Call Us Today (00 44) 7740 500140

Five of the best: Tiny par threes

So much of the discussion around modern golf is about power and distance but sometimes the game still requires a delicate touch. This is never more true than when standing on the tee of a par three with nothing more than a wedge in your hand. Without the defence of raw distance, ultra-short holes rely on devilish hazards and cunning design to snare the golfer. Here are some of our favourites:

Eleventh, Castle Stuart, 144 yards

Castle Stuart’s stunning layout is famed for its expansive views but, when standing on the 11th tee, the golfer would be forgiven for feeling a bit squeezed. The teeing grounds are jammed into a steep hillside, looking down to a narrow green which is equally jammed on the very edge of the shore. Everything feels like it has been shoehorned into a very confined piece of perfect linksland.

Any kind of wind requires careful consideration. Unlike most links holes, the 11th offers little encouragement to land your approach short and let it run on to the green. But if you let the ball hang in the air for too long, it could be wrapped in a sudden gust of wind and its final resting place is going to be at the mercy of the golfing gods. However you choose to meet the challenge, watching a tee shot soar away against a background of rippling waves across the Moray Firth, is a sight to behold.

Eighth hole, Royal Troon (Postage Stamp), 123 yards

The eighth at Royal Troon is created from a very simple concept; put a tee on top of one sandhill, level off a tiny green on the side of the neighbouring sandhill, surround the putting surface with tiny bunkers and watch the chaos unfold. Pictures don’t do the dimensions of the Postage Stamp justice. It’s a short hole that feels incredibly short – so much so that you find yourself whispering to playing partners on the tee so as not to distract golfers putting out on the green 123 yards away.

Miss the green and you will be negotiating one of the brutally deep bunkers that ring the putting surface or, even worse, trying to play a controlled shot from some fearsome rough. There are no easy bailouts. And all this from a hole that’s barely longer than a football field.

Fourth hole, Machrihanish Golf Club (Jura), 132 yards

The opening stretch at Machrihanish as utterly majestic; an intoxicating mix of beaches, burns and bunkers. A golfer playing this remote Highland links for the first time would be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed by the time the fourth tee is reached. At just 132 yards from the tips, the fourth should be an unthreatening flick of a wedge. And on a still day, the tee shot to a small green rising from the sand hills is pretty straightforward. When the wind blows, however, it’s a whole different ball game. Managing the ball flight becomes a serious challenge and three seemingly bottomless pot bunkers loom large on the mind, as do the knuckles of rough that will deflect a poor shot into the knee-deep rough.

Sixth hole, Machrihanish Dunes, 134 yards

The modern links at Machrihanish Dunes sits right next door to Machrihanish Golf Club and a day spent playing thirty six holes on these two spectacular courses is one Scottish golf’s biggest treats. Mach Dunes is the brainchild of David McLay-Kidd, the Scottish architect who rose to prominence for his work at Bandon Dunes. Threaded out on a stunning stretch of links land, McLay-Kidd’s applied the mantra of “less is more” to his work here. Ground movement was kept to a minimum, resulting in a refreshingly natural feel.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the short sixth, where a tee shot over a gully to a tiered green is only the start of the adventure. The tiered putting surface is a green blanket of bumps, humps and hollows and careful scrutiny of the pin position is essential before teeing it up.

Third hole, Shiskine (Crows Nest), 128 yards

Scotland has many quirky golf holes but no course is quirkier than charming Shiskine, on the Isle of Arran. It’s the country’s only 12-hole course for a start, and that includes no fewer than seven par threes. Shiskine’s variety of short holes is staggering but our favourite is probably the third, a 128 yard gem that, once played, is never forgotten. It’s a blind par three to a green hidden around 90 feet above the teeing ground. The first-time player’s only help is a marker post situated halfway up the hillside. The climb to the green is rewarded by one of the most stunning views in Scottish golf. The course unfolds beneath you, the Arran coast spreads out on either side and on a clear day you can see Ireland on the horizon. Upon putting out, you wave a big red flag to let the following group know it’s safe to play. It all sounds a bit mad, and perhaps it is, but it’s also the most incredible fun.