Short Game Practice: The Executive Par 3 Course

Do you ever hit your short irons fat, pull your wedges, skull your chip shots or 3 putt your greens?  Do you find most of your strokes coming from 180 yards and in?  Our proposed remedy to fix these problems is to get out there and play an executive course, also known as a “Par 3”.

A Par 3, or executive course, is an 18-hole track (par 54) that, due to its short yardage, affords you the opportunity to really concentrate on hitting your irons and putting.  These short courses make excellent training grounds for beginners, and 18 holes of solid short-game work will help even more seasoned players’ accuracy.

The shorter holes take long-distance shots immediately out of focus and force you to build accuracy and consistently work on your aim.  For extra practice, try dropping a few extra balls on the tee and play 2 or 3 per hole (as long as the course isn’t backed up).  Doing so will not only allow you extra swings, but will also give you the opportunity to test out different shot types in varying situations.  For example, you may want to try a few bump and run shots and a few flop shots to see which will work better under different conditions.  Ideally, we recommend that you should play a Par 3 course once per week, preferably after work when the course is quiet.  This will give you the opportunity to set up different situations and to work on all aspects of your ‘shorter’ game.

An added bonus is the fact that these courses are lighter on wallet and can really shorten the time spent on the course.  With an average round of golf lasting 4-5 hours on a regulation 18 hole course, a Par 3 course usually plays in about 2 ½ hours and 9 holes in a little over an hour.  It can be a great way to get your golf fix without having to invest nearly as much time and money.

Our recommendation (for beginners especially) is once you have exhausted trying the tips we have given you for the driving range and the putting green, start playing 9 or 18 holes at a Par 3 course once per week.  If you’re lucky, you may just finish 9 holes in the time you would normally spend on the driving range, and you’ll most certainly gain more experience.

It’s vitally important to work on your accuracy and build a conservative golf game.  Stop trying to rely on your driver to do all of the work, after all, you really only need to get the ball half way from the tee box to the green on an average par 4 hole.  There’s certainly nothing wrong with setting up a 344 yard par 4 with a 180 yard tee shot right down the middle with a 5 iron.  Follow that up with a smooth 160 yard 7 iron to the green and two putts and you’re in for par.  Heck, 18 of those makes your scratch golfer…good luck!