As short courses are having a renaissance – particularly the par-3 variety at resorts and destination properties – it’s a fitting time to give proper recognition to a different breed of “shorter” courses that perhaps don’t always get the respect they should in this era of oversize drivers and fly-far golf balls. 

A recent golf swing through the New England area contributed to this appreciation, with a stop at Maine’s wonderfully historic Cape Arundel Golf Club in Kennebunkport. 

The links-style course, which dates to 1896 and was designed by Walter Travis, is a charming par 69 layout that tips out at 5,859 yards and is squeezed into just 88 acres. There’s just one par 5, but whatever Cape Arundel seemingly lacks in length it more than makes up for in imagination. The small, devilish greens are the course’s defense, with bold contours – including swales, spines and dropoffs – that put a premium on shot-making and precision. Several of the greens are quite literally a few steps from one another. 

Cape Arundel and its ilk are somewhat of a rarity, as the National Golf Foundation notes that only about 1% of regulation-length 18-hole courses have a par rating under 70. Many of these courses max out at less than 6,000 yards, a distance that some golfers might scoff at when simply looking at the scorecard. 

But distance can be deceiving. In addition to Cape Arundel, a private club that welcomes public play, here are some of the most notable sub-6,000-yard courses (non-executive or par 3) in the U.S. with public access.