually choked for air and light, but a collecting point for water.  It can be made worse by corridors and circles of trees framing the hole and the green - perfect for a photographer, terrible for a player and super.

cheers

vk

VK-As someone who has seen most of the Westchester County courses I will throw out Travis's # 4 on the South Course at Westchester CC as a good one and wonder what your impression is. It is in the 150 yard area but a pretty dramatic shot. I would put the South course right alongside Merion West as two courses you wouldn't tire of at 6000 yards.

[Patrick_Mucci]

VK

Neither of the par 3's you cite would be deemed drop shot par 3's

# 6 at NGLA and # 14 at Pine Valley would be two notable ones

[Phil McDade]

The most notable one in Wisconsin is on the Peninsula State Park golf course, in Door County, the 8th hole, and under 70 yards straight downhill. Nifty little hole with the wind up off the lake.

[Greg Chambers]

VK,

6 at Riviera is certainly not a drop shot.  It may actually be slightly uphill.

The temp green might be considered a drop shot.

[Bill_Yates]

The fourth at Palos Verdes Golf Club (George Thomas and William Bell). An extreme drop with the hole playing around 170 to 200+ yards. It may not be famous, but it certainly is a great hole.

[Jim Nugent]

Most extreme I heard of is that hole in South Africa:



"South Africa's Legends Golf & Safari Resort has a very special hole 19 -- a par 3 with a teebox that sits 1,400 feet above the green. The 630-yard hole requires a helicopter to reach the tee and a ball takes nearly 30 seconds to drop to the green below (provided you don't whiff it)."

1400 feet is higher than the observation deck at the Empire State Building.  

[Steve_ Shaffer]

The par3 3rd at Ventana Canyon's Mountain Course(T. Fazio)

From http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/beauty-surrounds-courses-ventana-canyon-11610/1/

Perhaps the most unusual hole, though, is No. 3 on the Mountain Course – a par-3 which requires a player to tee off on a cliff to reach the green built on a foothill over a 100-foot drop.
 
Ventana CanyonThe yardage is only 107 yards from the back, 104 from the normal tees. The climb up to the teeing area, though is significant – steps are made of rock and you almost get dizzy as you clamber up the side of the steep elevation.
 
“As far as the elevation from where you’re hitting the ball to where it should land, the elevation change is insignificant,” said Schneider. “However, the land between you and the hole – you can go down 100 feet. Then you go back up 100 feet to get to the green.
 
“The hole is in one large canyon with two very large mountains, I guess you would say. And you have to be very precise with your shot - the green is 50-60 percent surrounded by a ledge. If you do not make the putting surface, anywhere from short right to long left, you’ll go down a 30-40 foot ravine – hit it off the edge of the planet!”
 
The hole was reputed to have cost $1.5 million to build, making it at the time one of the most expensive ever built. And the green was a break-through in technology back in the ‘80s. Due to the fact that the hole is in a canyon and does not receive sunlight in the winter months, the construction superintendent placed heating coils within the green. That alone keeps the turf from freezing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVnuODwNu_E

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