Why we should all play Par 3 Courses

Par 3 courses tell you how good you could be if you were a great driver of the golf ball. What? But you don't hit driver on a Par 3 course (mostly)! Yes, that is true. Let me explain.

The most important parts of golf are your approach shot, shots around the green (if you miss the green) and your putting. Often it is said, that if you played a around of golf with the World's no.1 Golfer and you hit all the tee shots and he/she hit all the approach shots and putts, you would have a scratch score. However, if the World no.1 Golfer hit all the tee shots and you (say a 15 handicapper) hit all the approach shots, shots around the green and the putts, you would still not break par. That is because it is much more important to be good at the approach shots, shots around the green and putting than it is to be at driving the golf ball.

This is the genius of par 3 courses.

Essentially, it puts you in the position of having a perfect drive on a par 4 or a perfect drive and lay up on a par 5 as well as the normal par 3 experience. All you have to do is concentrate on the approach shot, shots around the green and putting - which is the most important part.

You can even make it really fun and assume that 2 of the par 3's are par 5's (with your tee shot being your 3rd shot) and 5 of the par 3's are par 4's (with your tee shot being your second shot) and then the final 2 par 3's are actual par 3's. This way, you can give yourself a projected 9 hole score against a par of 36. It puts everyone on the same level in terms of driving the ball.

You know how we all sometimes say, "Wow, if I could drive the ball like a pro, I would shoot really low?" Well, prove it. Play a par 3 course and convert the holes so the par is 36. How low did you go?