How long did you play before breaking par?

[top4874]

I have been playing for about 9 months and I have gradually got better and better, but have yet to break par. How long did it take you?

 

[ThrowBot]

It was at least two years before I ever broke par, but that was without much guidance or practice.

When I first started we scored relative to "beginner par" which had several 4's and 5's throughout the local 18 hole course. After about a year I was consistently under par using that system, so I switched to considering everything as a par 3 (which is what all of the "good players" said was par). Immediately I went from averaging -6 to averaging +6...oh the horror! :wall: It was another year before I broke the 54 barrier.

Sorry for the long-winded story. I guess my point is that par is a relative concept in some cases. As long as you're improving, that's great :thmbup: Keep working at it!

 

[Qikly]

It only became a regular possibility for me in the last 6 or so months.

Keep in mind too that it's very dependent on the courses you play. I can think of a lot of courses that I'd have no shot at breaking par on, and a lot of courses that I'd be frustrated to ever shoot over it.

 

[gabereif]

I wouldn't focus on breaking par because that depends so much on the course you are playing. On one of my local courses, I score below par 90% of the time. On another local course, I have never broken par.

If you keep playing and keeping track of your stats, you will see them improve. At the course that I learned to play on, I was probably shooting +10 when I first started playing, +5 after 9 months of playing, and finally broke par after about 14 months.

Keep at it!

 

[eric40817]

My first year I only played a couple times and almost immediately jumped on the high speed wagon.
Second year played more, no off course practice, no coaching or guidance
Third year I played WAY more often and started practicing and learning better form. Started shaving strokes off
Fourth year, this year, started working on PROPER form, had some coaching from the local pro card players, practiced putting more often and dialed in my bag closer to what works for me. This year I was consistently stuck at a +3 best. Last week I hit par a couple times. Last night I finished -1.

My advice, is seek guidance on your form. Dont touch distance drivers yet. Practice putting and get out to a field to practice. All things I would do if I could start from the beginning.

 

[gabereif]

I agree with Eric. If you practice putting for 10-30 minutes every day, your scores will improve dramatically in a short period of time.

 

[DavidSauls]

Keep in mind too that it's very dependent on the courses you play. I can think of a lot of courses that I'd have no shot at breaking par on, and a lot of courses that I'd be frustrated to ever shoot over it.

This.

My personal answer is, a matter of weeks. The course I began on, and the pars that are set on it, are easily obtainable.

Nowadays, I play a lot on a course that I may have parred a handful of times in the past 10 years. If that.

 

[TimSyl]

Common answer: Depends on the course. Using all par 3s as par, some courses I could shoot under within months of starting...while one of the courses I work on and live close to the best I've shot is 57...and probably won't ever beat that as I get older.

 

[tampora]

I broke par on my very first hole. I think I got a 7.

 

[sisyphus]

I broke par on my very first hole. I think I got a 7.

Broke it? Man, you demolished it! Congrats!

to the OP: Really, it varies tremendously from course to course, but if you have some old courses from the 70's or 80's, it won't take you long to beat the old course pars, and soon you'll find you average under par three on those. Just keep 'em flying!

 

[Puckstopper]

I wouldn't focus on breaking par because that depends so much on the course you are playing. On one of my local courses, I score below par 90% of the time. On another local course, I have never broken par.

Exactly! I have a target score on every course I play. On a new course this 3 per hole. But I adjust my expectations after playing a course.

 

[DG_Before_Breakfast]

Depends heavily on the course. My home course is Delaveaga in Santa Cruz, CA. Par is a 1000 rated round in long positions. So ya, I've never had a par round in those positions. In shorter positions though, I have a handful of them, the first being 1.5 years into playing. But on smaller courses, like Aptos HS, I had one within a year.

 

[ScottyLove]

Never touched or broke par in a casual or league round for over a year... and then BOOM!! My first under par round was at AmWorlds in Emporia. Since then, I try to make it a habit.

I now have a +1 handicap for a local league, but like Dave said, it's 100% a factor of the course you play.

 

[top4874]

I guess I should have been more specific. At what point did you notice the greatest improvement? Was it one thing you worked on (i.e. putting)?

When I started, I went on a binge. Buying up everything "cool" I saw that was under 10 on the speed scale. Thinking a magic disc was going to be the answer. It wasn't.

I have narrowed it down to 5 discs. I have them in different plastics (DX, Champ, and Star). They are Valkyrie, Teebird, Leopard, Roc3, and Judge putters (2). Since doing this I have seen a very noticeable decrease in my scores. At the end of spring I was shooting a pretty consistent +12 at my local course. Now I shoot +4 pretty regular with a best round of +1.

 

[top4874]

My "home" course is Brahan Springs est. 1976

 

[DatRedDude]

if you don't already, play leagues, play with better players. When i started it was me and a buddy and we learned bad technique from each other. Still breaking bad habits i learned when i first started.

took me about a year to break par on my home course.

 

[filobedo]

This.

My personal answer is, a matter of weeks. The course I began on, and the pars that are set on it, are easily obtainable.

Nowadays, I play a lot on a course that I may have parred a handful of times in the past 10 years. If that.

This ^^^. I started playing at Earlewood in 2005 and shot par 54 after playing each weekday for about two weeks. I also started playing Trophy Lakes in 2005 and have played probably 500 aggregate rounds from the longs and shorts and shot par from the longs three times. I also started playing traditional golf almost forty years ago and broken 80 once (79) but have shot par on 9 holes a few times. I also have 19 aces (two aces in the first year playing) through my first 10 years of dg and only 3 aces in traditional golf in 40 years (first ace was twenty two years after I started playing)

 

[Jay Dub]

My first memorable round was when I shot a 49. Back then on the shorter courses shooting only par never got you anywhere.

 

[Binky Yutz]

My "home" course is Brahan Springs est. 1976

On my home course, I did not break par for about a year and a half of regular playing. (Been at it for a little over 2 and a half years). Shot 2 under yesterday, but still have far too many rounds over par.

As others have said, on some courses I always shoot under established par, on others I never shoot under established par

Brahan Springs is on my radar for October, along with a 8 other courses in the area.

 

[Halcón]

Still haven't "broken" par yet. Just barely shot even par yesterday for the first time. But as mentioned, it's very course dependant.