The Concept of Par

[max power]

Count me as a par supporter.

[sacm3bill]

  ghalfaire said:

It isn't needed for handicaps, they are calculated using the course rating and slope.

But you need some number to use as the course rating and it's generally in the neighborhood of (perhaps even defined by, if I understand correctly) "par for a scratch golfer".

  Deryck Griffith said:

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.

Not really - without par it would still be a game, you'd still count strokes, and the winner would still be determined by who played the hole/course with the least number of strokes. You'd just lose the ability to say I shot "x over par" or "x under par"...

  None said:

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.

...and that I agree with. (As well as all the other reasons in this thread supporting the notion of par.)

[Chas]

  luckyluke699 said:

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...

Thanks, that's interesting. I've wondered what these numbers might be (officially). Now I know. To me right now, any par 4 > 400 yds is a bit of a stretch as a GIR opportunity. It's not the distance, it's the accuracy.

Are there any par 6 holes anywhere by the way?

[SouthernILGolfer]

  Bryan SD2 said:

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.

Been actually doing a bit better lately at my home course, its a pretty basic easy course, and I can shoot in the low 40's pretty consistently there, usually pars and bogeys and an occasional double on the front 9, the back is a bit more difficult. If i go someplace more difficult, im struggling to keep it in the mid to upper 40's for 9 holes.

[SouthernILGolfer]

  Chas said:

Thanks, that's interesting. I've wondered what these numbers might be (officially). Now I know. To me right now, any par 4 > 400 yds is a bit of a stretch as a GIR opportunity. It's not the distance, it's the accuracy.

Only place ive seen a par 6 is on a video game.

[BostonSully]

Par 6 actually kind of sounds fun. 700+ Yards would be a cool hole.

[wannabe]

smails: Ty, what'd you shoot today?
Ty: Oh, I don't keep score, Judge.
Smails: Oh, well, how do you measure yourself with other golfers?
Ty: By height.

I like par.

[luckyluke699]

  BostonSully said:

Par 6 actually kind of sounds fun. 700+ Yards would be a cool hole.

I personally haven't played any and I can't see them becomming commonplace for 2 reasons...

1) It's really just a par 5 with another long fairway shot thrown in on top, dosn't add anything extra. 2) People who own the golf course will have more land to look after! :P would be good to play one from a novelty point of view though

[BostonSully]

  luckyluke699 said:

I personally haven't played any and I can't see them becomming commonplace for 2 reasons...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21116556...-active_travel 777 Yards and an absolutely beautiful hole. Want to play right now!

[Nyper]

Knowing what Par is simply makes it easier to keep score. It's much easier for me to remember than im "3 over" after 14 holes than it is for me to remember I've hit it "56 times".

[zeg]

In addition to the length guidelines, par can also give you a hint as to the course design, if it's designed properly.

The last hole on my course is an example of one that i think breaks this. The hole was originally a moderate length (480 yards or so, I think) slightly uphill par 5 with a gentle dogleg left. Over the years, houses were built up on the left side, just outside the fence, so after complaints, they shortened the hole by 50 yards or so by moving the tee box up along the fence. The result was that the tee shot is now directed more into the course rather than along the fence, and the dogleg is quite a bit sharper. There are two problems with the hole now. First, unless you are able to accurately shape your tee shot around the dogleg, you can't go much beyond about 200 yards off the tee (counting effective distance, you can go maybe 240 but you're along the right-edge of the fairway so not all that extra distance moves you closer to the green). Thus, you're quite likely looking at a 220ish approach into the green. This isn't so bad, except the green is small and elevated, so if you actually hit it with a club long enough to go 220, you're pretty unlikely to hold it; if you come up short, it's pretty unlikely you'll find your way up the hill. Neither of these would be a problem if it's a par 5, but as a par 4, it becomes extremely difficult to find a GIR. (Even if you don't consider the required draw on the tee a problem, it's still going to be hard to hold the green on your second shot).

So IMO a par 4 isn't just shorter than a par 5, it should also give a golfer a good chance to hit the green in 2, whereas a par 5 can fairly present other challenges to that goal.

[Shindig]

  ghalfaire said:

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.

My understanding is that par, at one point, stood for "professional average result," indicating that a very good player would expect to hit this score. Whether or not it actually came from that, I don't know.

  Chas said:

Are there any par 6 holes anywhere by the way?

There are a few. I know of one in Idaho that I read about in Golf Digest a while back.

[tm22721]

I try to separate ball striking from putting since they are two different skills. So I focus on GIR instead of par.

[The Recreational Golfer]

  Chas said:

Are there any par 6 holes anywhere by the way?

Yes. Google "par 6 hole" and you'll find mention of holes well over 700 yards long, and even over 800 yards. For whatever purpose, I don't know, but they're out there.

[stealthduffer]

Drunken Scotchmen came up with the concept of par. Please respect it.