'I Couldn't Tell You A Par 3 Over 250 Yards That's Good - PGA Tour Stars Believe 'All The Best Par 3s Are Under 200'

The US Open at Oakmont will be a brutal test, including the longest par 3 in the tournament's history, but are these extra long 'short' holes any good?

The eighth hole at Oakmont is the longest par 3 ever played in US Open history, measuring 300 yards in 2007 and then 299 yards in 2016 - and although down as 289 yards on the card it could hit that 300 mark again.

But is that too long? Many of the iconic par 3s in the world are much shorter - the 12th at Augusta National, the 17th at TPC Sawgrass and the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon to name a few.

And many believe that par 3s should be a test of the short game, not the long, with Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland among them.

"Yeah, I couldn't tell you a par 3 over 250 yards that's good, I would say, architecturally," said Thomas ahead of The Memorial Tournament.

"Obviously, you have 16 at Cypress Point is pretty special, but I definitely think there's some potential viewing reasons that makes it, you know, a great hole.

"So I'm a big short par 3 guy. I think a lot of us and - a lot of players and people that watch golf are. Yeah, I just, that's my opinion."

And Thomas says he's not the biggest fan of the eighth at Oakmont that he'll face again in the US Open.

"Yeah, that's not my favorite hole in the world," he admitted. "I think you could do some other things with that.

"But everyone's going to have to play the same hole and going to have to execute the same shots, and I would love four 3s on it right now if I could take it."

Hovland is one of those players who agrees with Thomas that making a par 3 longer doesn't always make it better.

"I just think all the best par 3s are under 200," said Hovland. "You can maybe have it just over 200, but as soon as you start to take head covers off on par 3s, I just think it gets a little silly."

And Hovland has also played the eighth at Oakmont, which he says isn't "that great" due to the length it will play at.

"Yeah, man, that's a hard hole because it's, like, you got to be so precise from back there, and you're hitting a 3-iron or I hit a 7-wood a couple times," said Hovland.

"I just don't think when you have to make a hole that long, it just doesn't become that great.

"It just becomes like, okay, you got a certain target here and then you got to hit a shot around there and make a par and get out of there instead of a shorter par 3 that entices you to get close to it, but if you're a little bit off, you're either in the water or in a short-sided spot or if you bail out, yeah, you still have a tricky little putt."

'The memorable ones are the shorter ones'

Collin Morikawa is another PGA Tour star who prefers par 3s to be shorter and promote taking on more risk.

"I don't think anyone's really a big fan of them. I think the only fun one to play is Cypress Point, 16, because it's beautiful. View's beautiful, the hole itself is just tough.

"So I think the memorable ones are the shorter ones. They're the ones that have risk and reward, right. I think when there's risk, we like risk, because we like taking it on.

"Risk can be involved with a sand wedge, it can be involved with an 8-iron. I think when you just have 250 yards and you just start looking at dispersion, that's not really risk, that's just, we're just playing odds on is everyone's dispersion going to be wider.

"I would rather take on more risk, have everything a little tighter. You just have to hit a golf shot, versus me teeing up 3-wood."