Par for the course inflates newer golfers scores.

[trackster]

I was thinking about this the other day and it was kept on my mind for a while.

For example,  Hole 1 is say 400 yards.  The par for the hole is 4.  Now say our generic new golfer slices the driver quite a bit, but hits his irons pretty straight but not very far.  Now since the hole is 400 yards, the only chance that the new golfer has of reaching the green in 2 is to hit driver.  If he hits a solid driver he has a chance to hit the green in two.  Now reality sinks in, and the golfer slices his drive under a tree, chips out with his second shot,  misses the green on his 3rd, and finally chips on with his forth.

Now the alternative play that I think is the smartest strategy is play it as a par 5.  Meaning that on in three is a solid play.  Say he hits a 6 iron off the tee 160 yards.  Then on his second plays a 6 iron 150 yards.  Now he is left with a 90 yard third shot.  Which is still hard in it self for newer golfers but it is a better placement.

When I first started I was similar to the generic new golfer i described.  I could hit some ok drives but usually sliced, but I could hit my 6 iron 170 ish and relatively straight every time. The par 5 on the front 9 at my home course  plays about 485-500 ish.  One day I was like I'm going to try to hit three 6 irons instead of my usual driver, 3 wood.  And surprisingly It worked.  I hit it about 165 every time, got a GIr and got my first Par ever on that hole.

Now I'm not saying get rid of the par for the courses (I mean how would you keep score, and have something to compare it to).

But I think if new golfers blocked out that number, and played to that 5 or 6 instead of always trying to hit that 4 they would be more successful.

[mikelegacy]

I agree. I'm a newer golfer and if i didn't have to worry about a score, i GUARANTEE I would play better. I have a really nice swing technically, but I think about a lot of shots TOO much because i'm worried about getting on the green in 3 so I can make the par in 4 or getting on in 2 so I can make birdie. I always mishit when I over think it. I'm not saying i'm gonna stop scoring myself, because I have to score myself for golf to be fun to me, but I can see this definitely helping extremely new players.

[jeffRRy]

I'm new to golf too... but isn't that why they have handicaps?

[Whiskey84]

New (and poor) golfers could save themselves a whole lot of strokes by just playing within themselves and avoiding big numbers. However, so many fall into the traps of thinking they have to hit driver off the tee or try to hit the miracle shot out of the rough. All most of them do is bring double, triple, or worse into play...

[NorthShoreGolf]

Just play to bogey/GIR+1, especially on longer holes, and you should be ok. There are a couple holes on my home course that if I miss the drive I just play to bogey, and play bogey to even off the drive. But then there are some shorter 4's I play to par. For me 3's are always to par and 5's are usually to par. Loosely this works for where I am. Each golfer needs to decide for themselves where they are and figure out what is going to challenge them without frustrating them. What fun would it be if you could never hit a birdie?

[GJBenn85]

Some mental instructors for amateur high-handicap golfers recommend adding one stroke to each hole and then playing them conservatively.  By conservatively, they mean using the clubs you can hit accurately and consistently.  Once you can "par" or approach par based on adding a stroke to each hole, you then remove a stroke from the easier holes (par 3s, some par 4s) and keep doing this until you are back to playing the official par ratings.  The idea is to relieve the mental stress associated with single, double, triple bogeys because mentally you may be parring the course.  As confidence improves, you work toward scoring according to the actual course rating.

I think most amateur golfers would be far better off leaving the drivers in their bags and instead using long irons, hybrids, and a 3-wood.

[Fourputt]

Nobody I know is going to be able to hypnotize himself into believing that a 400 yard hole is a par 5.  I prefer to use my imagination for other, more useful shots.  If a player understands his own game and has a clue about course management, then par makes no difference.  He is going to do what gives him the best chance for the lowest score, no matter what par is.

We have 2 long par 4 holes on my home course.  The longest one is straight at 450 yards.  It usually plays as a par 5 for me, not because I'm not long enough to reach it in 2, but because when I'm playing my second from 200+ yards, I'm rarely going to hit the green.  I hit driver, then I evaluate what's left and make my decision from that.  If I've hit a less than stellar drive, I will often lay up to the 90-100 yard range rather than risk a 4H or 3W and maybe give myself more trouble.

The other long par 4 is 430 yards, a sharp dogleg left with reasonable chance to cut the dogleg.  Even if you don't reach the fairway you can still turn a 200 yard approach into 170 or less from medium rough.  The hazard is 2 fairway bunkers which are very much in play (230 yard carry from the middle tees to clear the left bunker), but even if you don't have a shot at the green, they make for an easy layup to 100 yards or less.

The first hole can be played safely with 6I - 6I - then whatever is left.  The second one can be played like that too, but it can also be played driver - X (X being approach or layup depending on success off the tee) with no more risk than the 7I option.

Point being that all the OP is recommending is that a player use some course management techniques and in my opinion, if he understands that then par really doesn't matter.

[trackster]

  jeffRRy said:

Originally Posted by jeffRRy

I'm new to golf too... but isn't that why they have handicaps?

This I don't like.  That is like saying there is no need for me to get better at golf because I have my handicap.

  Fourputt said:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Nobody I know is going to be able to hypnotize himself into believing that a 400 yard hole is a par 5.  I prefer to use my imagination for other, more useful shots.  If a player understands his own game and has a clue about course management, then par makes no difference.  He is going to do what gives him the best chance for the lowest score, no matter what par is.

We have 2 long par 4 holes on my home course.  The longest one is straight at 450 yards.  It usually plays as a par 5 for me, not because I'm not long enough to reach it in 2, but because when I'm playing my second from 200+ yards, I'm rarely going to hit the green.  I hit driver, then I evaluate what's left and make my decision from that.  If I've hit a less than stellar drive, I will often lay up to the 90-100 yard range rather than risk a 4H or 3W and maybe give myself more trouble.

The other long par 4 is 430 yards, a sharp dogleg left with reasonable chance to cut the dogleg.  Even if you don't reach the fairway you can still turn a 200 yard approach into 170 or less from medium rough.  The hazard is 2 fairway bunkers which are very much in play (230 yard carry from the middle tees to clear the left bunker), but even if you don't have a shot at the green, they make for an easy layup to 100 yards or less.

The first hole can be played safely with 6I - 6I - then whatever is left.  The second one can be played like that too, but it can also be played driver - X (X being approach or layup depending on success off the tee) with no more risk than the 7I option.

Point being that all the OP is recommending is that a player use some course management techniques and in my opinion, if he understands that then par really doesn't matter.

False, I never mentioned course management thus why I brought up the thing about par for the course.  Course management has to do with the layout of the hole, what I am saying is that It would be wiser to not follow par for the hole all the time if you are a new golfer.  Course management is all about minimizing risk, what I propose is that you go into the hole thinking bogey golf for the hole.  Take the 3 shots that are the most likely for your game (not course layout) to get you on the green in GIR +1.

[jeffRRy]

All I was saying about handicaps is that I think they are there to keep things competitive. And a handicap is not there so you don't have to get better at golf. The object of the game is to get better and better, whether you have a handicap or not. Have personal goals dude; lower your handicap, get birdies, etc.

Fourputt said it pretty good: He is going to do what gives him the best chance for the lowest score, no matter what par is.

[NorthShoreGolf]

  Course management is all about minimizing risk said:

False, I never mentioned course management thus why I brought up the thing about par for the course.  Course management has to do with the layout of the hole, what I am saying is that It would be wiser to not follow par for the hole all the time if you are a new golfer.  Course management is all about minimizing risk, what I propose is that you go into the hole thinking bogey golf for the hole.  Take the 3 shots that are the most likely for your game (not course layout) to get you on the green in GIR +1.

That is effectively the same thing as "course management," and this is what Fourputt was trying to tell you. You're advocating playing within your abilities, which usually means hitting shorter clubs, which is the same thing as saying "minimize your risk of hitting a bad driver/3w/etc., by playing par+1 and playing shorter clubs". We all agree to some degree, you're just saying the same thing in a different way without realizing it. Course management and player ability are intrinsically connected.

[sacm3bill]

  trackster said:

Originally Posted by trackster

False, I never mentioned course management thus why I brought up the thing about par for the course.  Course management has to do with the layout of the hole, what I am saying is that It would be wiser to not follow par for the hole all the time if you are a new golfer.  Course management is all about minimizing risk, what I propose is that you go into the hole thinking bogey golf for the hole.  Take the 3 shots that are the most likely for your game (not course layout) to get you on the green in GIR +1.

Trackster, what you are talking about in your OP, and in the post I quoted here, is indeed course management - nothing more nor less.  If the "layout of the hole" is such that you have little chance of reaching it in two, you're advocating trying to reach it in three, and either settle for bogey or try to get close with your third and one-putt for par. As Rick said, and jeffRy seconded, you are minimizing risk in order to have the best chance of shooting a lower score. That's course management.

[Fourputt]

  trackster said:

Originally Posted by trackster

This I don't like.  That is like saying there is no need for me to get better at golf because I have my handicap.

False, I never mentioned course management thus why I brought up the thing about par for the course.  Course management has to do with the layout of the hole, what I am saying is that It would be wiser to not follow par for the hole all the time if you are a new golfer.  Course management is all about minimizing risk, what I propose is that you go into the hole thinking bogey golf for the hole.  Take the 3 shots that are the most likely for your game (not course layout) to get you on the green in GIR +1.

No, course management is about knowing your game, understanding your strengths and weaknesses, then applying that knowledge to the course in order to shoot the best score possible.   An important part of a hole's layout is its length, but other factors must be considered too - hazards, trees, fairway width must all be considered too.  If you are a poor driver (weakness) and you are facing a long hole without a generous landing area, then you should play away from your weakness if doing so would help you avoid a big number.  Here that probably means playing an iron, 3W or hybrid off the tee, thus managing your game to best suit the hole.  If your best club is your 6I, but the hole includes a raft of bunkers right in your 6I range, then you'd be stupid to play the 6I there, no matter how much you like the club.  Maybe the hole has a dogleg to the right.  Maybe your best play is that slice driver?  You can't just ignore everything else but how you hit each club.

If that isn't course management then a lot of pros and books have it wrong.

[ejimsmith]

  trackster said:

Originally Posted by trackster

This I don't like.  That is like saying there is no need for me to get better at golf because I have my handicap.

remember your handicap is only 96% of the average of your 10 best scores out of your last 20.   its not your overall average, your overall average would be higher.  thus, simply aiming for your handicap will help you get better.   what you can/should do is compute your course handicap before you play, find out how many strokes you get.  then mark your card for which holes you get strokes on and aim for *that* score, not par.   if you score your handicap exactly, your handicap will go down (ie. you improved upon it).  if its lower, then you beat your handicap.  i played last weekend, and beat my course handicap by 1 stroke.  awesome!  i'm improving!

get it?

[newtogolf]

The goal of golf is to reduce your handicap, that's the incentive to get better.  Handicap just allows you to compete in a tournament on equal footing with a guy that's better than you.  As for your "unique thoughts" for new or struggling golfers to follow, others are correct, it's called course management.  There are a few books written about it and higher handicap players playing "bogey" golf.

  trackster said:

Originally Posted by trackster

This I don't like.  That is like saying there is no need for me to get better at golf because I have my handicap.

[djackson89]

I've taken my HDCP these past two months from an 18 to 14 by using the theories above. I hit more 2H, 3W, and 4I on par 4's than I am with driver. If it's under 420 yards, I'm comfortable hitting a 3W. Gives me about 160-180 into the green on a decently hit 3W. Which for me isn't a scary shot.

It's all about playing to your strengths. If your strong with a 9 iron, try to ensure that your lay up is to a 9 iron distance, even if it's the 3rd shot on a par 4, you can two putt bogey and gtfo.

[MiniBlueDragon]

The example in the first post was a new golfer hitting a driver.

A golfer's handicap exists for the golfer to be able to compete against others. If a golfer in the US has a handicap of 36 he effectively has been given two extra shots on every hole (using CONGU handicap in the UK we only get a max of 28 handicap but that's another story). The golfer in the first post should therefore be aiming to be on the green in FOUR shots, not two, leaving himself with two putts.

If the hole is a 400 yards long par 4 he effectively has been given two shots on that hole so he aims to be down for six shots; his handicap. He can then afford to tee off with a 6i quite happily and hit it straight for 150 yards, then another straight 150 yards, followed by a straight 9i onto the green and he's still one shot better than he should be if he's aiming to have two putts for his handicap on that hole.

In my opinion there's no need whatsoever for a new golfer to have a driver or even a 3w to begin with; a set of irons, a putter and at a push a rescue club for teeing off is more than adequate.

[TheGeekGolfer]

Yes, the OP's 'idea' is correct and is a very good way to play.  It's not exactly a 'new' thought, but it does deserve to be repeated.

Golfers should play to their own 'par', not the established par for the hole/course.  You play to your strengths and have fun with your own game.  I played with a guy in a scramble tournament the last 2 years (we placed 2nd and 5th), he didn't even carry a driver.  He hit a 4 iron tee shot on most par 4/5s, low and running about 175 carry, 200-210 yds with roll.  He told me he consistently shoots in the low 90s and even high 80s.  I believe him, he never hit any 'horrible' shots OB or into the water, had a decent enough short game and decent putting.

[RayG]

The OP's idea isn't an original idea (no offense). It was actually mentioned a LONG time ago in one of the Golf Magazines, maybe 20 years or something. It was almost exactly what he described. 3 6 irons to a par 5 will usually yield better results for the golfer looking to break 90 or something. Of course, forced carries and the like can mess that up. And the idea was based in course management and to NOT try and impress your buddies with that booming drive that 9 times out of 10 will find a fairway other than the one you're on. Many low handicappers will throttle back on shorter holes to get that good distance for using a full swing with a particular club. 350 par 4 would be a 220 3w leaving a nice smooth 9 Iron for example. Instead of trying to work a half chip/wedge from 60 to 70 yds out if they used a driver.