Par 3 Problems at Royal Troon – The Open

2 July 2024

The 152nd Open Championship will be held at Royal Troon this July and as the course is home to one of the game’s iconic Par 3s, the Postage Stamp, we thought why not take a look at them all?

Par 3s are often overlooked in the game of golf with many thinking they present a chance at a Magic Two, for the club golfer, but surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, depending on your perspective, they are a lot harder than they look.

On any given Par 3 here are amateur golfer’s scoring averages:

Handicap	0	5	10	15	20	25
Avg. Score	3.2	3.4	3.7	3.9	4.0	4.2

These are not specific to Royal Troon, we will get to that shortly, but we can see that for the vast majority of players, par 3s are more likely to result in a bogey rather than a par – let alone a birdie.

The scratch golfer and 5hcp player, which is still close to the 3.5 mark, are the only ones that typically record more pars than bogeys – food for thought. 

One thing that will become apparent throughout the blog is the importance of hitting the green and this requires a great deal of precision. To help with this, you should consider a Shot Scope laser rangefinder to get exact distances to the pin instantly.

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Now let’s look at Royal Troon

A common theme throughout all of the par 3s is how penal the bunkers can be. Deep pot bunkers and awkward lies at times forcing players to hit shots in the opposite direction from the hole.

Greenan – 210 yards

Avg. Score	Avg. score when Green hit	Avg. score when green missed	Avg. score when missed in bunker	GIR%	Up and Down %
3.6	3.02	3.85	4.09	34%	28%

One of the longer par 3s on the course, Greenan, is protected by three bunkers to the left of the green and one to the right. A ‘good miss’ here is anything long of the green or pin high and right.

We can see how average score varies significantly depending on what type of miss players have, and with a 34% chance of hitting the green, it’s more than likely players will miss.

On any given shot that misses the green, players have a 28% chance of getting up and down regardless of lie type but when we look at scoring averages we can see that there are definitely better places to miss.

Players save 0.24 strokes when they keep out the sand at Greenan, a shot that finishes in the bunker will typically result in a bogey, playing over a full stroke worse compared to hitting the green.

Moving onto the course’s most iconic hole, the Postage Stamp

Postage Stamp – 123 yards

Avg. Score	Avg. score when Green hit	Avg. score when green missed	Avg. score when missed in bunker	GIR%	Up and Down %
3.5	2.99	3.94	4.48	50%	25%

Could the Postage Stamp be the easiest par 3 on the course? It would appear that way based on scoring average. However, as we previously mentioned, the bunkers can drastically change things at the 8th.

A shot that finds its way into the bunker results in the highest scoring average of any of the par 3s with an average score of 4.48 – playing 1.49 strokes worse compared to a shot that hits the green.

So yes, it is both one of the best holes to score on and the worst in terms of the par 3s, finding the putting surface is paramount to prevent a costly bogey, or worse, here.

Interestingly the Postage Stamp has the highest GIR% but also the lowest up and down likelihood, confirming the importance of hitting the green – this hole could make or break a round.

Check out some of the top shots on the Postage Stamp here:

Alton – 178 yards

Avg. Score	Avg. score when Green hit	Avg. score when green missed	Avg. score when missed in bunker	GIR%	Up and Down %
3.6	2.98	3.81	3.98	35%	30%

The 14th hole, Alton, is guarded by two bunkers short right and one to the left so the preferred miss here is long as there is no bunkers, simple a grass runoff. 

When hitting the green, Alton gives players the best chance of all the par 3s to make a score, marginally beating the Postage Stamp by 0.01 strokes.

Players will likely miss the green here with more than 3/4s of shots missing the green, the good news, they have their best chance of getting up and down at this par 3.

It will come as no surprise that a shot that finds the sand, once again, plays a stroke worse than when hitting the green. The only plus side to missing this green, the bunkers have less of an impact on scoring compared to other holes.

Rabbit – 218 yards

Avg. Score	Avg. score when Green hit	Avg. score when green missed	Avg. score when missed in bunker	GIR%	Up and Down %
3.7	3.03	3.85	4.29	31%	30%

The 17th hole at Royal Troon, Rabbit, is the hardest on the course based on scoring average and scoring average when hitting the green.

Measuring at 218 yards off the Championship tees, it is not surprising that this hole has the lowest GIR% of all the par 3s.

A good miss here is short or long of the hole, the runoff area to the left of the green can make for a very tricky up and down.

Bunkers at Rabbit are once again very costly, some of the hardest of all the par 3s and so avoiding them is a must for those in contention down the stretch.

Par 3s at Royal Troon – momentum and scorecard killers

With four par 3s spaced throughout the round, they are perfectly placed to put on hold any momentum with the threat of a bogey for those that miss the green, finding the sand particularly costly.

The 152nd Open Championship gets underway at Royal Troon on the 14th of July.

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Note: the average handicap index for this dataset is 8.2

Check out some of the best shots at the Postage Stamp below: