[Tim Gallant]

P.S.  Cancel the above, I would go with Prestwick #5 to complete the foursome.

5 at Prestwick?  Really?  To me its a fairly dull blind shot.  Make it over the top and no worries. Bury one into the hill and its a shit fest.

This isnt easy! I'm going to avoid some obvious ones in the interest of diversity... 

Medium...
6 at Brora

Si

Some that haven't been brought up yet:

3 @ Dunbar
5 @ Gleneagles

5 Gleneagles...Si

To me, Dunbar's 3rd is the weakest short hole on the course  I nearly selected 5.

Ciao

5th at Prestwick is total *****

If a hole like this is a must, I would go with Cruden Bay's 15th because of the bail area right which is handy in bad weather of for less than capable golfers.


Ciao

Sean,


On a recent round there, I really enjoyed the 3rd. Not because it’s aesthetically pleasing (although it is), but the green had a lot of interesting contours that I hadn’t appreciated on my initial play. My playing partner and I both missed the green and bunkers and were left with some pretty interesting options. Once on the green, there were some contours that I really liked.

[Clyde Johnson]

For those that haven't seen the 1st at Winterfield:



(The green/flag is about 1/3rd from the right of shot.) The shot for me was letting a low driver pop-up from the crest of the cliff face...easier said than done !


There is a pretty good par-three there mind, the 14th:

[Niall C]

My old favourite when I was a young lad was the 13th at Royal Tarlair.


It's been so long since I've played it that I couldn't tell you whether it is a great hole. It's certainly one of the most dramatic holes that I've ever seen. Puts 16th at Cypress Point to shame.

I'm absolutely rubbish at remembering hole numbers but if you are talking about the downhill par 3 down to a rocky outcrop of the cliff then I agree its very good indeed. From the proper tee its about an 8 iron if IIRC, however I had a go at teeing it up adjacent to the preceding green and playing over the beach, and it was a very well struck 5 iron for me. An absolutely world class hole from there IMHO.

Niall

[Niall C]

Niall,


a good set of questions.


I will stick to Highland 9 holers and not include any of mine to exclude bias though would say that both the 3rd and 8th at mine are up there.


Best Short is probably the second at Nethy Bridge
Best medium has to be the 7th at Tobermory
Best long Probably the 4th at Carrbridge.
Best overall for just being spectacular, difficult and so unique would have to be the 1st at Lochcarron.


One par3 to mention on Scottish 18 holers that I doubt many have played or even heard of is the first at the Municiple in Dunbar which must be the most spectacular setting and most difficult par three in Scotland.


Jon

Jon

Fantastic stuff. I played Carrbridge so long ago I can't remember anything about it and I've only walked Nethy Bridge and know nothing about the others so you've definitely added to my want to play list.

Niall

[Niall C]

You kind of have to go with the Redan, the Eden, and the Postage Stamp on the first team, don't you?

Tom

Well, most iconic for sure but are they the best ? I'm not so sure but each is very good in its own right, and the Postage Stamp is definitely a strong contender for top short par 3 for sure.

Niall

[Marty Bonnar]

I’m going to nominate Eyemouth Golf Club for the Par 3 ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Award.
These are two holes in fairly quick succession - the 3rd and the 6th.
Oddly enough, they’re both tee shots over water, but that’s where the similarity ends.
I’ll leave it up to you to decide which is which!
 
Cheers,
F.

[Tony_Muldoon]

I’m all for Dunbar No3, as Tim says great green. 


The Kilspindie one that plays to the waters edge, 8th(?).


Nuttiest one has to be the blind 5th(?) at Anstruther that I so nearly drove with a huge ricochet off the rocks .

[Niall C]

Tony

I actually thought of having a blind par 3 category. There's one at Covesea, there's the one at The Glen, NB, both of which are surprisingly good. And then of course you have the one at Prestwick.

Clyde

I don't suppose you could post a photo of the uphill par 3 at Bonnyton with the fall off to the right, and the remains of a burn that ran from back left to round to the front of the green and beyond. I seem to recall it was in the 180 to 190 yard bracket. Certainly a cracking hole.

Niall

[Sean_A]

I’m all for Dunbar No3, as Tim says great green. 

Spangles

Its not a bad hole, but one of Scotland's best?  The 3rd helps round out the set as the other 3 are not terrible visible from the tee.







To me the 5th is far more interesting with its angled and slightly raised green. 




To be honest, I think the two shorties on the back nine are better as well!  The 10th with its dead ground starkly dividing a good from a bad shot is very cool.




Ciao

[Phil McDade]

My old favourite when I was a young lad was the 13th at Royal Tarlair.


It's been so long since I've played it that I couldn't tell you whether it is a great hole. It's certainly one of the most dramatic holes that I've ever seen. Puts 16th at Cypress Point to shame.

I played there once, approached the 13th with much anticipation, and found myself in between clubs -- I think 6 vs. 7 iron, as the wind was quartering in from my right (and I typically fade my irons). Chose the 6 iron, hit it as pure as can be, right in line with the flag. Flew the green entirely, straight into the North Sea (I think -- never saw it after it disappeared over the cliffs). Re-loaded with a 7 iron, paused a bit, then hit it as pure as can be, same line as before, and ended up a foot from the hole for a tap-in putt. Best bogey of my life.

[James Boon]

Sean,


Just checking but when you say "Si" are you going all Spanish on us and saying "Yes"?


David,


Much as I love the course, 18 at Brora feels more like a penal death or glory finish to me rather than one of the best par 3s.


As for the length of the 6th at Brora. One family holiday there as a kid was very very windy, almost too windy for golf, but I remember playing the 6th as a wedge one day, then the wind switched and it was a driver the next 


Cheers,


James

[Sean_A]

Sean,

Just checking but when you say "Si" are you going all Spanish on us and saying "Yes"?

Italian 


Ciao

[Clyde Johnson]

Clyde

I don't suppose you could post a photo of the uphill par 3 at Bonnyton with the fall off to the right, and the remains of a burn that ran from back left to round to the front of the green and beyond. I seem to recall it was in the 180 to 190 yard bracket. Certainly a cracking hole.

The picture doesn't do justice to the severity and funkiness of the right side. A hole that wouldn't even cross my mind when thinking about Scotland's best short-holes, but another reminder that many of the country's courses are littered with at least the odd fine holes!


I have got a feeling that Bonnyton had to clear nearly all of their trees on safety grounds this winter...might be worth a second look.

[Jon Wiggett]

The picture doesn't do justice to the severity and funkiness of the right side. A hole that wouldn't even cross my mind when thinking about Scotland's best short-holes, but another reminder that many of the country's courses are littered with at least the odd fine holes!


I have got a feeling that Bonnyton had to clear nearly all of their trees on safety grounds this winter...might be worth a second look.

Clyde,


certainly a cracking looking hole at a course I am not familiar with. What safety issues did the trees cause?


Jon

[Thomas Dai]

Some memorable holes mentioned so far.
A favourite of mine is the wee 7th on the St Olaf course at Cruden Bay. Very short, usually downwind, high knob to knob with a tiny green with a gunchie bank behind and a big fall off and very deep bunker in front and to the left. Suspect it might have been softened a bit but once upon a time it was a wonderfully evil wee hole, a hole where lots of 2’s were made but so were lots of 5’s and 6’s.
Atb

[Tom_Doak]

You kind of have to go with the Redan, the Eden, and the Postage Stamp on the first team, don't you?

Tom

Well, most iconic for sure but are they the best ? I'm not so sure but each is very good in its own right, and the Postage Stamp is definitely a strong contender for top short par 3 for sure.

Niall

Niall:


As Sean would say, these are not my favorite holes, but I'm happy to argue for them as the best.


Of the three, I'd argue that the Eden is the best hole, and the quintessentially strategic par-3.  That some people think it's not "tough enough" is really pretty funny, considering the train wrecks that can happen there when you don't treat the hazards with respect.


The Redan at North Berwick plays awesome.  It is very distracting visually, and there are much better versions of it in America, on that score.  But none of them are as interesting to play.


And the Postage Stamp is what it is, a very short hole with zero bailout, which isn't really my cup of tea but it has got to be one of the best of its kind.


My logic for choosing the Himalayas hole at Prestwick is very similar to that for the Postage Stamp -- if you want a beast of a long par-3, and a beast of an old-fashioned blind hole, that's the one.  It's not as strategic as the Cruden Bay hole Sean mentioned, or a lot of others. But it's the maximum contrast to the other three iconic holes I named.


I used to really dislike the hole, actually, but I've come to prize it as a great example of what golf used to be.  And it's really not as bad a hole as most say.  Yes, you've got to get it over the ridge, but that's only 135 yards from the old back tee*, which is hardly unreasonable.  After that, what it rewards above all is hitting a straight shot, otherwise the bunkers along both flanks make it a very difficult up and down.




* I think they've added another back tee since I've been there.

[Clyde Johnson]

Clyde,

certainly a cracking looking hole at a course I am not familiar with. What safety issues did the trees cause?

Jon

I could be wrong on the 'nearly all' part, it was just something I glimpsed at a greenkeepers group on Facebook...but I suspect that they have reached their shelf life, and are ready to be blown over at any time.


Some fine views over Glasgow, not to mention improved turf conditions would be a worthwhile reward regardless!

[Niall C]

Tom
 
Some interesting comment on the Eden. Perhaps I’m too thick to appreciate the strategy and can’t see by just hitting the green. Presumably the strategy is short and straight (between bunkers) to leave an uphill putt ? In my one and only play I hit pin high 6 feet to the right and had a very nervy two putt with no real attempt at all to sink the first one.
 
The Redan I’ve played a lot more, maybe 15 to 20 times over a similar number of years ? However I don’t think that’s quite enough to say I really know the hole. To me it’s one of those holes you need to be able to feel, to know how the ball will land and roll on a given line, with a given club allowing for the prevailing conditions etc. I think you only really get that feeling and knowledge through a lot of repeat plays. That’s not a criticism by the way, just an acknowledgement that I don’t have the experience to fully appreciate it.
 
The Postage Stamp on the other hand plays as you see it, as you say. Actually, I’m not sure that’s entirely true as I don’t think you appreciate how difficult some of the recovery shots can be until you’ve had them. That I think is the beauty of the hole. The difficulty builds in your mind with each repeat play. For that reason and also how the hole comes in to view as you walk on to the 7^th tee, there seems to be a greater sense of anticipation as you get closer to playing the 8^th, than say you get at NB ahead of playing the Redan, although that might just be my west coast bias.
 
Prestwick –I agree the hole is not conventional in the modern sense, and therefore perhaps to be commended for that alone, however I just think it could be more interesting if there was some ground movement to be had on the other side to perhaps make it a gathering green. I say that not in the interest of “fairness” to balance the length and carry of the tee shot, but more to provide a bit of a thrill to see where the ball has ended up. At the moment you tend to get what you hit which might be OK for the flat bellies but us hackers need a bit of encouragement and hope to help us clamber up the hill !
 
Niall

[Niall C]

Clyde
 
Great news if they are indeed starting a clear out. Hopefully this might be a trend of inland courses getting back to a more open look. As it is I’d certainly like another play, and not just for this hole which I think a beauty.
 
Niall 

[Duncan Cheslett]

I've just been playing Kingsbarns on the GC2 launch monitor in our pro's swing studio while it snowed outside.


The 15th struck me as a great par 3.  I played it about 30 times in as many minutes.


Is it as good in real life? 

[Marty Bonnar]

I've just been playing Kingsbarns on the GC2 launch monitor in our pro's swing studio while it snowed outside.


The 15th struck me as a great par 3.  I played it about 30 times in as many minutes.


Is it as good in real life? 

Oh yes.
Best played off the back tees when the tide is in and it's blowing a hoolie.
There's an awful lot of ProV1's in the bay...!

[Duncan Cheslett]

I put a few virtual balls there myself!


I soon sussed though that the percentage shot is to the left hand side of the green.


I wonder if the pros use screen golf to work out the way to play a course...

[John Chilver-Stainer]

Duncan, as a visitor this year at the Dunhill Cup I bore witness to the Pros strategy. As you say most went for the left hand side of the green with the added per centage chance that the ball could be deflected off the skulls of the unwitting and unwitted onlookers.
Which I heard rather than saw  - sickening thud, groan of pain, oohs of sympathy, laughter as ball bounces from skull to green.

I reduced the risk of getting hit by sitting behind the green, except when Klitschko teed off.

Incidently wrt the speed of play. The Ams putted quite fluently but as soon as the pros had their turn the world stopped turning too. The pro and caddy settled into a cosy little confab, the crowd chatted and the seagulls screeched.

However by far the most entertaining 3 shotter was the 6th which has an inviting downhill feed to a partially hidden green. Big club skill was required to find the best line to land the ball so it could catch a sling along the ground to the pin location.

Except for Rory who bombed the green with a direct hit.

[Colin Shellard]

Short (<150y)
11th at Castle Stuart is up there for me - probably a lot to do with the setting of the green
8th at Royal Aberdeen - can play anything from a wedge to a long iron depending on the wind at the pin position (green is 45 yards from front to back)


Medium (150-180)
16th at Dunbar - lots going for it, the beach, the wall, the road, angled green
8th at Kilspidie - stunning hole over the corner of the bag with sleeper wall infont of the green, and lots of slope on the putting surface
17th at Royal Aberdeen - 3 tier green, 5 bunkers and a drop off from 2/3rd of the green that makes getting up and down very tricky


Long (>180y)
4th at Cruden Bay - great setting again, over the river / bay, shallow green
15th at Kingsbarns - alot has been said before about this one

[Thomas Dai]

17th at Royal Aberdeen - 3 tier green, 5 bunkers and a drop off from 2/3rd of the green that makes getting up and down very tricky

The 17th on the adjoining Silverburn course at Royal Aberdeen GC/Aberdeen Ladies GC is pretty damn good as well. Tiny green. Evil drop-offs/run-offs.
atb

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()