The Concept of "Par" is Overrated.

[Kieran123]

Originally Posted by 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.

It can get lost....but I LOVE going to the range....improving is the best part of golf.

I would go crazy if I only shot in the 90s for my entire life.

[newtogolf]

Originally Posted by 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.

Everyone should have short term and long term goals in whatever sport or recreation they choose to compete in.  I don't see par being any more distracting than a perfect 300 is in bowling, or a sub 5 min mile is in running.  My fun comes from putting in the time and effort that results in improvement and progress towards achieving my short term and long term goals.

[nleary9201]

TristinHilton, I agree with you on this.  I think "score" and "par" are kinda the same thing in this argument. I know that I fall into the bad habit of mentally giving up on double bogey putts or putting extra pressure on myself on eagle and birdie putts.   This year I just want to give each "stroke" the same attention.  I think this will help my overall score.

[zeg]

I think par is useful as a target, as on most courses I've seen, it's a good score if you hit 3, 4, or 5 good but not perfect shots.  Sometimes it'll be off by a bit, but that's just the nature of the game.  In addition, as was mentioned above, it helps you break the game down into manageable pieces for strategy / risk management.  Yes, it doesn't matter where you gain / lose strokes, but by and large you're a lot more likely to make 2 birdies than you are a par and an eagle.  If you've got 2 holes left and need to pick up 2 strokes, your best bet is likely to be to go for it now.  Of course, this is not always applicable; normally you probably just want to play so you have the lowest expected score.  In that case, sure, ignore par and play the highest percentage shot for each situation independently.

One other way it's useful is on an unfamiliar course.  Especially for a hole that's in between distances, like a low-400-yard par 5, the number assigned can give you some hints as to what to expect.  A short par 5 is likely to have more trouble and a smaller green than a long par 4.

It's unfortunate that pars aren't always assigned properly, but even that can be difficult.  My home course has a hole that used to be a par 5, but was shortened and changed a bit to protect a house in hook territory to the off the tee.  They reassigned it a par 4, but it's either the longest or second longest hole on the course, uphill to a slightly elevated green, with a dogleg left about 200 yards from the tee leaving you more than 200 yards to the green if you don't draw around it.  It'd be a pretty straightforward par 5, but is a dastardly par 4.  IMO it'd be better for them to make it a 5 instead, although the par for the course overall is fair as it has a lot of short par 4s where a good golfer should be making up strokes.  It's one of those cases where you just have to learn that you're more likely to birdie it as a par 5 than you are to par it as a par 4, at least if you don't have a 250 yard draw in your bag.

[golf4fun12]

maybe par is overrated if you can't get a par. gosh, so mean.

I have always felt that making a par every hole was the goal in golf. If I could shot a par round I would be very happy. if you are happy being a bogey golfer, that's fine I guess. but, why not try to become a par golfer? it's fun. haha

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by nleary9201

TristinHilton, I agree with you on this.  I think "score" and "par" are kinda the same thing in this argument. I know that I fall into the bad habit of mentally giving up on double bogey putts or putting extra pressure on myself on eagle and birdie putts.   This year I just want to give each "stroke" the same attention.  I think this will help my overall score.

I think I may be the other way around... at least a little bit.  I put more pressure on myself to make the double bogey putt because it's already bad enough and a triple would be worse... on a birdie putt, I still want to make it but if I don't, I still get par which especially for me is good.

[sean_miller]

Par is good. It's an indication of how you're doing compared to an ideal field of players. If you seem to hit double par on most holes before getting to the green, you better plan on being the fastest terrible golfer ever, getting better, or picking up occasionally.

Without the "par" benchmark some people might just keep wacking away. Okay, I'm shooting 51, now  52, now 53, and a tap in for 54. Just two more holes then on to the back nine.

[nleary9201]

Sean_Miller, Who is writing about "double par?"

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by nleary9201

Sean_Miller, Who is writing about "double par?"

I was - two posts up. But I'm referring to brand new golfers. I'm not thinking of typical 20-30 cappers. Once a player has a remotely accurate handicap they should be aware of their own personal version of par. A player with a handicap index > 18 gets at least 1 stroke on every hole and 2 strokes on a few others. They should focus on each stroke, but if they make a few mistakes along the way, they can still play to their index - their par.

[nleary9201]

Yea that all makes sense.  I just was trying to focus on the mental effect it has on my game and others I play with.  I think we all have given up on or tried harder on shots because of their effect on par on a given hole.  I just think it might help alot of golfers to take a different approach a few times this year and see if it helps.