Not many of us can handle a 290-yard bunker carry or drive the green on a 360-yard par four. Yet, anybody who can get the ball airborne from a tee has a chance to make history at an ultra-short par three.
While most holes of this breed occupy the lowest architectural rung, there is a fistful of remarkably memorable one-shot tests that amaze with scenic value and compel with design inspiration. Perhaps surprisingly, more than 20 courses in The LINKS 100 feature one or more terrific holes of 150 yards or less.
For this exercise, however, we’re going to narrow that category even further—to outstanding par-three holes 135 yards or less based on back tee scorecard yardage. That limitation excludes the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, which now measures 141 yards, and the 17th at Friar’s Head, which plays 145 or so, but has no actual posted or scorecard yardage.
Here then are the top 10 ultra-short par threes in The LINKS 100, from shortest to longest.
Pebble Beach Golf Links, 7th Hole (Pebble Beach, Calif.)—106 yards
The tiny green at Pebble’s tiny 7th is perched on a craggy nook above wave-splashed rocks and is further isolated by bunkers. As the target for a downhill tee shot, it may well be the best framed golf hole in the world. On a calm day, a three-quarter flick of a wedge will get the job done. When the wind whips, even the pros require 5- and 6-irons, as they did on the final day of the 1992 U.S. Open.
Barnbougle Dunes, 7th Hole (Bridport, Australia)—122 yards
Considered one of Australia’s greatest links, this sophisticated 2004 Tom Doak/Mike Clayton design sports a stirring seaside setting in Tasmania, with holes nestled down in the large dunes that run parallel to the ocean. Among its greatest holes is the petite, breeze-addled 7th, a 112-meter gem known as the “Tasmanian Devil.” Its crowned green falls steeply off the back and to the right and further terrorizes with deep bunkers to the left.
Royal Troon (Old), 8th Hole (Troon, Scotland)—123 yards
Of all the holes on all the links that make up the rotation of Open Championship courses, the shortest of all is the par-three 8th at Royal Troon. It is also one of the most dangerous par threes in the world. From an elevated tee box atop a seaside sand dune, the “Postage Stamp” asks for an all-carry shot over a valley filled with tangled rough and low bushes to a skinny green that is propped up but set below the level of the tee box. The green is further protected by a high hill on the left and by five bunkers that ring the green. With wind off the Firth of Clyde usually blowing across or into the golfer’s face, short irons need to be precisely struck.
Cabot Cliffs, 9th Hole (Inverness, Canada)—126 yards
As the third par three on the front nine at this Nova Scotia modern classic from Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, it might be easy to overlook the shortest of the course’s six par threes. Don’t make that mistake. The dainty 9th checks in at 126 yards, with a green site draped on the cliff top. A massive bunker fronts the green, and others guard it back and right, but with crosswinds a common occurrence off the sea to the left, the architects helpfully carved some sloping ground to allow for a friendly kick.
Merion (East), 13th Hole (Ardmore, Pa.)—127 yards
Created by William Flynn in 1924 west of Cobbs Creek to replace an earlier Hugh Wilson-designed effort, Merion’s most diminutive hole can still test the best, with a massive fronting bunker obscuring its oval green. At either the 115 tee or the 127 tee, the 13th seems an adjunct of the clubhouse, as if it were a practice hole. Rickie Fowler described it “a really good wedge hole for a par three,” ahead of the 2009 Walker Cup, yet at the 2013 U.S. Open, Geoff Ogilvy, the tournament champion in 2006, called the hole “the only one on the course where you can take a breath. It’s really difficult to not hit inside 20 feet putting uphill.” That wasn’t the case for Phil Mickelson. An eagle at the par-four 10th catapulted Lefty back into the final-round U.S. Open lead, but a crushing bogey on this “easy” hole handed the lead back to Justin Rose, who eventually triumphed. Billy Horschel and Luke Donald were two others in the top 10 that bogeyed the hole on Sunday.
Garden City Golf Club, 2nd Hole (Garden City, N.Y.)—130 yards
Long listed at 137 yards, this venerable creation from Devereux Emmet (1899) and Walter Travis (1906) checks in at 130 scorecard yards today. At either number, it’s a mere flick over an old quarry known as the “Bottomless Pit,” which once yielded sand and gravel for local road construction in the 19th century. The long, narrow green is further menaced by three additional bunkers to the right and behind the putting surface. Golf clap to Scottish pro Laurie Auchterlonie, who parred the hole all four rounds during his six-shot victory march at the 1902 U.S. Open.
Cape Kidnappers, 13th Hole (Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand)—130 yards
Often overshadowed by the strategically supreme, drivable par-four 14th and the staggeringly dramatic par-five 15th is the bantam-sized, seaside-squeezed 13th. With cliffside and ocean oblivion awaiting any pulled shot to this domed, horizon green, the key is flighting the ball properly in its tee-to-green journey. Typical of any Tom Doak design, the green is graced with vexing contours, so don’t count on an automatic par merely because you found the putting surface with your tee shot.
The Country Club (Main), 12th Hole (Brookline, Mass.)—131 yards
For the 2022 U.S. Open, the pint-sized, 131-yard par-three 12th of the Main course, which had been recently restored by Gil Hanse, was put back into service as the 11th hole on the Championship course. Not seen in top competitions since 1913, it became part of the composite makeup for one reason: “This is a really neat golf hole—let’s use it,” said Jeff Hall, the USGA’s managing director, rules and Open championships. Indeed, this downhill test quickly leaped into fan favorite territory, as a seemingly gettable hole that proved anything but. The rippled, right-to-left tilting green falls away on all sides and is guarded by three bunkers to the left and by a vast sand pit that covers the entire front of the green. Leaders Matt Fitzpatrick, Scottie Scheffler, and Rory McIlroy all managed to bogey the hole during Sunday’s final round.
Los Angeles (North), 15th Hole (Los Angeles, Calif.)—133 yards
Although members and guests dueling with this unique little gem can play the 15th at its listed yardage of 133, U.S. Open competitors in 2023 faced a test of 124 yards—and on Saturday’s third round, it played at just 81 yards, the shortest hole in U.S. Open history. Ahead of the 2017 Walker Cup, U.S. star Will Zalatoris called it, “the coolest hole I’ve ever played.” The crescent-shaped putting surface is 43 yards deep and is pinched in every way by bunkers. Yet, it is the dimple-sized restored mound (by Gil Hanse) in the middle-left of the green that dominates the hole in the way the pot bunker does in the middle of the 6th green at George C. Thomas’s Riviera. Miss it on the wrong side of that protrusion and a brutal two-putt awaits. Leader Wyndham Clark bogeyed the hole on Sunday, but he hung on to lift the trophy.
Bandon Trails, 5th Hole (Bandon, Ore.)—133 yards
The inland beauty of Bandon Trails manages to be perpetually underrated and so its par-three 5th hole isn’t better known. Yet, this 2005 Coore & Crenshaw creation captivates with its beguiling blend of dunes, forest, and meadow and everything comes together at this short thrust across a wide gulley. A smiley face of five bunkers frames the green magnificently, but it’s the putting surface itself that’s the real star. Measuring nearly 150 feet front to back and bisected by some wild undulations, the contours can funnel your ball close to a tap-in birdie—or leave you in four-putt territory.
Cypress Point, 15th Hole (Pebble Beach, Calif.)—135 yards
Amid the wind, waves, trees, bunkers, and carry over an ocean-roiled rocky chasm, you ponder: It’s inconceivable that land this stunning was made available for golf. Walker Cup golfers and spectators will see for themselves this September. Perched atop a rocky headland above the Pacific, the itty-bitty 15th poses sufficient challenge for a hole of its length, thanks to the presence of a prevailing west wind and to the small target bracketed by a phalanx of six bunkers. If you can keep your head down long enough, 3 is in reach at the prettiest package in golf.
Probably the greatest non-water feature short hole in US is the old 14th at Engineers. This hole is from 95 to 115 yards. It became known as the 2 or 20 hole in the US Amateur because both those scores were recorded. Gene Sarazan once made an 11. It is a reverse redan located on a ridge guarded by fairly deep bunkers
I’ve had the honor of playing #7 at Pebble and #’s 15 and 16 at Cypress. Our caddie told us at Pebble that he’d seen everything from a lob wedge to 3 wood on #7 depending on the strength of the wind. #15 at Cypress isn’t quite as imposing as it appears, but #16 is even more difficult than expected because there is usually a stiff breeze in your face, which makes the 233 yard carry more like a short par 4. I hit driver there and my first shot hit on top of the cement wall that guards the green’s front. I bailed out left on the second shot….
5 at Old Macdonald?