SPECIAL
On any given day, in wind, in rain, a par-3 of any length can be despairingly difficult. It can be like threading the eye of a needle. But some par-3s leave us in tears even on the most perfect of days.
By
Kevin Markham
THERE are multiple considerations in defining how tough a par 3 can be. Length is an obvious and instant challenge but what about sea/cliffs along one side (Portmarnock 15, St Helen’s Bay 17, Old Head), what about shots to a green well above you (Woodenbridge 4th, Lurgan 11th, Carne (Hackett) 16th)?
What about a par-3 as the opening hole (City of Derry), or final hole (Killarney Mahony’s Point, Portumna)? What about yawning chasms (Muskerry's 6th, Carne (WAD) 10th) and vast stretches of water (Mount Wolseley 11th)? What about small greens (Kanturk) or heavily shaped greens (Cork GC's No 7, St Patrick’s Links 17th)? There are multiple factors that make it a challenging hole. Yes, long holes are daunting (e.g. Fota Old 203-yard 17th, Old Conna 236-yard 2nd) but length alone should not be the key factor as many come with ‘friendly’ bail-out areas. But tie in all of the above criteria and you could produce a par-3 nightmare. There are hundreds of par-3s to consider – 1,600 at a very rough guess – but the following is what I consider to be the toughest 40 we have. These are listed alphabetically but include a ranking of the top 10 toughest par-3s in Ireland. No doubt, I have not included a couple of obvious ones and I’m sure that people reading this will say “he’s left out such-and-such” but that’s the nature of personal choice. Hole measurements are taken from the white (or equivalent) tees.
Adare's No 16
Par: 3
icon155 yards
Index 16
The new Adare has some remarkable holes and the 16th remains one of its signatures. You will face three very different holes depending on the pin position. The green runs at a slight diagonal, beyond and above the pond: if the pin is front left then you’re playing a hole of 120 yards; if it’s back right then the hole becomes 180 yards. Now factor in the water across the front and the famously steep run-offs around the back and it is little wonder this hole plays as tough as it does. And yet it looks enchanting from the tee with the line of Copper Beech behind.
Arklow's 3rd
Par: 3
icon179 yards
Index 7
A green partially tucked out of sight behind two dunes barging in from the left and right means you see only a small amount of the putting surface. A tier runs through the green, from front to back, so you want to be on the correct level. Miss the green and if you’re not in sand you’ll have a hanging lie in tangled dunes.
Ballybunion's 3rd
Par: 3
icon214 yards
Index 9
Three of Ballybunion’s holes make this list. Little wonder with the strategic challenge of each. Here, from a high tee, you are immediately flummoxed by what club to hit to a well-protected green. If you’re not 100 per cent convinced you’ve made the right club selection you have no chance of finding the green.
Ballybunion's 12th
Par: 3
icon183 yards
Index 8
The tee shot is uphill to a long and elevated hidden green, with severe drop-offs front and right, and a dune rising to the left. Bail-out? Not likely. One tricky hole that gives you nothing if you are not on the green. If the 15th wasn’t so difficult, the 12th would be discussed far more frequently. At least the putting surface is relatively smooth.
Ballybunion's 15th
Par: 3
icon206 yards
Index 4
This is such an intimidating tee shot to a green below, with absolutely no forgiveness around it, a sweet ocean backdrop and the constant threat of wind to muddy the waters of club selection. Bunkers, steep dune sides and a green that tilts towards you all compound the challenge and there is, literally, no get-out-of-jail card here… which makes it all the more interesting that it is a par-4 from the red tees.
Blacklion 2nd
Par: 3
icon180 yards
Index 5
Water waits on three sides and a bunker protects the lone bail-out area. That bunker also covers half the pin positions. Simply put: it’s green or disaster.
Buncrana's 3rd
Par: 3
icon240 yards
Index 5
It is 240 yards to a green surrounded on three sides by mounds 10ft high with an angled green. It leaves an entrance just nine yards wide. Who needs a bunker when the green is so small and well protected. Even laying up can see the ball kick sideways.
Carlow's 17th
Par: 3
icon145 metres
Index 17
This is a pulpit-like green at the top of a ridge, the small putting surface angled between bunkers. Laser-like accuracy is required. Missing will prove costly and the safest ‘miss’ may well be one of the bunkers.
Carne's 16th (Hackett)
Par: 3
icon170 yards
Index 14
Many's the golfer who has landed inches short of the green, high up the slope, only to watch that ball streak 40 yards back towards the tee… leaving an even more daunting second shot. It is an unpopular Hackett hole for that reason… but any shot to a par-3 needs to be well judged and the 16th just demands your very best.
Carne's 10th (Wild Atlantic Dunes)
Par: 3
icon214 yards
Index 10
A long tee shot must carry the deep chasm that drops to the 8th fairway. It is a knee-trembler, especially with big dunes to the right and a green that looks surrounded. It is tough to get close to the pin (and the green, for many) and certainly not the simplest two-putt you’ll encounter. Aim to the right of the green, away from the chasm, and the slopes will help you.
Carrick on Shannon's 13th
Par: 3
icon184 yards
Index 4
Not as uphill as some on this list but the green is tucked sharply into a small hillside. The putting surface is narrow and there is little room to bail-out with bunkers below. Use the bank above the green and hope you don’t get stranded.
City of Derry's 1st
Par: 3
icon217 yards
Index 8
As opening holes go, this is a brute. I used to think Grange’s original opening hole was tough but City of Derry’s asks so much of your first swing. The fairway has a significant tilt down to the right so the safe play is to aim left of the green and let the ball run in. It is 208 metres from the red tees… and a par-4.
Clonmel's 14th
Par: 3
icon185 yards
Index 3
The green sits at the foot of the mountain, with nothing but Irish beauty rising up behind the flag. You cannot miss right (trees and stream) and the small green feels tightly enclosed by the trees.
Connemara 13th
Par: 3
icon206 yards
Index 9
The green sits alone and isolated in the rocky Connemara landscape and the tee shot will fill you with out-and-out terror. The small, shallow green is wedged onto the bank with steep slopes all around. It’s a big, all-or-nothing tee shot. It will beat you up and spit you out… and you’ll love it.
Connemara Isles 9th
Par: 3
icon186 yards
Index 1
This hole is 26 yards shorter and Index 4 on your second loop but the challenges are the same: water and coastline all along the left, a tiny green with sharp fall-offs and a lone tree front right that wreaks havoc. Not the type of final tee shot you want when you’ve got a good score going.
Corballis 17th
Par: 3
icon133 yards
Index 10
Four of the short holes at Corballis could be included but the 17th with its small banked green and steep slopes is the toughest. “I love small greens and I love a bit of quirk. However, with modern green speeds, small greens cause lots of issues - particularly for the Greenkeeper’s to find reasonable areas to rotate the cups. Modern green slopes over ~2.5% will be a problem. But different = interesting.” Ken Kearney, golf course architect.
Co Louth's 7th
Par: 3
icon153 yards
Index 10
The 7th is even tougher than the 5th hole because, while shorter, the slopes falling away from the green and penalties for missing are more severe. You could be left with any number of very tricky shots to a green that needs a razor sharp touch.
Co Sligo 4th
Par: 3
icon164 yards
Index 10
A nemesis of mine. Over 15 years of playing it and I have yet to make a par. On only the rare occasion have I even found the green. The hole looks like the stern of a ship, sticking out and high as the green tilts steeply down towards the sea. A sharp and intimidating bank fronts the green and disappears around to the right. With all that on view from the tee it is one confident swing you need to find and hold the green.
Cruit Island's 6th
Par: 3
icon150 yards
Index 15
It is too easy to say that the famous 6th is all about the wind… because a small, shallow green surrounded by chasms instils a lot of fear. Short or long is no place to be. And you may well be distracted by the sheer splendour of the location.
Dingle's (Ceann Sibeal) 10th
Par: 3
icon190 yards
Index 8
The hole is just under 200 yards and plays uphill to an elevated green that slopes away from the tee box and plays downwind more often than not. There's deep rough and out- of-bounds up the left side, one pot bunker guarding the front of the green, and two more pot bunkers guard the bail-out to the right.
Donegal's 5th
Par: 3
icon190 yards
Index 13
Red tees have it at 109m ‘Valley of Tears’ offers a sliver of green cut into a hill surrounded by bunkers and rough. No forgiveness anywhere.
East Clare's 13th
Par: 3
icon197 yards
Index 2
The challenge of length is compounded by water short of the green and a slightly angled putting surface that demands you not be beyond the pin because of the back-to-front and left-to-right slope.
Enniscrone's 17th
Par: 3
150 yards
Index 17
Don’t be left, don’t be right, don’t be long. This won’t be the only hole on the list with such instructions and Enniscrone’s 17th green is remarkably elusive. Even landing short – the only ‘safe’ miss – is to risk a narrow rippling strip deflecting your ball off target. Be on the green or expect a bogey at best.
Gold Coast 8th
Par: 3
175 yards
Index 4
You play over a beach (out of bounds) to a small green positioned uncomfortably close to said beach. Another complicating factor is the thick hedge that runs in front of the tee box and gets very close to you as you tee up. Completely messes with your head.
Greystones 5th
Par: 3
icon114 yards
Index 17
A green that has been re-shaped a few times and one that still wreaks havoc. It lies above you, a mere 100 metres away, but you see little of the steeply tiered and deceptively sloping green, or the trouble that awaits around it. A safe miss is to the right, everything else is big trouble.
The Island's 13th
Par: 3
icon208 yards
Index 7
The 13th is a complete menace that could – and possibly should – be played as a par-4 when the wind is up. There are no elevation changes here but going directly at the green is still risky given the threat of the deep hollow short of the green and out of bounds (the estuary) to the right. Favour the left where safety beckons. The green is a low-lying beauty that flows with the land so you can putt from well left of the surface.
Killarney Mahony’s Point 18th
Par: 3
icon177 yards
Index 7
Perhaps this also qualifies as Ireland’s most enchanting par-3. It is nearly all carry across Lough Leane to a green almost swallowed up by a nest of pine trees, with additional protection from bunkers. For those golfers who say finishing with a par-3 is a weak ending… play Mahony’s Point (or Lisburn, or Connemara Isles) and you’ll think differently.
Lurgan's 11th
Par: 3
icon228 yards
Index 6
Play this into a wind and you are hitting driver. The green slopes wickedly from back to front, so don’t be above the hole, or you’re three putting. Plays nearly a full shot above par week-in, week-out.
Mount Juliet's 3rd
Par: 3
icon174 yards
Index 6
A pond clings tightly to the front and left side of this green while dense trees line the right. It’s not hard to imagine how unsettling this would be with the pin on the front left. The shape and slope of the green suggests balls fall towards the water.
Mullingar's 2nd
Par: 3
icon197 yards
Index 5
Another hole commonly discussed when the ‘toughest’ category is mentioned. Your target is a pulpit-like green well protected all around as the sides slip away sharply, with two bunkers barging in from both sides. The green is 25 yards long and 20 yards wide.
Muskerry's 6th
Par: 3
icon190 yards
Index 6
A 174-metre carry over the River Shournagh to a raised green is required. The green is benched into the hill so anything short is severely punished, while anything long leaves a downhill chip. From the red tees it’s the same distance and a par-4.
Old Head's 16th
Par: 3
icon163 yards
Index 9
The 16th is the lowest index of the five short holes and, at Index 9 and 163 yards, you can understand that it requires nerves of steel with the Atlantic crashing below. The long, narrow green is surrounded by bunkers, banks and hollows. A perfect tee shot is required as you stand on a tee similarly perched above the Atlantic. Not one of the short holes is easy: Phil Mickelson once made a 13 on 13, which is Index 13.
Portlaoise's 12th
Par: 3
icon165 yards
Index 11
From the white tees this is the narrowest gap between trees you will come across on this island – although the par-4 18th at Kanturk comes close – and if you have too much shape to your shot you may want to move to the forward tees. The green is small.
Portmarnock's 15th
Par: 3
icon190 yards
Index 8
“Easiest par-5 in the world” Ben Crenshaw once quipped. Set right above the beach and parallel to it, you wouldn’t have to spend long on the tee before seeing a golfer aiming out over the beach with the hope and expectation of the wind bringing the ball back onto the property. The green looks so shapely, especially with the pot bunkers forcing it upwards to present a tempting target. You must avoid the left as a steep run-off will drag you 20 yards from the green. Hoing long is also a no-no.
Rosapenna St Patrick's 17th
Par: 3
icon176 yards
Index 14
Probably the greatest instruction in putting drama you’ll find. This is a green where you will rarely be putting straight for the hole because some of the shapes and banks are so severe you could find yourself lining up at 90 degrees. The green floats in a vast fairway, seriously confusing your perspective of the hole.
Royal County Down 4th
Par: 3
icon215 yards
Index 15
Swamped in swathes of gorse and dune is a perfect green. The longer you make the 4th hole the more of the green you will see, as tees step up through the dunes. It might even be advantageous to head further back as you can see more of what awaits. There are no tricks to the green itself, although the short sharp run-offs are never forgiving. Index 15? Good luck with that.
Royal Portrush's 16th
Par: 3
icon202 yards
Index 4
Calamity Corner puts the fear into your swing as you tee off. From the back tees you have to take on a chasm that stretches tee to green. But as the tees move forward the chasm is less and less in your eye-line. Still, you can’t unsee it and it remains a serious threat. Don’t be short, don’t be right, don’t be long… all three options will see you trekking steeply down a dune with a horrendous and blind shot back up. Your only safe option is to the left.
St Helen’s Bay 17th
Par: 3
icon203 yards
Index 3
Irish Sea and out-of-bounds line your left. The green some 200 yards away is small and partially hidden. Banks left and right and, once upon a time, they even had a bunker well short of the green to catch golfers laying up. That has gone now… and it’s still Index 3.
Tralee's 16th
Par: 3
icon179 yards
Index 9
Named ‘Shipwreck’ this hole shows golfers exactly what’s in store from the tee. Beauty and the beast. The green sits slightly below, above a rough-drenched hollow and perched above the beach. The green is hardly generous in size… or flat. The only ‘miss’ is into one of the three bunkers, because anywhere else is rough and treacherous.
Waterville's 12th
Par: 3
icon164 yards
Index 14
The beauty of the Mass Hole will lure you into a false sense of security for this can be beastly, too. Never, ever be short and, if you are, pray to be in the lone bunker front right. The small green is one of Ireland’s most elusive.
RIP: Water Rock's 12th
Par: 3
icon219 yards
Index 1
Water Rock may be gone, but few who played it will forget the magical 12th where so many balls found water that stretched from tee to green.
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