Short Hole :
The so-called 'Short', a fairly generic par-3 common to many courses in the British Isles long before Macdonald began his quest for the better holes in Europe. The 'Short' specifically tests the skills of the short-iron game. Macdonald always felt there was room for improvement in a golf hole, so he (and later Raynor) surrounded his versions of this genre' with a sea of sand - elevating the green to make the target more dramatic and intimidating. These Shorts were nearly always drawn as a squarish looking green with a larger surrounding enclosure indicating sand bunkering. The bunkering details would then be developed during the construction phase. Short hole putting surfaces were generally much wider than deep, containing strong undulations befitting a shorter hole. A horseshoe feature with the open end facing the tee or a rounded dished depression were mainstays of design. Two of their finest examples can be found at the wild 6th at National and 10th at Chicago Golf Club (where two depressions are separated by a ridge).
Shorts were generally constructed 135 to 145 yards long but often clubs incorrectly added back tees in a pointless effort to gain yardage on the scorecard.
The 6th hole at Lookout Mountain.
The 6th hole at Lookout Mountain, note the severe falloff to the right.
The 9th hole at Myopia.
The 9th hole at Myopia, note the deep bunkering which makes precision a must on these short holes.
The wonderful 12th hole at Shoreacres, with a 40 foot drop from the teebox.
The 7th at MidOcean. Courtesy of www.golftravelinformation.com