In a recent Wall Street Journal article, writer Jeff Neuman discusses the need for more par-3 courses, posing that a revival of short layouts could be a boost for the game.
Neuman writes that short courses could be the remedy for a struggling golf industry. Rounds take less time, and maintenance budgets are more manageable. Par-3 courses also provide a great practice session for experienced players under game conditions. For beginner players, shorter holes equate to less frustration and more success on the range, writes Neuman.
The author writes that though short courses have struggled in the marketplace recently, they dotted the landscape in the 1950s and 1960s, when they provided entry-level golf after a period when few 18-hole courses were built because of the Depression and two wars.
Bill Coore, ASGCA will be designing a new short course at the Bandon Dunes complex in Oregon, with construction to begin in February 2011, according to the article. Coore said that short courses allow architects “to create something the golfer might never be able to experience elsewhere.”
To read Neuman’s article in its entirety, please visit here.
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