How To Play Par 3s Better? (4 Tips)

Quick List: How To Play Par 3s Better:

Hit the green by taking a conservative line.

Ensure you have enough club
Improve your ball striking and go with a stock shot.

Improve your short game

For years, I always seemed to struggle on par 3s. However, with some recent changes, my par 3 scores for an entire round have been right around par.

Over the last 50 rounds of golf, I am averaging 3.2 on par 3s.

If you are someone that is struggling with par 3s, check out the tips below to get your game to the next level.

Par 3s, 4s and 5s all present different challenges, but with the right approach and some drills you can improve your par 3 scores.

Check out the tips below that includes 4 drills you can add to your practice routine!

How To Play Par 3s Better?

The first key is to hit the green by taking a conservative line to almost guarantee a par. The second key is to ensure you have enough club. The third key is to improve your ball striking and go with your stock shot. The fourth and final key is to improve your short game.

There are three fundamentals in the game of golf that allow to you improve overall and will also help you play par 3s well. These include the following:

Control your low point to ensure solid contact

Control your start line and curve of the ball
Have enough distance to play the course

Resource: How many par 3s on a golf course?

With the tough par 3s, hit the middle of the green and walk away with par.

Tip #1: Hit The Green By Taking A Conservative Line

We have all seen it! Your playing partner steps to the tee on a par 3 and is aiming right at the pin. The pin is tucked in the front right and they hit what appears to be a good shot, but it starts just right and never draws enoug back to the pin. The golfer ends up in the bunker, chunks the first shot, hits the next one on the green and walks away with a double bogey.

But the golfer hit a solid, quality looking shot that just missed the edge! Yes, golf isn’t always about ball striking if you can’t pick the right targets and control your start line.

Instead, the golfer, if he or she plays a slight draw, should have been aiming 5-10 feet left of the pin and played their stock shot. If the ball flies straight, great they will have a 5-10 footer. If the ball draws even 10-20 feet, they are left with a somewhat basic two putt somewhere inside of 30 feet. They make their par and head to the next green with a positive mindset instead of negative feelings and potential anger from the double bogey.

We want to ensure par and make birdie if it happens. We can’ force the birdie, especially on the longer par 3s that are 170 yards plus.

Did you know that from 100 yards on the PGA Tour the average proximity to pin is 18 feet? Make sure you keep your expectations realistic, which will help you select a more conservative start line and target.

Resource: How to hit irons pure (5 keys and tips)

Tip #2: Make Sure You Have Enough Club

There are several issues that golfers often run into with yardages. The first problem is that they may not have an accurate yardage. The second problem is that they have a misunderstanding of how far they hit a club.

Here is a recent experience I saw a golfer go through. We walk up to a 115 yard par three with a bunker protecting the front. The yardage to the pin was 118 yards. However, it was slightly uphill with a slight head wind. The golfer hit his 118 yard club with is a pitching wedge. He ended up in the bunker, bladed it out the bunker and made a triple bogey.

But once again, he hit a solid shot and ended up making a triple bogey. It was more about course management than anything. I hit one more club, hit it to 4 feet and made the birdie. However, we both struck the ball similarly, but had a difference of 4 shots on the hole.

I won the match and he walked away frustrated. I would recommend creating a shot chart, which will help out greatly, especially on par 3s.

Update: If you check out the analytics from the PGA Tour you will see there is not a big difference between the best and worst player on tour from 100 yards. However, once you get back to 200 yards, there is a much bigger gap. At the amateur level, this game might exist at the 150 yard mark. Go ahead and get really good at that 150-200 yard distance, dominate the par 3s, and win your match more often!

Resource: How can I improve my distance control?

Club	Carry Distance (100%)	90%	80%
2 Utility Iron	210
4 iron	190
5 iron	181
6 iron	171
7 iron	163
8 iron	153
9 iron	143
P Club	130	123	115
Pitching Wedge	118	110	102
SW Club	105	97	91
LW Club	90	82	74

Tip #3: Improve Your Ball Striking and Go With A Stock Shot

Controlling your low point is the best way to improve your ball striking and then the next step is developing a stock shot. I prefer to play the draw and hit it 90% of the time. Below are two excellent drills to take your game to the next level and start scoring better on par 3s!

The Drill: The Low Point Control Dril

Take some yard paint and patina a 1-2 yard long line.
Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.

Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten.
You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.

If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keep your head still to help control the low point in the swing.

The Drill: Stock Shot Drill

At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 feet right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).

Complete your initial assessment see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target. Pick one side and measure your game at this point.
The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target.

Here is the drill being explained by Kyle Morris:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i0DBchRnao&t=79s

How to build a "go to" stock golf shot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i0DBchRnao&t=79s)

The combination of solid contact (low point control drill) and the ability to hit a stock shot (consistent curve) is a key step in improving your scores on par 3s!

Tip #4: Improve Your Short Game

Par 3s often have some of the most difficult green complexes and bunkering systems of all of the holes on a golf course, especially on the shorter par 3s. If you missed the green, you are going to have to hit a quality chip to give yourself a chance for par.

I remain true to the idea that the quickest way to lower your score in golf overall is to have a better short game, this is very true for the high handicap or beginner golfer.

The two drills below are wonderful short game drills to help you get better fast. The first drill will help you when you miss greens and the second drill will help you ensure you at least 2 putter everything on those longer putts on par 3s.

Resource: Top 22 practice games!

Drill: Up and Downs

One of the secrets to breaking 80 in golf is to be able to get up and down from around the green in 2 shots or less 50% of the time. This is assuming you are in the 10-20 yard range from the role. The current leader on tour does this at an 80% success rate.

The great part about chipping and putting is it doesn’t take high end club head speed or expensive equipment or lessons, but rather a simple technique and lots of practice. The game here is to take one ball and pick a spot from off the green. Go ahead and hit the chip shot and then see if you can make the putt.

Pick 10 different spots around the green and track how many times out of 10 you were able to get up and down in 2 shots or less. You can also play a competition against another person at the green and see who can get up and down the most times out of 10 or play some match play. Once again the little competition will help prepare you for the actual course and the pressure that you may face.

Drill: Lag Challenge

Mark off a spot 40 feet from the hole. Then draw putt tees around the backside of the hole and create a 3 foot radius. Take 10 balls and see how many out of the 10 you can get to within 3 feet from 40 feet.

Once again, if you can do this at an 80-90% success rate you will help make your golf round more stress free. The goal here is to prevent the 3 putt on the greens that you do hit in regulation!

Closing Thoughts: My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.

I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf. I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

A complete game changer. See links below for many of the frequently asked questions!

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

George Gankas

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

How to Break 70

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?