I started out “Throwing Caution to the Wind? Designing a Safe Blind Par 3 in Today’s Litigious Society” in Golf Course Architecture with these words:

Beauty: Next is one of the prettiest holes on the Links – The Dell. The green is a small triangle and is surrounded by high benty hills. 

                                                             Limerick Chronicle of 15^th October, 1895

Suspense: And now, teeing on the brink of the burn, your next shot is over – let us hope over! – the mighty Himalayas. 

                                                             Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes

Challenge: As the Doric name implies (literally “blind wallop”), this hole is a blind drive, round a stony escarpment of the hill. “It is a bit like threading a ball through the eye of a needle.” 

                                                              A Century of Golf at Cruden Bay– 1899-1999

The Dell at Lahinch, Himalayas at Prestwick, and Blin’ Dunt at Cruden Bay are blind par 3s. The Dell and Himalayas are revered short holes with immediate name recognition. Along with Blin’ Dunt, all have connections to none other than Old Tom himself. The likes of Bernard Darwin and Horace Hutchinson have spoken fondly of blind shots and the thrill of running to the top … to see what happened on the other side.

On this page, I’m going to chronicle the stories of the precious few blind par 3s left on the world’s golf courses. Join me by posting your comments, accounts, links, and photos of blind par 3s.