Latest news with #par3
CBS News
4 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Shannopin Country Club's 17th hole features very unique green complex
The 17th hole at Shannopin Country Club is one of the most unique and most difficult par 3s in the Pittsburgh area. Shannopin Country Club was established in 1920, named after the Lenape tribe Chief Shannopin. Located just 10 miles north of Pittsburgh, Shannopin has one of the most unique and difficult par 3 holes in western Pennsylvania. The 17th hole plays 200 yards, downhill, and is guarded with several bunkers, but what makes the hole stand out is the green. "It's 42 yards from front to back," said Shannopin Country Club head golf professional Eric Teasdale. "At its widest point, it's only 10 yards wide. So the green slopes from back left to front right on both of those greens. It's kind of like you're hitting right into the green like that. It's 194 yards downhill, true yardage, not counting slope or anything. We can get it up to a little over 200 yards." The difficult 17th hole can make or break a lot of matches played at Shannopin. "Our 17th-18th hole is a very hard hole and they're matchbreakers for sure," Teasdale said. The tee shot on the 17th offers no real bailout area with out of bounds to the right and two bunkers guarding the front part of the green. Approach shots that miss to the right of the green will have a nearly 15 foot pitch up the hillside to contend with. "Any time that pin is in the back, we have very few individuals that hit it all the way onto the green," Teasdale said. Downhill putts on the slick surface will be hard to contend with and leaving yourself a tap-in par will be a big win. "Anytime you make a 3 on this hole, you're happy," Teasdale said. Founded: 1920 Public or Private: Private Location: 1 Windmere Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15202 Phone Number: 412-761-2900 Website: Course Designer: Emil Loeffler Par: 71 Yardages, Course Rating, and Slope Rating:
CBS News
5 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Meadowink Golf Course's 11th hole doesn't leave much room for error
Meadowink Golf Course in Murrysville might not be the longest course in the Pittsburgh area, but it's still challenging and features a difficult par 3 that doesn't leave much room for error. The 11th hole at Meadowink is one of the nicest par 3's in western Pennsylvania. It's a beautiful golf hole, but don't let that beauty fool you. There's not much room for error with water and two sand traps surrounding the front and left sides of the green. The tee shot provides a bit of a downhill carry to the green and shots short of the pin that make their way onto the putting surface will allow for an uphill putt. Putts will tend to break towards the water and if you can make par there, it's a good score. The Elite 18 Meadowink Golf Course Founded: 1970 Public or Private: Public Location: 4076 Bulltown Road, Murrysville, PA 15668 Phone Number: 724-327-8243 Course Designer: Ferdinand Garbin Par: 72 Yardages, Course Rating, and Slope Rating: White - 6,139 yards - 70.7/122 Gold - 5,284 yards - 66.6/116 Red - 5,103 yards - 65.7/115
CBS News
07-07-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Pheasant Ridge's 4th hole is a challenging par 3 with a treacherous two-tiered green
The 4th hole at Pheasant Ridge Golf Club is a challenging par 3 with a two-tiered green and is among the best golf holes in western Pennsylvania. Pheasant Ridge Golf Club in Gibsonia is a hidden gem of sorts and its 4th hole is one of its highlights, not only a tough tee shot but you're hitting the ball uphill and into a two-tiered green. The 4th hole at Pheasant Ridge Golf Club is a challenging par 3 with a treacherous two-tiered putting surface. KDKA Drone Team / KDKA Photojournalist Ian Smith "It's a great golf hole, a very difficult par 3" said Pheasant Ridge Golf Club owner Christian Knapp. "If you miss left here, you're pretty much dead. You're going to be playing Plinko to get out of the trees. You might as well mark down a 6 on the scorecard then." You definitely don't want to miss left or right, for that matter and when the pin is in the back of the green, you want to make sure you have enough club. The 4th hole can play as short as 110 yards from the front tees and as long as 200 yards from the back. "There's a lot of range on this hole," Knapp said. Approach shots that land on the bottom tier of the green will require some extra power to get up the slope while putts from above the hole that run long are at risk of falling down to the lower level of the putting surface. A par on the 4th hole at Pheasant Ridge is a great score. The Elite 18 Pheasant Ridge Golf Club Founded: 1998 Public or Private: Public Location: 6065 Rittman Road, Gibsonia, PA 15044 Phone Number: 724-502-4993 Website: Course Designer: Eric Knapp Par: 72 Yardages, Course Rating, and Slope Rating: Blue - 6,600 yards - 72.0/135 White - 6,085 yards - 70.0/128 Gold - 5,358 yards - 66.7/120 Red - 4,924 yards - 64.6/114
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Oakmont's 301-yard par three - a gimmick or psychological masterstroke?
This week's 125th US Open will feature the longest par-three hole in major championship history at 301 has been called "ridiculous" by Collin Morikawa, who hit a driver off the tee in practice, and "silly" by Viktor Hovland, but will the eighth at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania prove to be a gimmick or psychological masterstroke?John Bodenhamer, chief championships officer at the United States Golf Association (USGA), wants players to "get every club dirty, all 15 of them - 14 in their bag and the one between the ears" at a course which "prides itself on being America's sternest test of golf".The eighth was the first 300-yard par three when Angel Cabrera triumphed at Oakmont in 2007. The Argentine holed a 20ft putt for a two in the final round and was the only one of the leading contenders to make has been a talking point for more than 70 the 1953 US Open the eighth played 253 yards, longer than the average drive by a PGA Tour player that the distances have increased, the average length of drive for a PGA Tour player is still shorter, at 300.9 yards, than the par three will play in 2016 it played 299 yards in the fourth round, four yards longer than the par-four 17th in round is just a number but, as 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy pointed out, "the psychology of par is amazing"."If it's a par five and you're coming in with a fairway metal [with your second shot], you're thinking there's a chance you can make three," he said."But if it's a par three, you hope you don't make four or five."No-one likes to get a wood out on a par three. There's a bit of ego involved. But sometimes you have to." What have the players said? The eighth is down on the scorecard as a 289-yard hole, but tweaks to the tee box and pin position will extend it to a record distance."I haven't played it since they lengthened it to be a short par five," quipped Jack Nicklaus, who won the first of his record 18 majors at Oakmont in 1962, while former tour pro Paul Goydos once mischievously claimed the hole could host a longest drive and nearest-the-pin Min Woo Lee posted a picture of the hole yardage at 289 yards and par score of three on X with a video of him hitting his tee shot and a message reading: "Hey @USGA someone put a three instead of a four."Morikawa, winner of The Open in 2021, featured in a video on a practice day asking: "Am I the only one hitting driver? I mean, this just seems ridiculous."Last year's Open and US PGA Championship victor Xander Schauffele shot back: "It's the perfect club. You don't look very comfortable."European Ryder Cup player Viktor Hovland said: "As soon as you start to take head covers off on par threes, it gets a little silly."Not that world number one Scottie Scheffler is getting caught up in the hype. "Whether it's a three wood or driver from that back tee, basically I'm just going to try to get the ball on the green and two-putt," he three ranked Schauffele said: "You just figure out how best to make a score on it. You might hurt a few egos if you see guys pulling driver or long clubs."Ludvig Aberg is similarly unfazed. "I've never had anything against a long par three. I guess I'm different," he US PGA winner Justin Thomas said after a scouting trip to Oakmont a couple of weeks ago: "That's not my favourite hole. I couldn't tell you a par three over 250 yards that's good, architecturally." How tough is the eighth hole at Oakmont? Architecturally, the hole has been tweaked for 2025 by renowned course designer and renovator Gil has extended the 'Sahara' bunker that dominates the left side of the hole, adding a section that juts out into the eyeline some 80 yards short of a green which is regarded as among the flattest on the has also removed bunkers from the back right of the green. In their place is some of Oakmont's notoriously thick rough, which, at five inches deep and hugging the edge of the putting surface, will be arguably tougher to escape from. The eighth ranked as the eighth hardest hole on the course in 2016, yielding only 24 birdies and players taking an average of 3.30 2007 it ranked as the fourth hardest with only one in four tee shots finding the was the only hole that Johnny Miller bogeyed during what is regarded as one of the finest rounds of golf played when he won the 1973 American shot nine birdies as he posted the first 63 in major championship history, but took three putts from 30 feet after finding the green with a four-wood tee shot on what was then a 244-yard hole. Longest par-three holes in majors Unsurprisingly, Oakmont's number eight will hold the top three spots - and six of the top 10 - at the end of this third and fifth on the list will be the seventh and 11th holes at the Los Angeles Country Club, which measured 299 and 297 yards respectively in round two of the 2023 US three holes will share 13 of the top 15 spots in the list, with only the third hole at Merion (266 yards in round four in 2013) and the second at Shinnecock Hills (264 yards in round four in 2018) disrupting their longest par three played at The Open was the 16th at Carnoustie in 2018 at 248 yards, while the US PGA Championship set up the 14th at Valhalla to play 254 yards in 2024. This year's Masters at Augusta National featured a fourth hole that was 240 shortest par three at a major was the 15th at LA Country Club, which played only 81 yards in round three in 2023.
Washington Post
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
US Open '25: Oakmont's par-3 8th hole requires removing a head cover
OAKMONT, Pa. — Maybe no one would complain about the eighth hole at Oakmont Country Club if the term 'par' had never been created in championship golf. But there it sits in the middle of the this tough U.S. course, the longest par 3 in major championship history, 289 yards on the scorecard and certain to top 300 yards in actual distance for one round, just as it did in 2007 at Oakmont.
