AAC's Long Par-3's Drawing...Reviews

Jim McCabe talks to several players about the soulless par-3s at Atlanta Athletic Club and they try as nicely as they can to point out why the lack of character makes for a less interesting test.

“I don’t know; maybe it’s a macho thing,” Matt Kuchar said. “I guess a 140-yard par 3 isn’t macho.”

After listing several of the pros' favorite one-shotters--all under 170, he shares this from Kuchar as well:

What you lose with the beefier par 3s, Kuchar believes, is the shot-making prowess. Instead of trying to slide a 7- or 8-iron into a back-right hole location or chasing a 9-iron to a top shelf, players stand on the tee at long par 3s and typically face a massive green and thus is the thought process simply to get it somewhere on the putting surface, two-putt, and walk off to a lot of people yawning.

“With short par 3s that have a lot of character, they offer you the chance at birdie, but you have the possibility of bogey, if you miss the green,” Kuchar said. “They’re a lot more fun. Not an awful lot of people have fun playing long par 3s.”