Back in the 1990s, Treetops was the place to be. Teaching pro Rick Smith was the man in charge, and his students were some of the best players on tour. (Lee Janzen, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh etc) He added three courses to Treetops but his most famous one is his shortest.
Threetops is a nine hole par three course. From 1999-2006, it held the ESPN Par-3 Shootout. The very first one saw Lee Janzen ($260,000) edge out Phil Mickelson ($230,000). The following year Ray Floyd would win the most skins, and Phil once again came in second. In fact, Phil played in the first seven shootouts, never winning it, and coming in second five times. The best shot is undoubtedly Lee Trevino’s ace on the par three seventh in 2001 which won him a million dollars. The pin was in the rear and the ball carried past, spinning backward ten feet into the cup!
(The 159/146 yard par three second has alternating greens with alternating tees. I love the big bunker cut into the hillside short of the left green. It’s a bit “out of the box” but the two greens perfectly employs the wide ridge they sit on.)
(Lee Trevino’s ace came on the 150 yard downhill par three seventh. It drops 90’…
…look how high up the group on the tee is! Today’s pin position is only playing 116 yards!)
Links Magazine called Threetops “…one of the baddest par three courses in America.” I’ve had the privilege of playing both Bandon Preserve, a thirteen hole par three course, and Palm Beach Par-3, an eighteen holer that is one of the best in the world, and I would rank Threetops up there with both of them. The elevation change is so cool! How do you gauge 145’ drop?! It’s awesome!
[I wanted to comment on our golf trip. We had eight guys, and stayed in the Jones Cottage, a four bedroom cabin with every bedroom having its own bathroom. The kitchen and living room shared a two-sided fireplace, televisions in every room. We got three nights, five rounds of golf, price tag of $750! That is a great value! When I was at Bandon, that was my daily price! Obviously we’re not on the ocean, but for an affordable guys trip, it’s hard to beat Treetops!]
I’m doing something a little different with my blog. I played all five courses at Treetops and instead of sending them out one at a time, I decided to sent them all out at once. Here are the links to the other courses. I personally have them ranked in the following order:
1) Signature
2)Masterpiece
3)Premier
4)Tradition
Read them for yourself and enjoy!
Signature
Masterpiece
Premier
Tradition
(Pinehurst, Bandon Dunes, Sand Valley, all premier golf destinations, have added par three courses to their rota. It’s safe to say Rick Smith’s creation here at Treetops was the catalyst for this trend! That, in my opinion, deserves major recognition!)
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