Used to love par 5's. Made most of my eagles on them in my younger days. If I ever get some consistency back in my swing, I probably will like them again. But I think that for the purposes of the poll, I have to go with par 4. There is just so much that can be done with the 4 shot hole that can't be done with a par 3, and rarely is done with a par 5.
A "typical" modern course has 10 par 4 holes, and if it is designed with just little bit of imagination, every one will feel and play completely different from the next. Par 5 holes can have a feeling of sameness, even when they are very unalike, just because you can usually hit 2 decent, but not overpowering shots, and be in short iron range... you can even make a bad mistake and still have a chance to recover. And par 3's are purely try to hit the green from the tee. Not usually a lot of strategy involved.
But the par 4... you can make it long and brutal, or short and brutal, or as easy as you want. And anything in between. It can turn right... or left. Some creative bunkering and rough trimming can be the difference between an ordinary hole and and extraordinary one. And no matter what the intended difficulty, it only takes one bad shot to make par a dream. The par 4 holes usually define a course. They make up more than half of any typical golf course, and are usually its strongest feature.
One of my favorite holes anywhere is the 18th at my home course. 420 yards sharp dogleg left. 2 fairway bunkers sit perched on an 8 foot high mound on the inside of the dogleg, requiring a 240 yard carry to clear, and ponds border both sides of the green, with a 12 foot wide channel connecting them 40 yards in front of the green. A layup off the tee to the corner of the dogleg leaves a difficult 180-210 yard approach (and too strong a shot here can end up through the fairway and into a lake). Carry the bunkers and you can have as little as 130 yards....but hit into the right hand bunker and you will be laying up short of the water. Hit the left bunker and you may have a 150 yard shot at the green, or you may be lipped and have to lay up from there too. I've wrecked good rounds on this hole (stood on the tee at 1 under.... and made a triple), and I have left bad rounds with a good feeling by simply parring this last hole.
Love a good par 4...:thumbs up: