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I wish we had cam todd here right now
But even a 1000 rated player is not going to average 3 on a 600+ foot basket.
The PDGA guidelines have 600 as the upper limit for par 3's. Sure, there might be more 3's than 4's. But 2's would be more or less out of the picture even for that level of player.
Would make a lot more sense to have it as an easy par 4 for the 1000 rated player - than a more or less birdieless par 3.
?
There is obviously an issue in adopting it from ball golf where it is more or less established as number of (good) strokes to get to the green + 2 putts. The nature of disc golf makes a good drive much more likely to leave you with one putt, than in ball golf - roughly speaking. Disc golf is much more about making the drive - in most cases. And the penalty for being just a tad off can be much harsher. On the other hand we are not penalized as harshly for going OB. So while it is comparable it is still somewhat apples and oranges.
But we should be able to agree that IF we are assigning pars - there should be some common standard to it?
I read somewhere that for disc golf a good way to figure par is the number of drives it takes a 1000 rated player to get within 100 feet plus 2.
I read somewhere that for disc golf a good way to figure par is the number of drives it takes a 1000 rated player to get within 100 feet plus 2.
But yea i think it should be a four or five... depending on skill level.
Par should not be based on relative to a given players skill level.
Par is the standard for a skilled played.
I just love internet arguments over par - it's such an amusing way to start the day.
Welcome to the sport, and it's nice to see you're from my area! Which course is that? I was about to guess Begg Park, but that's more like 650'. Maybe the new Vicksburg course? I haven't seen signs there yet. Maybe that tight, long hole at Robert Morris?
At any rate, in case this wasn't covered earlier in the thread, we usually say "Everything's par 3" just for the ease of score keeping. Since most courses are on public land and there isn't usually sufficient acreage to make a full layout with 18 holes that tournament players routinely get 4s all day long, 3 is appropriate even for a 600' hole since a lot of players with a year or two of practice can make 300' throws.
When someone like me plays 95% of existing courses (I don't even have much power; 300' is good personally), I'm still taking a 3 on most holes I play, so it's easy to keep score in my head by having a mental "plus" or "minus" counter. ("I just took a 4 ('bogeyed') this 650' hole, so I'm +1" and that will stand as I keep getting 3 after 3 after 3 most of the time.)
I'm a far cry from a pro, but even they usually take a lot of threes and some twos and fours on courses that aren't obviously too easy for them...they'd smoke the Kalamazoo Air Zoo's course, for example, probably -9 or -10 every day there with par 3s, but they still would say, "I shot a ten down at the Air Zoo." It's just standard Disc Golf nomenclature.
Keeping score would be much more difficult mentally if it was more like ball golf with this hole being Par 5 and that hole being Par 3 and that hole being Par 4. It fits ball golf because, frankly, it's more physically difficult to execute a shot in it (you're making contact with a club onto a round ball that's sitting on the ground versus our sport where you're just throwing the projectile) and your hole-to-hole scores vary much more wildly than it does in Disc Golf once you're considered a typical player.
Incidentally, one place that's highly unusual for this sport and is near us is Burchfield Park up in Holt. They have two tees and two baskets per hole, and the "long to long" setup (back tee played to the longest basket on each hole) is a true par 4 course at over 9,500 feet (when 5,000 to 6,000 feet might be typical). It's awesome. You can also play the "short to short" setup which is about 4,500 feet. Or whatever you want.
I also personally consider courses such as the wonderful Fallasburg Park up in Lowell (just east of Grand Rapids) to be a "par and half" course for me. I'm usually around +9 or +10 for the full 18 layout with all holes being considered par 3. Same has been true for the new Vicksburg course on the longs.
Really what you're saying is that you consider all 18 hole courses a 54. The math just becomes easier when scoring this way. Not that you truly expect to get a 3 on a 1000 foot completely wooded hole. LOL.I consider all holes par 3 no matter the distance/difficulty. 300ft wide open par 3. 400ft straight then 200ft left to pin, still par 3. 1000ft wide open, Par 3, 1000ft completly wooded, par 3. Easy to remember and gives you something to strive for on those tough holes.
Really what you're saying is that you consider all 18 hole courses a 54. The math just becomes easier when scoring this way. Not that you truly expect to get a 3 on a 1000 foot completely wooded hole. LOL.