Which would you rather play a drivable 4 or reachable par 5

[Javs]

Personally the drivable par 4 is the most challenging and fun!
 

https://www.golfmonthly.com/features/what-provides-more-golfing-excitement-a-drivable-par-4-or-a-reachable-par-5?utm_term=CFEB69DA-8695-406A-822D-71925C4B6E39&lrh=afabd56f8788996dec1eed39e53e29756a4fe34c1aff9fa4fdfa9f254cbb042a&utm_campaign=075440B8-601C-4440-A9B1-8A7444061AA8&utm_medium=email&utm_content=78F5CF03-F9A3-48A6-B2DA-0DDAB4884D36&utm_source=SmartBrief

Edited January 13 by Javs

[cnosil]

They each have their appeal.  The drivable par 4 is typically a driver (for me) off the tee that I have to hit well.  There is just something awesome about saying you hit a par 4 with your tee shot.   The reachable par 5 requires 2 good shots.  The separation of the par 5 is that it could be anything from short iron to fairway wood for the second shot.  I'm kind of leaning toward the reachable par 5.  

[Shapotomous]

If I am watching the tour players, ladies or men, I prefer watching a driveable par 4.  It seems every par 5 is reachable for them so it isn't anything special to watch that.  The driveable par 4 is less frequent and I feel they are working the ball with the driver to hit the target.  To see them pull it off shows their ball striking skill and separates even the tour players.  The fade Morikawa hit off the tee a few years ago at the PGA on the 16th at Harding Park  for eagle is what I am thinking about as an example.

On the other hand....

If I am playing then a reachable par 5 is more enjoyable.  It takes two good shots and the second one I am actually aiming for the green with whichever club I am using.  Hitting a 3w or 5w at a target and pulling it off seems more skill than luck for me.

With my current distance, a driveable par 4 means 270 or 280 which for me requires more luck with the correct bounce than skill to fly the ball at the target like 2nd shot on the reachable par 5.  

Our home course has a driveable par 4 and a reachable par 5 back to back.  I get more satisfaction hitting the par 5 than the par 4.

Edited January 13 by Shapotomous

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Like the idea here.

I love the reachable par 5 in two. Takes two great shots and having that eagle putt is so awesome (granted you have an eagle on the drivable par 4 as well), but for me making those two good shots is that yesssssss moment.

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Mark me down for reachable par 5!

[bear11]

Reachable par 5

[Big moose]

Drivable par 4 especially if it's 280 or more, to be that accurate with a driver is really impressive. 

[CB Lobo 4 Life]

Reachable par 5 for sure. It is a lot easier for me to be accurate to the green with a mid iron than it would be for a wood into the green.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

I lean toward the drivable par 4. Last season, I reached par 5s in 2 a handful of times, and while that is an awesome feeling. I can recall every detail of the par 4 16th hole at Stonelick Hills where I drove the green. Because for me, driving the green on a par 4 happens less frequently, so it makes it a more desirable outcome. 

[Josh Parker]

I have a drivable par 4 at my home course that is guarded by trees and 2 bunkers. I have been on it twice and most of the time end up in the bunker and occasionally behind a cluster of trees. 

I like a reachable par 5 in two as I agree with the others, it takes two solid shots for the eagle putt. 

[Michael.Sandoval33]

Hmm at this point a reachable par 5. And when I am more skilled, drive a 4

[Kenny B]

There is a drivable par 4 at my course... if the wind is favorable.  I have never been able to reach any par 5 in two shots including the executive 9-hole course I left 8 years ago... so that will probably never happen for me.  

Watching the pros, I prefer watching drivable par 4's because they are usually very demanding tee shots.  These days most par 5's are reachable for them with an iron... ho hum!

[TJ Hall]

My own round, a reachable par 5.

Captain’s choice tournament, drivable par 4…mainly because I would likely lay up to a good yardage with my own ball, but if one is safely out there, driver all day long!

[William P]

Reachable par 5 for me as I don't they will make a short enough par 4 to be driveable for me...

[Preeway]

Definitely a drivable par 4 for me. My course for league play has several that are reachable with a smashed drive but if it’s errant then you will regret not choosing to lay up. I think driving a par 4 is a harder feat with greater risk/reward to balance than most reachable par 5s. 

[Indy_Oz]

Tough choice. I have more spectacular shot memories for par 5s, hitting a fairway wood close to the pin or in (one albatross when I was 18). But last year I did drive a couple of par 4 greens and that was very cool to do and less expected.

With modern clubs and where my game is, I feel reaching greens in 2 on par 5s is more common. Driveable par 4s around here usually mean threading your way between bunkers or having to shape shots/ hitting over trees. So my vote goes for driveable par 4.

[funkyjudge]

6 hours ago, cnosil said:

They each have their appeal.  The drivable par 4 is typically a driver (for me) off the tee that I have to hit well.  There is just something awesome about saying you hit a par 4 with your tee shot.   The reachable par 5 requires 2 good shots.  The separation of the par 5 is that it could be anything from short iron to fairway wood for the second shot.  I'm kind of leaning toward the reachable par 5.  

I’m with you, in that both the drivable par 4 and reachable par 5 holes have their distinct appeal.  At age 74 (75 in two months), I rarely encounter either one of these types of golf holes, although I did encounter both a near-drivable par 4 and an almost-reachable par 5 in my tour event on Thursday.

The fact that I played in a fairly strong wind, which was helping somewhat on a 490-yard par 5 (the card said 502 yards from our tees) meant that my drive in the center-right of the fairway left me a little more than 230 yards from the center of the green. I hit a 5 hybrid for my second shot and easily cleared the cross bunkers that were 35-40 yards short of the green, leaving me a very short chip shot onto the green. We won’t discuss what happened next, but I walked off the green with a par.

The potentially-drivable par 4 was quite a different story, however. Our tees had the hole playing 283 yards, and it’s a near-90 degree dogleg right with huge mounds and three nasty fairway bunkers plus a waste area guarding the dogleg. The hole plays slightly downhill for the first 200 yards, then sharply uphill for the last 80-85. In addition, there are two evil pot bunkers guarding the front and left-front of the green, which is slightly elevated. One of those pot bunkers was full of water, as was the first 185-190 yards of the fairway beginning just in front of the tee box. I had played the hole a handful of times over the last 5 or 6 years, and my normal way of playing it is to hit a hybrid straight ahead off the tee, leaving a 85-100 yard uphill approach to the two-tier elevated green.

Because my Garmin GPS was telling me that it was about 245 yards to the front of the green, if I properly cut the corner with a high tee shot that would get up over the dunes, bunkers, trees and waste area that guarded the corner, I decided to “go for it” on that short par 4 on Thursday. My reasoning was that my normal landing area would be extremely soggy (it had rained more than 3” over the prior two days) and anything that I hit with a hybrid would probably plug at the bottom of the valley in the middle of the dogleg. My hope was actually to leave that tee shot short of the two pot bunkers, leaving a short uphill pitch to the pin. When we reached my tee shot, it was past the pot bunkers and only three paces short of the front of the green with a straightforward uphill pitch (or chip) to the hole. I hit my 56* wedge to inside 2 feet, leaving an easy tap-in birdie.

I guess this week my preference was the “drivable” par 4 hole, even though that particular hole was full of danger if I had even mis-hit the tee shot ever so slightly.

I've attached a photo of the short "drivable" par 4 hole looking down the fairway from the tee box (that big sand pit in the center of the fairway, plus most of the fairway area beyond it was full of water on Thursday).  The bunkers at the top of the hill are the ones that I carried with my tee shot.

Edited January 13 by funkyjudge

[Javs]

Love all the answers so far! This question is very game specific. For me I expect to hit most of the par 5’s here or be very close. There are a few that I can miss it slightly and still possibly get there. The drivable par 4 is the more challenging shot. For the three courses here (depending on the tees we are playing) there are usually at least one chance each round. Some of them require a bomb off the tee. However, others require pin point accuracy. At the end of the day, hitting the par 4 in 1 is a bigger accomplishment for me. 

[RoverRick]

We have both at my club, although the “drive-able par 4” is not really in play for me anymore. On one hole in particular the green is small and water short and right and long is dead. If you miss left you half a pitch over a grass bunker to down hill green. I suspect that at most well designed courses it is the same. The risk of going for it normally out weighs the rewards, but under some circumstances it is worth it. 

I would say I prefer the reachable par 5’s. Although statistically on our shortest par 5 it doesn’t benefit me to go for it in 2. My forte is wedges and getting up and down. With OB right and long, bunkers short and left, I have far more birdies and even eagles from pitching in by laying up to my preferred distance than getting on in 2 and making the putt. Since I know I am not going for it anyway, I can take a “placement swing“ with driver or even less club..This takes the OB right on the dog leg right completely out of play. I have far more bogies or worse than made eagle putts, so why do it. 

There are other Par 5’s that are reachable that are not a penal for missing the green and I love those, even if I don’t have many eagles on them. I still have birdie opportunities. It’s just that some holes have so much trouble around them that if you miss the green you have to make a great shot to just get it on the green vs getting it near or in the hole. 

[Rob Person]

Yes!  My answer is YES!  

I have only eagled once, and have blown too many eagle chances to count. But something about that opportunity creates excitement or havoc in my head!

I have only driven a par 4, 1 time! (I rolled it on the green anyways) 370 yards, blind tee shot over a hill. Low driver shot, caught the down slope just right and it rolled onto the green.  Only to 3 putt... jeeesh.

 

[RoverRick]

Both are fun. We have a tournament in July. A Red, White, and Blue 2 man scramble. 6 from each colored sets of tees. This turns all the Par 5’s into reachable and many of the par 4’s to driveable. On one hand, it is just an exercise in course management choosing which give the best chance of success. On the other, in practice there didn’t seem to be a significant number of eagles from all these driveable holes. 

Which brings up another issue. Bryson DeChambeau is an advocate of occasionally playing the front most tees in order to train yourself to shoot lower scores. I actually was considering doing this last Wednesday but playing with only 4 iron and below. Not to get used to shooting lower scores but because I had new irons to hit. I probably would have hit other clubs on those that were driveable, but while I didn’t expect anyone else to show up, there were 7 more players that braved the 40 mph winds so I played normal tees amd normal bets. I certainly didn’t get any training on shooting lower scores. Also one of the par 3’s may not have driveable in that wind. 

[Another Steve]

Reachable par 5 for the shot at that elusive albatross!

[buckpillar]

Definitely PAR 5 - arrive in 2 and hope you don't 3 putt for par

[Javs]

8 minutes ago, Another Steve said:

Reachable par 5 for the shot at that elusive albatross!

Would you rather have a 2 on the par 5 or a 1 on the drivable par 4? I have had the 2 on the par 5. So, I am chasing the 1 on a par 4!

Edited January 13 by Javs

[funkyjudge]

2 minutes ago, Javs said:

Would you rather have a 2 on the par 5 or a 1 on the drivable par 4? I have had the 2 on the par 5. So, I am chasing the 1 on a par 4!

I have already had an albatross on a par 5 (holed out with 3-wood from just over 250 yards). I’ve been close to a 1 on a par 4 (hit flagsticks twice, but neither shot went in the hole), so right now I would rather have an albatross on a par 4. However, another albatross on a par 5 would also be very nice!

[Javs]

9 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

I have already had an albatross on a par 5 (holed out with 3-wood from just over 250 yards). I’ve been close to a 1 on a par 4 (hit flagsticks twice, but neither shot went in the hole), so right now I would rather have an albatross on a par 4. However, another albatross on a par 5 would also be very nice!

We are in the same boat!

[Rob Person]

41 minutes ago, buckpillar said:

Definitely PAR 5 - arrive in 2 and hope you don't 3 putt for par

Hey, I resemble that remark!  

[buckpillar]

42 minutes ago, Javs said:

Would you rather have a 2 on the par 5 or a 1 on the drivable par 4? I have had the 2 on the par 5. So, I am chasing the 1 on a par 4!

I witnessed a 2 on a par 5, but had a lot of Eagles

[Javs]

38 minutes ago, buckpillar said:

I witnessed a 2 on a par 5, but had a lot of Eagles

The albatross I had was driver and driver off the deck. Hit a low cut and it hit the kidney shaped green and ran to the hole!

[Rob Person]

If you get a 2 on a par 4. Is it an eagle or albatross?