40 Yale, says that the hole was terrifying in his day. “Yale’s ninth was a full driver back when I was there,” he explains. “And you did not want the pin on the front level, because you couldn’t stop the ball over the water. Those were days when the ball released more on landing than it does today. Nowadays, the equipment means that good players hit the ball further – and higher – than they did, and it stops more quickly. So the idea of testing a running shot isn’t as relevant as it used to be.” Jones goes on to add that, in his opinion, maintenance practices have a significant impact on players’ – professional players especially – views on long par threes. “Mowing patterns have a lot to do with the issues,” he says. “At tournament level, closely mown slopes around the green mean that when players miss the green, they end up further away from it. I think that has a lot to do with their unpopularity.” Steve Smyers, of Smyers Craig Coyne, likes the eighth at Oakmont. “I believe Oakmont is a fantastic championship venue and the eighth is a great golf hole that will help identify a competitor who is worthy of being the US Open champion,” he says. “When Angel Cabrera was victorious in 2007, during the final round he executed a fabulous long iron to 25 feet and calmly rolled in the putt. He credited that birdie as a pivotal moment in his round that helped propel him to victory.” Smyers says the publicity about the hole obscures its true nature. “While the eighth measures just over 300 yards, it plays much shorter than the yardage,” he explains. “The hole plays a bit downhill and the land slopes to the putting surface encouraging the competitor to land his approach short and to use the slope of the land to his advantage.” Or, in other words, the rollout of the ball means the hole tests the same kind of skills as the MacRaynor Biarritz! “There is definitely a place for a long par three and I will always try to incorporate one, along with a short one, as part of the par three ‘set’,” says European Golf Design’s Dave Sampson, who redesigned the Marco Simone layout in Italy ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup. “The long par three LONG PAR THREES “ Sixteen at Cypress Point is pretty special, but I definitely think there’s some potential viewing reasons that make it a great hole” When Cypress Point opened in 1928, the par-three sixteenth played some 230 yards
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=