The REAL short course movement

Par-3s are booming at resorts and private clubs, but decades of closures left gaps in local markets. Can operators reinvent short courses as bridges for the next generation?

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This past July, Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, caught the entire golf industry’s attention when its latest course Cliffhangers, an 18-hole, par-3 layout, opened to the public.

Simply put, the course is absolutely stunning, as golfers may think they’re dreaming while playing it.

Imagine this: 400 feet of elevation changes, limestone cliffsides, panoramic mountain views, rock outcroppings, waterfalls and a hole inside of a cave.

The short course was created to enamor, inspire and entertain golfers, all while following suit with a movement: the flourishing of par-3s at resorts and private clubs across the United States.

Consider the other short courses that have opened throughout the last few years, many designed by some of the world’s most renowned course architects, as an example of this movement.

In 2012, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw created Bandon Dunes Golf Resort’s Bandon Preserve, a 13-hole course near the Pacific Ocean. Due to this layout’s success, they recently developed another short course, Streamsong Golf Resort’s The Chain.

In 2024, Whitman, Axland & Cutten (WAC Golf) designed another short course at Bandon Dunes, known as Shorty’s. And in 2017, Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner created Pinehurst Resort’s The Cradle, a par-3 course that many believe helped spark the modern-day short course explosion.

BOYNE Golf in Petoskey, Michigan, opened the 9-hole Doon Brae this year, and it’s preparing to create three more 9-hole, par-3 courses across the U.S.

Garland Lodge opened Sawyer Course this year in Lewiston, Michigan. A 10-hole, reversible par-3 course, Sawyer may lead the way to other reversible short courses down the road.

Even major champions have joined the short course train.

Tiger Woods and TGR Design are involved with Pebble Beach’s The Hay, along with an upcoming municipal par-3 course in Augusta, Georgia, known as the Loop at the Patch. Jack Nicklaus’s and Gary Player’s companies (Nicklaus Design and Gary Player Design) have created several short courses as well.

The bottom line? The short course “boom” has begun and it’s likely here to stay. It could change the game of golf in various ways — possibly forever.

The big boom