The Concept of Par

**colin007** · November 17, 2010

im sure this has been discussed here before, but i'll ask it again.

do we need the concept of par? why not just lay out a course and for each hole say some thing like "this hole is 220 yards long, the green is over there, play it as you want". i realize that we play most of the holes as we can/want, so it seems kind of arbitrary to put a number on it.

i guess it doesnt really make a difference in the end, i was just thinking...

**Williamevanl** · November 17, 2010

When playing a course it serves as the only measure of the number of strokes it should take to play the course as an expert golfer.

**Fourputt** · November 17, 2010

I think that you need a yardstick, a target to shoot for, regardless of how attainable it might be. For golf, that yardstick is par. Granted that the yardstick isn't always the same length, but I still prefer some sort of a finite point to aim at.

Then too, for some types of play, Stableford for one, par is a necessary part of scoring.

**sean_miller** · November 17, 2010

im sure this has been discussed here before, but i'll ask it again.

When I play with my brother, who's better than me at almost every other sport, we don't keep score relative to par. We use the card for the map and to keep track of what hole we're on. The second point is necessary for effective beverage rationing.

***iacas*** · November 17, 2010

In addition to what Fourputt said, par is one of the many pieces of information we can use to make comparisons between courses, between holes on the courses, etc.

A downhill 520-yard par four in Colorado might be an incredibly difficult uphill par five in North Carolina. The difference is par. A five is not what the expert player is expected to get on the Colorado hole.

**DaSportsGuy** · November 18, 2010

I couldn't imagine golf without par. It's nice to have that as a "goal" or what you are expected to get on each hole.

**Bryan SD2** · November 18, 2010

Par is as essential as the hole in the ground. If anything, it tells a lesser skilled player, or even a better player, what score to expect if you hit good shots on any hole. Not special shits, but solid ones. We measure ourselves against par, sometimes on every shot. "need to get up and down for par" "Hit the middle of the green for a two putt par" "I can still save par if I x,y, or z"

Par also allows good players to birdie, and know for certain that they achieved one stroke better than a good player would be pleased with. Par also let's the 100's shooter have a good hole or two per nine, make a few pars, etc.

"I shot 110, but made four pars."

or

"I shot 110, but made a 5 on #6, a 3 on #7, and a 4 on both #12 & #18"

**B-Con** · November 18, 2010

Course Rating and Slope Rating are more helpful for determining how good your overall game was, but each hole is scored separately so it makes sense to rate each hole separately. You could give each hole a CR / SR rating (eg, a 4.2, a 3.9, etc), but fractions wouldn't work as well. Golf is a discrete scoring game, you either took a stroke or did not. If you scored a 4 on a 3.8 hole, was that good? It'd be really hard to get a 3, but a 4 is over the rating. How'd you do?

I'm glad we have CR and SR for handicap calculation, but par is a necessary part of shot planning and hole assessment. Golf wouldn't be the same if we didn't have a target number of strokes.

And, as pointed out above, yardage isn't always sufficient. Dogelegs, slopes, water hazards, etc, can introduce discontinuities in "hit it straight and long" style of play and make a hole's yardage less relevant. Eg, there's a hole at my local course that plays 260 yards on some days. It could be a very long par 3, but there's a sizeable hazard in front, behind, and to the left the green. You'd have to have guts to try to land your tee shot on a green 270 yards away that's only 20 yards deep. It's a par 4, and I bet everyone but a couple scratch golfers play it as such.

**BostonSully** · November 18, 2010

Not special shits, but solid ones.

Hahahahahahahaha

**TXjammer** · November 18, 2010

Special shits.....score cards for beverage rationing....this thread is out of control!!!!

I have always thought there was a conspiracy underlying the sport of golf that has a sole purpose of intimidation. As if the "powers that be" in golf don't really want you to play...or it's like a dare, taunting you making you think you can't, but you should try anyway. Country clubs are hard to get into. Professional golf is extremely hard to get into. The whole sport is based on money, and lots of it. So I count the concept of par as just being part of the intimidation conspiracy of golf.

Go ahead...ban me from the forum now. LOL

SwingIt · November 18, 2010

Par also seems necassary for the purpose of handicapping. I'm not picturing a way to handicap without par and slope.

Par is usually good enough to put you in contention for the US Open too.

**ghalfaire** · November 18, 2010

I like having a yard stick but after reading this thread I wonder where "par" came from. It isn't needed for handicaps, they are calculated using the course rating and slope. Are there limits on how long a par 4 can be? I've seen some that are longer than some Par 5 holes. So who decides on what a given hole's par is? I like having a par as it is a good way to measure your performance on any given hole.

I didn't look up he word to see where it comes from but I believe in German it mean "a few" or "a little (small amount)".

**saevel25** · November 18, 2010

Par is essential if not then we can't compare. As humans we are obsessed with comparisons, we like black and white, absolutes, we need to see that we might be better than someone. If the sport was just go around and see if you can get it in the hole in least amount of strokes, thats the essense of the game, but boring. What makes it exciting is Par. Imagine seeing a score board were you see Tiger is at 263 and Phil is at 265, thats boring, we know he's only two strokes back, but its hard to glance at that and know how close it really is. We take -3 versus -1, now that looks alot closer visually. Its alot more exciting to me, then we know, Phil doesn't have to make up 2 strokes over 18 holes which the total score indicates, but he can now make them up over a few holes, which the concept of par says. Its micromanaging the sport.

**Deryck Griffith** · November 18, 2010

What's the point? Without Par, golf is no longer a game, but rather an "activity" that people do around a field to eventually put the ball in the hole. Par is the measure, the measure that every single golfer on the planet fights for and that fight, is what makes Par and the game of golf wonderful.

**BostonSully** · November 18, 2010

What if instead of par we called it Fluffy Kitten Time? Would that be less intimidating?

Shot 4 Fluffy Kitten Times 5 Bogeys damn.....

**luckyluke699** · November 18, 2010

Are there limits on how long a par 4 can be? I've seen some that are longer than some Par 5 holes. So who decides on what a given hole's par is? I like having a par as it is a good way to measure your performance on any given hole.

There are guidelines for a holes length which determine it's par. As we all know you can have an easy par 4 or a hard par 4, but this is what course ratings are for

The USGA states "A male scratch golfer, for rating purposes, can hit tee shots an average of 250 yards and can reach a 470-yard hole in two shots at sea level. A female scratch golfer, for rating purposes, can hit tee shots an average of 210 yards and can reach a 400-yard hole in two shots at sea level.". Due to this logic of distance, the current guidelines exist... Men: Par 3 - Up to 250 yards Par 4 - 251 to 470 yards Par 5 - 471 yards to 690 yards Par 6 - 691 yards or more Women: Par 3 - Up to 210 yards Par 4 - 211 to 400 yards Par 5 - 401 to 575 yards Par 6 - 575 yards or more

**SouthernILGolfer** · November 18, 2010

If you're not a great player(like myself) it always feels good to get par, whatever the length of the hole. If I play 9 holes and dont make at least one par, i dont feel like i played very well even if my score is about what my average score would be. If i get a par or 2, i feel better even if the score is higher. On those one or 2 holes, i feel i played as well as I could rather than playing just ok overall if i were to say bogey every hole.

**Bryan SD2** · November 19, 2010

If you're not a great player(like myself) it always feels good to get par, whatever the length of the hole. If I play 9 holes and dont make at least one par, i dont feel like i played very well even if my score is about what my average score would be. If i get a par or 2, i feel better even if the score is higher. On those one or 2 holes, i feel i played as well as I could rather than playing just ok overall if i were to say bogey every hole.

I want 8-12 per round. You'll get there. 1 per 9 now, then 2, then 3, then 4.... We all measure ourselves against par as soon as we 1. Know what par is and 2. Get our first one.

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