The Concept of "Par" is Overrated.

[GaijinGolfer]

I can think of a lot of aspects of golf that are a lot worse than the concept of par.  However, I do somewhat agree with you that the notion that you are SUPPOSED to make par on every hole is overrated.

The fact is that for most golfers, bogey is a pretty respectable score on any given hole.  Heck, for a lot of people anything less than a snowman isnt half bad!

[nleary9201]

I'm not saying you should or shouldn't make par on a hole. I'm saying that thinking about a "standard" score on any hole MAY lead to a change in the way you play some shots.  You may tend to make some strokes more or less important in your mind because of their relation to par.

[phillyk]

As many have said, par is a term describing what people should get on a hole.  So, from my point of perspective, when one thinks about setting goals for themselves, they almost always include what their handicap or amount over par they want to end the year at.  Par sets your mind at what you want to achieve when you go out to play.  It may have consequences when you think about it on the course, but that's because one is not focusing on the shot at hand.  The mind has to be disciplined to be able to consider how you want to play, but focus more on each individual shot.  The mental form of golf is as important as the physical.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by iacas

When do we get the bagels?

FWIW, the "concept" of par is not over-rated. It's not negative. It is what it is - just don't let it get to you. I think about it all the time but it doesn't have any negative effects.

Sorry, your 4.5th is a Pardie. I think a Bagel is 0.5 over par.

[WUTiger]

Quote:

Jamo, Maybe single most negative influence is a little too strong, I agree but I don't think the concept is exclusive to high handicappers.  I play with lots of good players who seem overly concerned with par. ...

The rainy 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst proved this point. Payne Stewart won at 1 under, Phil Mickelson was Even and others were over par - some of the top 10 finishers were +5 or more.

This brings to mind that you are playing the course. If the wind and weather are against all, sometimes escaping the Monster Hole of the Day means getting a bogie rather than something worse.

There was one PGA tour story of an early-morning player finishing +1 or +2 in an opening round, and getting mad, punching his locker and injuring his hand - had to drop out. Turned out he was only 4 strokes off the pace. Was '99 Pinehurst where this happened, or was it a British Open? Any history buffs who can help me on this?

-------------------------------

For details on the blustery '99 Open, see:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/golf/1999/us_open/news/1999/06/20/usopen_fourthround/

[mck]

I think it was Olazabal who punched the locker, not sure which major it was

[rossvanwyk]

I think par is important. I think for new golfer's, you should just play concentrating on your ball striking and simple tasks and completely forget about your score.

But once you start getting a little serious trying to bring that handicap down, you have to have a good relationship with 'par'.

I like to keep score in my head of my overall score, 1 over, even, whatever. As i go along. I am steadily trying to bring my handicap down so I know I want to shoot my handicap or better on any given day. This doesn't mean I think about score more than I do my next shot. Absolutely not.

But like on the weekend, I thought I was 8 over coming to the 17th, having never broken 80 before. I figured i needed a bird to keep the dream alive so to speak :) Hit the green in 2 and got a tap in birdie, when in actual fact I was only 7 over but thats besides the point. Certain holes you'll play differently depending on your situation and your overall goal.

I like par's. I am a big fan of par's. I will take a tap in par on every hole any day of the week. Sure missing easy birdie putts hurts. But it doesnt sting me 1/10th as much as missing an easy par putt. And I don't believe it has the same impact. Missing an easy par putt cuts me deep. Tapping in an easy par makes me feel like I'm playing great golf and I'm pumped for the next hole.

I dunno. Maybe I missed the point. maybe it's just me.

But I do enjoy a good par :)

[WUTiger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mck

I think it was Olazabal who punched the locker, not sure which major it was

Right you are! Jose M. Olazabal punched the wall in his hotel room after shooting 75 in Round 1 of the rainy 1999 U.S. Open. The incident is mentioned in Para. 7 and 8 of a story on how JMO won a tournament in 2000 after Paidrig Harrington forgot to sign his scorecard.

Quote by Independent:

"Five hours later it was Olazabal holding it (Benson & Hedges trophy) aloft - for the second time.

With a sparkling second successive 66 highlighted by an eagle on the long 17th, the 1990 champion had his first victory since the US Masters 13 months ago and since he broke his hand banging a hotel wall in frustration at the US Open last June."

Full Independent story: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/golf/olazabel-cashes-in-on-harrington-horror-717134.html

In Olazabal's defense, he spent 1996 trying to recover from a herniated disc, in his back; some doctors expected him to spend his life in a wheel chair due to the injury. Shades of Ben Hogan post-auto crash for hanging tough and coming back.

[Liam84]

Pro golfers are, statistically speaking, Risk Averse. In an article in Slate magazine some time ago the author pointed at a stat that showed that pros putt way better for par than they do for birdie.

Also to the point, the article mentioned a system called "Shot Value" which basically measures how many strokes would it take a scratch golfer to hole out from any given location on a course based on statistics. That way you could be standing at the tee of a par 4 and now that it actually is a 4.6 hole. the real beauty of the "shot value" system is that by adding the different values each of your strokes had you could actually see yourself picking up or giving up strokes to the course much more accurately.

[ohiolefty]

I think the concept of concepts is overrated and hurts our golf games.

[turtleback]

Bobby Jones always said that he played the game against Old Man Par.

Me, I do battle with Old Man Bogey.

[nleary9201]

The JMO story speaks volumes.

[ghalfaire]

I fall on the side of anytime you begin to think about score on the course instead of the shot in front of you, it is a mistake (for me for sure as I don't even add up the scores at the turn).  But when the round is over I think comparing your score to par is a as good a measuring stick as any to evaluate the round.  I don't take issue with a pre-round plan that sets a strategy for the day as you'll likely want a different attitude playing a course with a slope of 130 compared to a course with a slope of 115.  But tactics are a shot at a time, because the only shot you can do anything about is the one in front of you.

[Kieran123]

I really can't believe people can be affected so much by keeping track of their score,....EVERY round I have I know exactly where I am. When I shot my 79 I knew I had to make birdie on the last hole. This is vital information for me to know to achieve that goal. If I didn't I would of been happy with par or even bogey and never made it. I knew I needed to get my approach within birdie putting distance, so I focused on that single shot. You can do both; thinking about your score and focusing on the shot in front of you.

If I know I need a PAR to not shoot over 90, hell, I wanna know....

My score determines how good I am playing, the more I know about it, the better for me.

But that's just me.

[rossvanwyk]

Totally. I like to know where I am all the time so can gauge how I'm doing compared to my targets for that day. I play certain holes differently depending on how well I'm doing.

On my home course if I'm only 2 over coming round to the par 5 7th, i will probably not try to destroy my drive to get to the green in 2, as there is water in front. I know the 8th is an easy par, very makeable birdie so where I am score wise really can determine how my next few shots will be played.

But yeah, each to their own. All that being said, total focus must always be given to the shot in front of you. This is a given.

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by nleary9201

Jamo, Maybe single most negative influence is a little too strong, I agree but I don't think the concept is exclusive to high handicappers.  I play with lots of good players who seem overly concerned with par.  I have seen lots of players mentally give up on shots because it's for bogey or double or whatever. I've even seen players let down on eagle putts because "wow, even if I would 3 putt this, I still have par." I think they would concentrate more if it was stroke 27 or stroke 34.

Can't agree with this one.  When I played last week, we came to #14 which is a short par 5, about 435 yards.  I hit a good drive and then hit a perfect hybrid onto the green and left myself about a 15 footer for eagle (my first eagle putt ever).  Now, I'm an ok golfer... I think that I hit the ball pretty solidly and that I post scores that don't represent my ability well (I'll talk about that in a minute) but par is a good score for me on any hole.  I made the comment to the guy I was playing with that if I three putted there I would be very pissed off, more so than when I normally three putt, because to go from a good chance for eagle to a par just sucks in my opinion.  Needless to say I just missed the putt on the left edge and it ran about a foot pass the hole and I made the next for birdie which I was good with... a par would have pissed me off though.

Now look, I understand what you are saying, but I think what screws more golfers up is concentrating on scores at all during a round.  Like I said earlier, I feel that my abilities on the course and my scores do not match each other, and I think the biggest reason for that is I constantly add up my score and then put pressure on myself to hit a certain number.  Last weeks round was a great example of this; my goal for the longest time has been to break 90 and I haven't done it yet.  After we finished #7, I added up my score and realized that I only needed to bogey the last two holes to shoot a 45; I figured I could at least par one of the two and I put a lot of pressure on myself to hit that 45 or better.  Needless to say, I tripled the last two holes to shoot a 49 on the front.  Since in my mind I had no chance now to break 90 (I've never shot 40 or anything close to it on 9 holes, lowest I believe is a 45) I played pressure free, and while I was writing down my score, I didn't add them up or think about them once I was on the next hole...  I just played shot to shot.  I ended up shooting a 41 on the back and scored an even 90 for the round.

I really think that the biggest difference is that I stopped paying so much damn attention to what I was scoring and instead just tried to make the best shot I could from whatever situation I was in.  Hit a bad shot, forget about it and figure out the best play from where you left yourself instead of trying to hit a perfect shot to get yourself back on track.  I think that many golfers are like me and pick a score and focus on it and when they make a mistake they start to panic and then try to hit shots that they can't make to try to fix it and then end up making it even worse.  Obviously the idea of par has something to do with this but really it there has to be some sort of measuring device and a way to let us know how the hole should be played ideally and I think that is what par does.

[B-Con]

So Phil with loss aversion, are you saying that that bogey stroke has more negative value than a par putt has positive value?  The pro's (as you put it) aren't any smarter because they grind harder over a bogey putt. A stroke is a stroke.

In the end, yes, a stroke is a stroke. But as humans, we know that we are accruing our strokes one hole at a time and that in small, discrete chunks, the strokes build on each other. The outcome of a stroke can influence the options available for the next stroke. I think usually a player is reasonable to prefer a slimmer chance at birdie if it means that it's a guarantee that there will be no 3-putt. [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/sports/golf/16study.html]Even the pros are risk adverse[/url] (and [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/sports/golf/16study.html]another article[/url]), as summarized by Liam: [quote name="Liam84" url="/forum/thread/45136/the-concept-of-par-is-overrated/18#post_588513"]

Pro golfers are, statistically speaking, Risk Averse. In an article in Slate magazine some time ago the author pointed at a stat that showed that pros putt way better for par than they do for birdie.

Also to the point, the article mentioned a system called "Shot Value" which basically measures how many strokes would it take a scratch golfer to hole out from any given location on a course based on statistics. That way you could be standing at the tee of a par 4 and now that it actually is a 4.6 hole. the real beauty of the "shot value" system is that by adding the different values each of your strokes had you could actually see yourself picking up or giving up strokes to the course much more accurately.

[/quote]

[The Recreational Golfer]

Par is overrated for golfers who will never play at that level. Comparing ourself to par is a standard too strict for most of us, and quite frankly irrelevant to how we play.

If you don't break 80 regularly, you should compare yourself to level fives. Don't break 100 too often? Compare yourself to level sixes. These are forgiving standards which help the game be more fun. I think in the effort to improve, the "fun" part of golf can get lost.