Favorite Par 5 You Have Played

JB

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Seems like an odd question but I was talking tonight about par 5s and my favorite I style. I like lots of them honestly but my favorite recently is either one of the Clive par 5s at The Hideaway or #17 at El Campion called The Devils Delight.

Both very different holes. So what makes a good par 5 to you and what is your favorite you have played.
 
18 on the Hawk corse at Pridis Greens. A stream on the left with a pond that can come into play on your tee shot and another up by the green. Woods all down the right side and a slight dog leg left. Real ballsy to go for it in two but need to be precise when laying up as the green is severely two tiered.
 
I really liked #8 at Aviara. The dogleg left with the big lake in front of the green makes you think.
 
The one that comes to mind is the 18th at Dove Canyon CC in So Cal.

If you hit a very precise drive you can get up to a pond and have a shot at reaching in two. But the tee shot isn't easy, the left side is a hill and you are basically dead if you pull your ball there and you can obviously put your ball in that water, too.

If you decide to go for it in 2 you have to carry water and front bunkers into a green that is mostly perpendicular to your approach, so you have to be precise.

If you decide to lay up that same pond narrows the rest of the fairway which means you have to hit a purposeful second shot that has some precision.

Third shots from that spot are into a tiered green, so again you have to hit a precise shot to have a chance at birdie. Balls on the wrong tier bring 3 putt bogeys into play.

Put it all together and three great shots can get you an eagle. A single bad shot brings bogey or worse into play. A single mediocre shot and you really have to work to save par.

On top of all that the hole is very scenic. The tee shot is through a shoot of trees. The green has a huge waterfall on a rock wall. The beautiful clubhouse is above that overlooking the hole.
 
#4 at Kinderlous Forest in Valdosta, GA. Not the longest par 5 out there but it offers plenty of challenges and is definitely a risk/reward hole. I do delieve THPers have been bitten by this hole far more than they have conquered it. The green itself can be an absolute bear to 2 putt.
 
Hole 3 at Pembroke Lakes Country Club in Pembroke Pines, Florida. It is the most well-kept course I have played on, it is plush from tee to green. The hole is a long and wide with a canal along the left and trees far out right. The canal is more in play but the hole gives you all the confidence in the world to get after it. The approach shot remains fairly length and the green is guarded by a bunker on the left front and entirely behind the green. The greatness comes from the hole position. The green is large and the first half of it severely slopes uphill and then levels out. Sometimes they place the hole in the front of the green which makes for some very rewarding wood/hybrid shots. But when placed on the upper level, you must be extremely precise with your layup yardage and your approach shot. The hole is a great combination of strength and touch.
 
My favorite par 5 is between two holes and they are quite different.
#17 at Morgan Creek is a straight away par 5 with a wide fairway and an elevated tee, playing 485 from the Blue tees and 493 from the tips. The green is shallow and wide and has a pond guarding the front out to 100 yards. Hitting driver always leaves me making a decision to go for it or not and it's usually right in that range that you should go for it but you find yourself squeezing the club tight. Just as likely to make a birdie, par, or double here.is

#18 at Hyde Mountain is an absolute demon of a hole, but so fun and so beautiful. It's a 557 yard par 5 dogleg right. The fairway slopes downhill at a fever pitch and slopes off to the right tree line severely. The closer you get to the green the narrower the fairway gets until its pretty much impossible to hit and hold. The green has way more slope to it than the human eye can read at first. Par here feels like a birdie truly.
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The one I had my first ever natural eagle on. I believe it was #9 at Cog Hill Ravines during the gauntlet. Such a good memory for me so that one sticks out. Mward and I won that hole with a net double eagle/net eagle between us.
 
Hideaway Dye #18
Hideaway Clive #1

Love those holes even though I played them both like crap
 
Number 9 at True Blue, for sentimental reasons. Mike Stranz in general makes some really fun par 5's that don't demand you perfectly place drives to still have a shot at.
 
I honestly cant think of one......I have really haven't played any courses to date that come to mind. I will keep thinking
 
18th at Northview , risk reward part 5 where for former Air Canada championship was played. The water hazard loves golf balls I have heard .

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I'm glad you said l Campeon, that hole was just brutal but one of the best par 5s I've played in recent memory, I'm going with the Devil's delight. One of my favorite courses
 
Seems like an odd question but I was talking tonight about par 5s and my favorite I style. I like lots of them honestly but my favorite recently is either one of the Clive par 5s at The Hideaway or #17 at El Campion called The Devils Delight.

Both very different holes. So what makes a good par 5 to you and what is your favorite you have played.

Funny considering I was just there this past week. I love that hole and creates options while also being frustrating at the same time.

This exact conversation got brought up during our round there and my dad said #18 at pebble for him while I said #11 at Lonnie Poole in Raleigh, NC. Loved everything about seeing the skyline of the city while it also being the longest hole I've ever played.
 
Four popped right in my head. All are great holes.

#16 at TPC Sawgrass Stadium.
#16 at Bay Hill
#18 at Torrey Pines South
#18 at Kapalua Plantation

Kapalua has incredible views. Bay Hill can be gone for in two, with a great drive. Even I've been able to go for it once. Sawgrass is a great strategic hole. Both Bay Hill and Sawgrass are the start of three great finishing holes. Hard to pick a favorite in this group. I've played all of these four.

I think #13 and #15 at ANGC are my two favorite par 5's though. So important on that wonderful Sunday in April.
 
Hideaway Dye #18
Hideaway Clive #1

Love those holes even though I played them both like crap

These two popped in my head immediately. 18th is my favorite.

Honorable mention is #17 at Mission Inn
 
Hideaway Clive # 8. Probably my favorite view from a tee I've ever seen. Fun second shot where even not-so-big hitters have a chance to reach in two, and a wonderful big green with a lot of slope.

Kapalua # 18. Literally hitting down the side of a mountain, with a gorgeous view of the ocean. It will be the longest drive you've ever hit in your life. Everyone will feel like an #internetgolfer.
 
Hideaway Dye #18 - just so beautiful and it can be a risk/reward hole if you are long enough.

Poppy Hills #9 - this hole is all about the approach. A good drive crests the hill and will feed towards the green. Once faced with the approach you can either lay up to 80 yards out to the left or tackle a myriad of trouble (bunker left, creek short, forest right) to try and get home in two. What makes it fun is that long is such a steep slope that you can sling it deep and it has a good chance to come back to the green. The green is enormous and undulating and two putts are very tough. Just a tough hole and I find it fun.
 
#18 at Buffalo Ridge


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I would say #16 at TPC Sawgrass, not because it is long but because it is one of the best risk/reward second shots you'll ever be faced with - such a chance to go low or go high all on one shot. The other I enjoy is #15 at Pine Valley, long, big opening tee shot over water that sets up for a power fade and a tree lined fairway with waste bunkers following you to the hole, target golf at its best.
 
#18 PGA National Champion Course
 
Wynn #18 - A great finishing par 5 on the best course I've ever played. A slightly elevated tee box with a creek on the left and trees on the right. If you don't go for the green in two, your third shot can be nerve racking as you'll probably have a small gallery watching you from the hotel. The waterfall back drop is fantastic. Here's a view of 18 green from the hotel.
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Jdtox and myself secured our first granddaddy point on The Dye Course at the Hideaway on #7.
I made a 10 footer for bird in our format. Always will be a special hole for me.

I also loved #18 on the Dye.

The Clive CLark course has a couple cool par 5's as well. 8 and 13 were cool holes.


Arcadia Bluffs #11 is a cool hole as well.
 
Not necessarily for myself (I'm not long enough to go at it in two), but I like #4 at True Blue. You take on a ton of risk going over the water on the second shot, but if you can get there it's a hole that can tip a match/round.
 
Clive Course #1 is tops on my list.
 
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