Hole 3 at Pine Valley Golf Club

Research notes

• 1962 broadcast: the 3rd plays downhill to a green almost entirely surrounded by sand, a testing long-iron shot. (00:13:18)^[1]
• A reviewer calls the 3rd green almost star-shaped, set like an oasis in a sandy expanse, with pin positions that change how it scores. (reader review)^[2]
• Founding member Simon Carr (1915): the 3rd green lies about 15 feet below the tee; a serpentine bunker winds round the whole left side, and on the right two bunker mouths reach into the green at carry distance. — Simon Carr (HOLE #3)^[3]
• The 3rd is often called a Redan but is not one: high right side, right-to-left sweep and a left bunker. The front-right hole location is nightmarish; back-left rewards a draw. (Holes to Note: 3rd)^[4]
• The 3rd plays over rough topography to a skull-shaped green that leans sharply to the left. — Jerry Tarde (narration) (00:02:51)^[5]
• A 12-handicap guest: every drive has a forced carry and the landing area is rarely visible, but a roughly 230-yard driver carried them all from the men's tees and found generous fairways beyond. (playing the course)^[6]
• About half the approaches need a carry, and anything short is punished; laying up on the par 4s and going in with a wedge is no disgrace. (playing the course)^[6]
• Eight of the 10 short-course holes replicate approach shots on the main course (2, 3, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 18), with the same elevation change and direction. (short course)^[6]
• Greens can reach 12 to 13 on the Stimpmeter at tournament time, and the aim of a putt may be 90 degrees from the straight line to the hole. — Jerry Tarde (narration) (00:06:41)^[5]
• On the 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 16th and 17th the player is unlikely to see the drive land. (Holes to Note: 9th)^[4]
• Recent Tom Fazio work has removed trees, exposed more sand and moved tees back; hard holes got harder. — Jerry Tarde (narration) (00:07:31)^[5]
• The landing areas off the tee are more generous than the reputation suggests; about half the greens need an all-carry approach and the rest accept a ball bounced in from the front. (review)^[7]
• Crump died suddenly in early 1918 with only fourteen holes open; the 12th through 15th were built the following year by Hugh Wilson and William Flynn to his plans. (review)^[7]
• Crump insisted on keeping each hole isolated and on a routing that regularly changes direction. (review)^[7]
• Harry Colt had a large input into the final routing; Crump consulted many leading architects but held strong views on how the course should be arranged. (review)^[7]
• Hotelier George Crump bought the land in 1912 and spent the next six years living at Pine Valley, searching out the holes. (review)^[7]
• Pine Valley has held the No. 1 spot in GOLF's world ranking for decades, with a routing that hopscotches between islands of turf across sandy ground. (3 things to know)^[8]
• The par 3s ask for roughly a three wood, 4 iron, 9 iron and 6 iron into the 3rd, 5th, 10th and 14th for a good player. (Holes to Note: 10th)^[4]

Sources

1. Byron Nelson vs Gene Littler at Pine Valley | 1962 Shell's Wonderful World of Golf — PGA Tourhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XdVWUTLhdI
2. Pine Valley Golf Club — Top 100 Golf Courseshttps://www.top100golfcourses.com/golf-course/pine-valley
3. Enduring Design at Pine Valley — Geeked on Golfhttps://geekedongolf.com/2020/03/pine-valley-golf-club/
4. Pine Valley Golf Club course profile — Golf Club Atlashttps://golfclubatlas.com/countries/pine-valley-golf-club/
5. Every Hole at Pine Valley Golf Club — Golf Digesthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVL-gbO0fLU
6. Pine Valley Golf Club review — UK Golf Guyhttps://www.ukgolfguy.com/pine-valley-golf-club
7. Pine Valley Golf Club — Planet Golfhttps://www.planetgolf.com/courses/usa/pine-valley-golf-club
8. Pine Valley: GOLF's Top 100 Courses in the World 2025-26 — GOLF.comhttps://golf.com/courses/pine-valley-golf-top-100-courses/