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Fansided

Golf Courses: Ranking the top 10 Par 3 holes around the world

By Brandon Raper

9 Nov 1996: With the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, Sandy Lyle of Scotland hits his tee shot on the eighth hole during the third round of the Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International golf tournament at the Plantation course in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. Lyle fired
9 Nov 1996: With the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, Sandy Lyle of Scotland hits his tee shot on the eighth hole during the third round of the Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International golf tournament at the Plantation course in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. Lyle fired /
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TPC Scottsdale 16th Hole best par 3s
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 05: Rickie Fowler plays his tee shot on the 16th hole during the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on February 5, 2017 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

What’s better than a golf weekend in Arizona? A weekend at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, over Super Bowl weekend. And there’s no bigger party in all of golf than the one you find on No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale during tournament week.

What most people don’t realize, however, is that after four days of the PGA TOUR turning into something more like Happy Gilmore, the stadium hole goes away, not to return for another year.

Brad Williams, the general manager at TPC Scottsdale, told Golf Digest in 2015 that there are several reasons why the stadium can’t be a permanent structure.

"A couple things make it really, really challenging. One is shade, the angle of the sun, this time of year especially. The 16th plays west to east. When we have that structure up, a good portion of 16 is in the shade throughout the day. We’d have a hard time growing grass if the stadium was there year round."

Really, though, that just adds to the mystique of the hole. 51 weeks of the year, this is just an average par-3, with little separating it from many others. But once the stands go up, and the fans get a little loud, it’s unlike anything else in the game. That’s something you don’t get anywhere else.

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