The 10 Longest Par 3s In Major Championship History

With the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club just days away, all the talk is about the brutal rough and the gargantuan Par 3, 8th hole – the longest in major championship history. In this list, we’ll count down the 10 longest Par 3s to ever played in a major championship.

As professional golfers have hit the ball farther and straighter than ever before, major championship courses have had to find creative ways to defend themselves from the onslaught. One way they’ve done so is with brutally long Par 3s. In this list, we’ll count down the 10th longest Par 3s in major championship history.

10) Erin Hills, 6th Hole—252 yards

Scenic Erin Hills outside of Milwaukee hosted its first major in 2017 when Brooks Koepka claimed victory in the U.S. Open with a record-tying score of 16-under.

The brutal Par 3, 6th not only plays up to 252 yards, but it also plays uphill with a false front that will reject anything short of the flagstick. Combine that with semi-blind tee shot and you have a tough test more than worth of a U.S Open.

9) Chambers Bay, 15th Hole—252 yards

The infamous 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Washington proved a tough test for a number of reasons. But one of the biggest was the sheer size of the course.

At 252 yards, albeit downhill, the Par 3, 15th is a bear of a hole fronted by an enormous bunker and featuring a tiny landing area. But even if you cover the front bunker, you have to worry about a treacherous pot bunker to the left as well.

8) Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, 2nd Hole—252 yards

While Erin Hills and Chambers Bay are relatively new school major hosts, Shinnecock is the exact opposite. The New York staple has hosted five U.S. Opens dating back to 1896, and the event is set to return in 2026.

The Par 3, 2nd hole proves an immediate test after being lengthened to 252 yards for the 2018 U.S. Open. Thick fescue and bunkers short of the green on both sides make for an intimidating tee shot, while anything long of the green will lead to a nearly impossible downhill chip or pitch.

7) Merion Golf Club (East), 17th Hole—254 yards

Prior to the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion, all the talk was about how the course was too old and short to hold up to today’s game. Thankfully, nobody told that to the course itself.

The Par 3, 17th may play downhill, but it does so to a remarkably small landing area with five bunkers surrounding the green. Combine that with a green that seemingly lacks any flat area and you have a hole that you’re more than happy to walk away from with a 3.

6) Valhalla Golf Club, 14th Hole—254 yards

Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville has played host to the PGA Championship four times, as well as the 2008 Ryder Cup. While it came under fire in 2024 when Xander Schauffele shot 21-under to lift the Wannamaker Trophy, the Par 3, 14th is certainly not part of the problem.

The final Par 3 on the course necessitates a cut from a right-handed golfer, as trees block out the right side of the hole. Should you pull off the shot, you have to land it on a green that runs away from you and toward a brutal bunker that leaves you dead. Pull your shot long and left, and you’re in one of the two bunkers that guard the left side of the green, leaving you no easy bail out shots.

5) The Olympic Club, 3rd Hole—256 yards

Five times, the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco has played host to the U.S. Open, and each time the margin of victory was either one shot or it went to a playoff.

While the 256-yard Par 3 3rd does play downhill, it also does so while exposed to the wind with bunkers guarding either side of a narrow green. The proper miss is short, to leave yourself with a chip into the unguarded mouth of the green. But miss anywhere else and you’re staring down a 4 or worse.

The PGA Championship will make its first stop at The Olympic Club in 2028.

4) Merion Golf Club (East), 3rd Hole—256 yards

As if the 17th at Merion weren’t hard enough, players better dial in early and be ready for the gargantuan 256-yard Par 3, 3rd, which also plays uphill.

A massive bunker guards the front right of the green, but go long and left and you’ll find yourself in either the rough or yet another bunker, which leads to you having to play a shot downhill into the brutally sloped green, which runs from back left to front right.

Make par here and you’ll happily run to the fourth tee box.

3) Los Angeles Country Club (North), 7th Hole—284 yards

The 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club probably won’t be one anyone tells their kids about in the future, but you certainly can’t blame a lack of length.

The Par 70 course played at over 7,400 yards, including a pair of massive Par 3s. The first of which, the 284-yard 7th, allows players to run the ball up onto the left side of the green thanks to a large mound. But go too far left and you’re in the trees pitching toward a large bunker that guards the right side.

2) Los Angeles Country Club (North), 11th Hole—297 yards

What do you do to challenge players when you host a U.S. Open on a course with extremely wide fairways and fairly straightforward greens? How about a nearly 300-yard Par 3?

The 297-yard Par 3, 11th may not be quite as difficult as it the yardage indicates, thanks to the fact that it plays downhill with a slope short of the green that feeds toward the hole. But mishit your tee shot and you’re likely left playing your second from well below the narrow green.

1) Oakmont Country Club, 8th Hole—300 yards

The crown jewel of U.S. Open Par 3s, the 8th at Oakmont is just an absolute bear of a hole. A huge bunker short and left of the green guards the hole, and if you somehow go long, you’ll also find yourself playing in the sand.

If you somehow avoid the sand, you must also avoid the incredibly thick rough that is expected to be grown out around five inches for the 2025 U.S. Open. Once on the green, you have no easy task, as Johnny Miller three-putted the hole for the only bogey during his iconic final-round 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open.

Par at the eighth at Oakmont might as well be birdie compared to everyone else in the field.