The list of great courses that end with a par 3 is a short one:
East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California,
the Cascades course at Virginia's Homestead and Long Island's Garden City Golf
Club come to mind. (Even more rare is the par-3 opening hole—the 206-yard 1st at
Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club in England is the only prominent
example.)
Unintentionally, the Links course at Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of
Palms, South Carolina, just outside Charleston, joins that small but august
group. The effects of erosion necessitated a redesign of the oceanfront 18th
hole from a 501-yard par 5 to a 188-yard par 3.
"The erosion has been pretty gradual," says Wild Dunes director of
golf Jeff Minton. "But with strong winds and recent tides at their highest point
of the year, it was too much for the shore to handle, and we needed to take
action." 
This isn't the first time nature has forced Wild Dunes to redesign
the Links course. In 1989 Hurricane Hugo damaged several holes, which were
redone by original designer Tom Fazio, who is again overseeing a
renovation caused by environmental factors. He and his staff are studying
potential solutions for a redesign of the 18th hole.
The resort is not alone in facing erosion, which has led other
courses worldwide, including Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina, Pebble
Beach Golf Links in California and Royal Dornoch Golf Club in Scotland, to take
steps like reinforcing the shoreline.
