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More often than not, when I hear of a "drivable par 4," I come away thinking, Drivable for whom? The vast majority of holes described this way are typically reachable for less than 5% of golfers. Power is and will always be an advantage in golf - and it should be - but the hype around many drivable par 4s amounts to false advertising in the end.
That is why I appreciate the very short par-4 14th hole at the new (opened in the fall of 2025) Bella Ridge Golf Club, a privately-owned public course on former dairy farmland about an hour north of Denver, Colorado with green fees topping out between $100 and $125. Sitting about 4,800 feet above sea level, with a yardage spread of 276 to just 162 yards from its five sets of tee markers, it is going to be reachable for the vast majority of golfers who choose the appropriate tee color for them.
Yes, the hole plays about 25 feet uphill, but this extra bit of length is mitigated not just by the thin air but also the fact that as the crow flies, it plays even shorter than what the scorecard says, because that yardage takes into account the curvature of the fairway on the way to the green. When I visited Bella Ridge in May of 2026, I played the Blue markers, one set up from the tips. On number 14, I had just over 200 yards to the front edge of the green and just over 220 yards to the pin. I feathered a five wood up the hill, over a nest of bunkers and just over the flag to the back fringe, chipped up and made a pleasantly routine birdie. Fun!
Before you go moaning that Bella Ridge #14 is a par 4 in name only, consider its green, a turbulent maelstrom of a putting surface wedged between hills. The hole location on the day I visited was benign, set in a low-lying back-right corner. Had it been back-left, it would have been a struggle to make par if I had been out of position off the tee. Even though that side of the green looks a little bit evil - and still growing in as the grass on the course continues to mature - I will be rooting for that spicy hole location to greet me the next time I play.
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