Bandon Preserve at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Not taken completely seriously, par-3 courses are a frequently overlooked part of the golf world. The holes are generally under 200 yards, and the greens can usually be reached by players of modest ability in one shot. Par-3 layouts are not usually sanctioned by the United States Golf Association and hence need not adhere to particular rules. Some courses might have 9 or 18 holes, though they are almost as likely to have 6-, 10- and 12-hole layouts.

“No different design tenets come into play,” Coore said. “I’ve always felt that short par-3 holes can be some of the finest holes in golf. They negate the need for strength. An 18- or ping g15 irons 20-handicap player can hit a shot that’s as good or better than the shot a tour player can hit. Par-3s balance the playing field, and that makes things fun.”

The first known par-3 course opened in Portsmouth, England, in 1914, primarily as a diversion for vacationers. Short courses gained some competitive élan in 1933 with the launch of the Professional Short Course Championship, now known as the British Par 3 Championship. Whitten said par-3 courses began appearing in greater numbers after World War II, partly because of the architect Geoffrey Cornish, who built many short layouts in the United States, Canada and Europe. “With a little luck, beginners could hit some greens, maybe even make some birdies,” Whitten said.

“People have less time for golf, and you can get around a par-3 in just an hour and a half,” said Mike Keiser, the owner of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, which features four regulation courses. “And baby-boomer golfers are getting older. Many of our clients used to play 36 holes a day for several days. Bandon is a walking-only facility, and some of these players simply can’t walk 36 anymore.

“My mom would drop me off and say, ‘Here’s 10 bucks, I’ll get you in three hours, have fun,’ ” he said. “Sometimes, you’d have to search hard to find a guy that you could pay. The holes were pretty pedestrian and didn’t have much in the way of features. The greens were taylormade burner superfast 2.0 driver all identical circles, usually crowned, and they were often lighted for night play. Not much effort was ever put into their creation or their maintenance. It was always fun to play the par-3s, but I wouldn’t label my experiences then as anything too special.”

“If you were to review every par-3 course in America, most would fall into the ‘rudimentary’ category,” said Ron Whitten, Golf Digest’s architecture editor. “However, the same can be said for most regulation golf courses. Par-3s play an important role. They are the sandlots of golf, where people can go to build a passion for the game.”

But although the image of par-3 courses is decidedly downscale, they need not be ugly or unchallenging. The par-3 course at Augusta National Golf Club has holes that replicate some of the greens and approach shots of the famed site of the Masters. The par-3 tournament held discount golf clubs the day before the Masters has been televised in recent years, helping to elevate the status of par-3 golf, Whitten said. There is also a par-3 course at San Francisco’s Olympic Club, where the United States Open will be held in June.

There is reason to think par-3 courses will gain popularity. First, there is the economics: short courses do not require as much land, and the holes are cheaper to build and maintain. Other trends also favor short courses.

Bill Coore, who designed Bandon Preserve with the two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, said they approached the design of the course the same way they would approach a full-length course.