I found myself playing some courses over the holiday in Florida that lacked short Par 3's under 150 yards. To me this is often a sign of variety, one of many ingredients in a great course.


PINE VALLEY has the 10th hole

AUGUSTA NATIONAL we will consider the 12th a 155 yard downhill shot to be short

SHINNECOCK has #11

CYPRESS POINT has #15

Pebble Beach has #7

MERION G.C. has #13

NATIONAL Golf LINKS has #6

Why don't modern courses have short 3's and short drivable 4's?

good point cherry hills has a driveable par 4.

Designers are now focusing on punishing drives that go slightly astray or too far now rather than punishing the bad shot in a risk reward situation. I think that it is a sad thing now that courses have become this way. Royal Melbourne is a great course because it has many fair holes and all greens have some king of risk/reward no matter if its a half wedge or a full fairway.

Oh god! Driveable par 4's on public courses can KILL round time. A local course around my area has a par 4 that plays only 310 from the tips, and this hole gets MOBBED every day! I'm talking at least 45 minutes to get through this one. Every hacker that steps up on the tee thinks they can hit it from 280 on the whites. It kills me!