42 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Photo: Rob Perry into their hands. I do however allow for the setup committee to move tees forward on a select hole to achieve this, say on one day of a several-day competition. Today, in every one of my modern designs I include a very long one-shotter. I am a big fan of long par threes!” Kurt Bowman agrees, and points out that, whatever the par designation, such holes tend to be in fairly short supply on most courses. “Usually there are no holes with distances between 220 and 350 yards,” he says. “I like half-par holes, whether they are a par three that is effectively par 3.5 or a short par four that is also par 3.5.” Canadian architect Christine Fraser has thought hard about long par threes. “They are fascinating to me, and I think their unpopularity is more psychological than anything else,” she says. “Functionally, they should be celebrated: they ask the same bold question as a short par four: can you hit a long club with precision and control? But the reaction is often resentment instead of excitement. “Part of the reason, I suspect, is that the par three designation sets up an expectation that you should hit the green in one. When you hand someone a hybrid or wood and ask them to hit a small, guarded target, it can feel unfair, even though the same shot on a short par four would be considered daring and fun. “There’s something deeply human and universal about our reaction to being told we’re supposed to do something very difficult without any room to improvise or be creative. LONG PAR THREES Photo: Hanse Golf Design Merion’s seventeenth and Chambers Bay’s fifteenth (top) both played to around 250 yards in the 2013 and 2015 US Opens respectively, while the seventh hole at LACC North (right) was 299 yards for the fourth round in 2023 Photo: Larry Lambrecht
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