i have a special opportunity to design a nine hole par 2 course. there are plenty of design features in the form of trees and obstacles. no elevation changes, but ceilings are low and the foliage ranges from open to tunnels. any thoughts on designing par 2s? it does not seem as simple as taking the second two shots of a par 3.

Come to The Grange & play Tiki. 'Nuff said.

Seems like you would be designing holes from 50-100 feet which is fine. When you have holes this short, seems like only 6 baskets might be needed with maybe three tees at each so you could play 18? I wouldn't think you would have events with more than 30 players if you have events at all.

i have a special opportunity to design a nine hole par 2 course.



With waterfalls, island greens, honeymoon cabins, 2 story boat docks, and a lake on the left? Speaking of, WE need to make sure that place is still doing okay. :D

THIS is a different place.

the shots will be more like 80/100 - 150/200 i hope. i'd like to have challenging tee shots and not just make a pitch and putt. definitely longer than Ace Race.

the idea of multi-hole baskets might work... hafta think about it though. player numbers is not a factor, as this is ANOTHER limited access, private course.

Instead of a par 2 course, con you think of it as a par three course at shorter distances. I recently did a school course and thinking along the lines of 150'-170' drives to a landing area and then an approach made for an interesting course for more experienced players too.

i have a special opportunity to design a nine hole par 2 course.



With waterfalls, island greens, honeymoon cabins, 2 story boat docks, and a lake on the left? Speaking of, WE need to make sure that place is still doing okay. :D



Special courses need special people to test them out for you...I'm special

THIS is a different place.



Could THIS place be much closer to home? :D

Rusty's right, he's special. ;)

Instead of a par 2 course, con you think of it as a par three course at shorter distances. I recently did a school course and thinking along the lines of 150'-170' drives to a landing area and then an approach made for an interesting course for more experienced players too.



This is the proper persective. Par is based on average score for the hole. Tighten the fairway so accuracy is a must, an errant drive forces a three. You can be creative using island greens, mandos etc. Putt-Putt D-golf :)

rusty and john should be probed for attacking special people ;)

short par 3 is a no go, i think, gary. not quite long enough. i could force short shots off the tee, but then why not just make it a very compelling par 2. there may be 4-6 par 3's out there but it would get tricky on routings and safety.

i really detest mandos in all but the rarest of cases. we avoid them if there is any way at all.

I guess it's more the idea of a bunch of nearly straight ace runs as opposed to a bunch of shaped shots with the chance of a rare ace. Making that kind of course challenging requires land with character.

Good luck with it.

Instead of a par 2 course, con you think of it as a par three course at shorter distances. I recently did a school course and thinking along the lines of 150'-170' drives to a landing area and then an approach made for an interesting course for more experienced players too.



Gary, are you talking about GR Porter here? I played it last weekend...great entry/beginner level course! Hopefully the school will integrate DG into their phys-ed program. Seems like it will be good for more advanced players too in that you can really hone your midrange / putter game out there.

Yes, that is a good example. The school district is working on developing a curriculum for the fall. The rec department is discussing installing at least one more beginner course near another school. Things are looking up in Mesquite.

Only hole 5 is really out of place. It shouldn't be in the outfield. It should be about the same length and 50 feet right on the side of the hill.

This may not apply directly to this example (i.e. a private course), but I think the key on designing a par 2 course is taking the targeted customer into consideration. In many cases, you don't need to design it based on the skill level of your league regulars and local pros. Often these short courses attract mainly beginners and rec type players. If it's in a neighborhood that is accessible by bike or walking or at a school, perhaps a great deal of kids or young families will flock to it. For these people, 150 foot open fairways may be the perfect course for them to get into the sport and progress from there. Don't design it for your pros if they aren't going to be the ones using it, and don't fall into the trap of trying to toughen it up just because a couple of local hotshots ridicule the course as too easy.

Along those lines, Marshfiled, WI has (or had?) a short open par two course in Wildwood Park. A relatively open area on limited land space with mature trees, very short fairways, pretty much only needed a putter and maybe a Roc to play it. But when we had our family reunions there, I'd bring a box full of putters and midranges and hand them out to anyone in our group (or other groups if a youngster came up and asked) that was interested in trying out the sport. Countless people had a great time, didn't have to worry about disc eating shule or tough tight fairways, and got their first exposure to the sport. For a pro, it wasn't worth the time to travel to this course. But the family members and friends had a blast there every year. Wish we still held our family reunion at Wildwood Park.

Design it for those who will play it. Starter courses have their place as well as the par 72s.