I've met several people who have told me they do not know what par means. I don't know why you would just assume everyone knows what par means. Most people probably have heard the term but that does not mean they know what it really means. The world is a big place and believe it or not, golf is not a universally understood sport.
To the question about where I was when golf was on and I had no idea about what was going on, the one that sticks out to me was during the 2012 Ryder cup and I was at the South Point sports book in Vegas to watch football. Every NFL game was on as was the Ryder cup and I had no clue what was going on if I didn't ask. There have been other occasions in clubhouses where the sound was down and it was just basically people hitting shots but that was several years ago.
I think it's fine but if you guys really don't like it, here is a list of contacts at NBC sports.
http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/sports/nbcsports/contacts