Please rank in difficulty

[clyde]

I would like some feedback on the difficulty of three separate feats while playing nine holes. Please rank the following (during 9 holes) from easiest to most difficult for a golfer who shoots between 110 and 130. Also please share your thoughts on how you came to make your order.    two pars in a row,   three pars,   one birdie.    Thanks!

[Shorty]

I wouldn't regard any of them as "feats".

With each of them there is an element of luck.

The birdie might be a lucky chip in.

The pars might involve a lucky bounce or two or a good putt.

Three pars in a row woul be the most unexpected, and therefore most difficult of the three for a person of that ability, but it doesn't necessarily imply very much. Depends on the course and the way each hole was played.

[clyde]

not three pars in a row  vs two pars in a row.....two pars in a row,  one birdie,  three pars

My thoughts were that one birdie is the easiest, followed by two pars in a row, and three pars being the most difficult for a beginner golfer, since each of these will require lucky shots. The birdie only requires one lucky shot, which is why i believe it is the easiest. Getting two pars in a row only requires two pars....which by sheer luck might occur during back to back holes, and three pars during nine holes requires the beginning golfer to be lucky 1/3 of the holes they play. I am curious if people have a different take on the difficulty of each and if so.....why?

[deasy55]

Strange thread

[jamo]

Hardest to easiest:

Birdie

3 pars

2 pars in a row

[uttexas]

birdie--lucky shot on a short par 3-- someone who shoots 110+ needs to be playing from the very front tees, and many courses will have an 80yd par 3 from the front tees

three pars in a nine--very unlikely, but if the 110+ golfer is a very good putter due to miniature golf experience or whatever, could get three pars in a nine if the course is easy and no wind playing from the front tees.

two pars in a row--highly unlikely for a 110+ shooter, won't have the consistency to strike the ball well two holes in a row.

[bplewis24]

I honestly don't think there is any other answer to this question (easiest to hardest): Birdie 3 Pars 2 Pars in a Row If golf has taught me anything, it's that anybody can hit that great iron shot at any point in any given round. It's what makes most of us mid-to-high cappers delusional. We always think that one great iron shot is indicative of our game, and the other 9 average or below shots are not. Consistent and repeatable swings are the marks of good golf. Therefore, a single, isolated birdie is always possible via one great shot and a good or great putt. 2 pars could require as many as 3-5 good shots in a row (including putts), and 3 pars could require as many as 9 good shots in a row. Anecdotal note: I once had 2 birdies on a 4-hole stretch and I was pretty proud of myself. I usually get 1 birdie a round, and I had 3 that day. Needless to say I was stoked. Then, in a different round with some co-workers a few weeks later (very competitive round), I had a stretch of 7 straight pars. That is by far the best "feat" I've ever had on a golf course. My playing partners were 5 and 7 handicaps, and the 5 handicap claimed to never have had 7 straight pars before. It was pretty clear they were impressed by that, as was I. Edit: I didn't read the third post. I switched around the last two since it's not 3 pars in a row . Brandon

[jwrussell]

Being the kind of player you are asking about I would say: Birdie definately easiest. Two pars in a row and three pars, tough to pushbone higher than the other but I would probably say two in a row. Stringing that many shots together for that king of player would be a bigger feat.

[jwrussell]

Therefor, a single, isolated birdie is always possible via one great shot and a good or great putt. 2 pars could require as many as 3-5 good shots in a row (including putts), and 3 pars could require as many as 9 good shots in a row. Brandon

Brandon, Not sure I follow. Wouldn't two para in a row need a minimum of 7-8 good shots in a row (par 3&4 or 3&5)?

[bplewis24]

[quote name="bplewis24"]Therefor, a single, isolated birdie is always possible via one great shot and a good or great putt. 2 pars could require as many as 3-5 good shots in a row (including putts), and 3 pars could require as many as 9 good shots in a row. Brandon

Brandon, Not sure I follow. Wouldn't two para in a row need a minimum of 7-8 good shots in a row (par 3&4 or 3&5)?[/quote] I probably mis-worded that. It should read "a minimum of 3-5," instead of "as many as." It's mostly just a matter of semantics though, I think. IMO, not all pars on a Par-3 are a result of 3 good shots, and not all pars on a Par-4 are a result of 4 good shots. I often have bad tee shots on a par-3 and then get 2 good shots to get up and down. On Friday I had two poor shots to start a par 4, and got up and down for a par from about 60 yards out. If a person is playing a course with back-to-back Par 3s (like a par 3 course), then a good up-and-down, plus a good next tee shot would be 3 good shots in a row, and it just depends on if you consider an average 2-putt as being 2 more "good shots."

[zeg]

I'm going to say a birdie is the easiest, probably coming on a par 3.  That only requires one abnormally good shot and a decent putt.

For the pars part... I think it's a toss-up.  I ran a few quick calculations assuming that a golfer has a 10% chance of parring any given hole.  In this case, it works out (if my quick number crunching was correct) that there's about a 5% chance of making 3+ pars in 9 holes, versus a bit less than 4% chance of making two pars in a row.  That difference is tiny, and since my "model" is so simplistic, I don't think you can say anything from it except that either of these is likely to happen about once every 20 9-hole rounds if you fit this model.  For reference, it predicts one par about 60% of the time, or slightly more than half of your 9-hole rounds.

My personal feeling for myself is that back-to-back pars happen more often than 3 total, just because I tend to play well when I play well, and the course I play on has its easy holes clustered a bit.

[NI4NI]

Easiest to Most Difficult:

Birdie - lucky bounces happen a bit

3 pars - you got 9 holes to make it happen; slightly more difficult

2 pars in a row - within the posted scoring range, consistency will be the key

[BrushCaddy]

I'd have to say...

Birdie - Easiest - takes 2-4 good shots

2 pars - Hard - takes 6-10 good shots

3 pars - Hardest - takes 9-15 good shots

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by clyde

I would like some feedback on the difficulty of three separate feats while playing nine holes. Please rank the following (during 9 holes) from easiest to most difficult for a golfer who shoots between 110 and 130. Also please share your thoughts on how you came to make your order.    two pars in a row,   three pars,   one birdie.    Thanks!

Wait are you shooting 110-130 on 9 holes? If so then the hardest "feat" for me would be getting out of bed in the morning to go shoot a +93 LOL.

[sean_miller]

For the "typical" 110-130 shooter, a birdie is unlikely but even a blind squirrel, well you know.

Getting back to back pars seems just as unlikely as 3 pars in nine holes. I'd say it's just as likely a bad player will be in the zone for about 1/2 hour as have 3 pars spaced out evenly for 2 hours.  I vote for the birdie because I like squrrels.

[DaSportsGuy]

Easiest-Birdie

Moderate-Two Pars

Hardest-Three Pars

A birdie is definitely the easiest. All it takes to make a birdie is one good shot. For the consecutive pars it takes consistency which is what most high handicappers lack.

[allin]

Originally Posted by clyde

not three pars in a row  vs two pars in a row.....two pars in a row,  one birdie,  three pars

My thoughts were that one birdie is the easiest, followed by two pars in a row, and three pars being the most difficult for a beginner golfer, since each of these will require lucky shots. The birdie only requires one lucky shot, which is why i believe it is the easiest. Getting two pars in a row only requires two pars....which by sheer luck might occur during back to back holes, and three pars during nine holes requires the beginning golfer to be lucky 1/3 of the holes they play. I am curious if people have a different take on the difficulty of each and if so.....why?

Pretty much covers it.

[B-Con]

If the golfer shoots between 110 and 130, they are very inconsistent and any good shot is probably the result of chance. If it were a 90 - 100 shooter, I would say: Easiest - Two pars in a row - Three pars - Birdie Hardest because two pars in a row simply requires a flash of consistent ball-striking, which can easily happen. To shoot 90 - 100 you can hit straight, the question is whether or not you do. The occasional par will happen, so having it happen back-to-back isn't a statistical feat. Three total pars just means getting par 1/3 of the time, which, while unlikely, again isn't too improbable. A birdie requires chipping in or sticking an approach shot close to the pin and converting on the putt, which is possible, but more subjected to chance than the previous two which, while still subjected to some level of chance, are still strongly influenced by the player's ability. From what I saw of myself, friends, and other hackers I've been paired with, the occasional par happens regularly, so getting two back to back isn't a statistical feat and getting 1/3 pars is rare, but plausible. Birdies, however, are still completely up to chance. We carded dozens of pars, including the rare stretch of 3 in a row, before we got our first birdies. However, for the 110 - 130 shooter, they're all very unlikely. I'd guess that it would be: Easiest - Birdie - Two pars in a row - Three pars Hardest A birdie is going to be a complete fluke, almost assuredly on a par-3. One par requires a couple solid strokes, which is itself unlikely. Two consecutive pars require several solid shots in a row, which is even unlikely but possible if they get a slight mental/swing groove going. Three pars requires repeated, semi-frequent bouts of solid strokes, which I think is even more unlikely because they have to have the swing For those (like me) ranking "two consecutive pars" as easier than "three pars", we're saying if a player got two consecutive pars, they are unlikely to card another par during the 9 holes. That's how streaky/chancy their swing is.