Golf architecture has succumbed to the long ball. Drivable par 4s and 290-yard par 3s are all the rage. A one-shot hole that is a delicate pitch to a daunting target has been all but forgotten. Not that they were ever that popular. The best took courage to design and courage to play. We’re talking about truly short par 3s, ones no longer than a football field, end zones included, 120 yards more or less.
The 155-yard 12th at Augusta National is too long for our purposes, as is the 137-yard island-green 17th at TPC Sawgrass. Fine holes, but not pitch and putts. Same with the newly remodeled 16th at Sleepy Hollow, undoubtedly great, as is Dr. Alister MacKenzie’s 15th.
We’re talking about the real shorties, like Royal Troon’s famous Postage Stamp (below), site of this year’s Open Championship. Here are seven examples. Most of them are the 18th-handicap hole at their club, a rating that shows just how much overemphasis is placed on yardage in golf.
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