All holes should be par 3!

[doctor professor]

I can't believe this thread is still going. Great, now I'm adding to it. Shame on me!

 

[StarFirebird]

No thanks for all Par 3's.

Would rather play it as the course is labeled. In our local tournaments we do it this way.

 

[ejvogie]

That would make all courses the same level if +2 was the same on every course. That is not what par should do. Within different levels of courses consistency would be good.

No, they wouldn't all be the same level. Harder courses would (and should IMO) have higher pars.

That said, there will be some discrepancies because there are many holes that don't deserve a par as high as 3. In fact, here's a course full of them.

 

[Dthunderchicken]

What is this "score" thing?

 

[simpletwist]

Call par whatever makes you happy. I played -5, I played +2... Based on what?

The course "par" for each hole gives you an idea of the potential difficulty of each hole.

All par 3s! Yeah that's great if your playing casual and don't use a score card and pencil.

No matter what par is called, the bottom line is the total number of throws to complete the round.

So when discussing our game instead of the silly baseless 5 down, 4 up BS, we should be saying I shot a 65, or 52 (your total score). Then you've taken the "par" equation right out of the picture.

 

[sneakytiki]

That would make all courses the same level if +2 was the same on every course. That is not what par should do. Within different levels of courses consistency would be good.

It would not make all the courses the same level. Some would require more strokes than others and could be more difficult to finish in as many strokes, but par would be higher on them.

Par is for comparing performance across courses, not for comparing scores on the same round. That is why how we set par needs to strive for consistency in how it is determined.

 

[Grungedude42]

Even the PGA has slope and course ratings to calculate handicaps for golfers across courses. Par isn't a be-all-end-all.

 

[ohtobediscing]

I'm in!

*takes up bowling*

*moves to bowlingalleyreview.com*

But---it doesn't rate alleys, balls, or clothing on any scale. What do they argue about then? :|

 

[Steve West]

...Par is for comparing performance across courses, not for comparing scores on the same round....

Why not both?

 

[dandaman]

Considering my math education is only on a preschool level, I agree with the topic of this thread.

 

[scarpfish]

No thanks for all Par 3's.

Would rather play it as the course is labeled. In our local tournaments we do it this way.

Sadly, on many courses, "all Par 3" still makes more sense than how it is labeled when you have signs stating that a 375 ft hole is a par 4.

 

[zenbot]

Sadly, on many courses, "all Par 3" still makes more sense than how it is labeled when you have signs stating that a 375 ft hole is a par 4.

I albatrossed a 300' wide open par 5 before. Man, I sure felt good.

 

[All Day]

My eagle dance is just far too entertaining for me and any witnesses, so I will stick with course par for the time being.

 

[DavidSauls]

Sadly, on many courses, "all Par 3" still makes more sense than how it is labeled when you have signs stating that a 375 ft hole is a par 4.

That is a Par 5 at my local course.

 

[notapro]

I love how the best (or only) reason to have actual par designations... is for when you DON'T play the hole.

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

Par is for comparing performance across courses, not for comparing scores on the same round. That is why how we set par needs to strive for consistency in how it is determined.

What's the reason for having an arbitrary number to "compare" courses to one another? Too many variables play into the difficulty level of a given hole, let alone an entire course.

Wind
Rain
Snow
Tree growth(leaves or not)

When I go to a new course, I shoot a round and then next time I look to shoot lower than I did before.

 

[TimSyl]

Perhaps it's because of my real golf background, but I have trouble understanding why pars aren't used instead of the standard three. At the course I play most often, Meyer Broadway, the first hole is 256' with a couple trees to avoid off the tee...the 14th hole is 620' with an uphill drive, then a dogleg left up a hill the last 150'. You really think these should both be par 3s???????????

 

[sneakytiki]

What's the reason for having an arbitrary number to "compare" courses to one another? Too many variables play into the difficulty level of a given hole, let alone an entire course.

Wind
Rain
Snow
Tree growth(leaves or not)

Yes, there are many variables, and it will never be perfect. But other than striving to do that, I don't see a purpose for par at all.

When I go to a new course, I shoot a round and then next time I look to shoot lower than I did before.

That is stroke count. Par is not needed for that. I am just saying what par aims to do, because if it doesn't give some level of meaningful comparison between different courses it is useless other than as a scoring shorthand.

 

[sneakytiki]

Why not both?

I am just saying it isn't needed to compare scores in the same round. You would just be referring to your stroke count, and par is meaningless in the scope of one course other than as scoring shorthand.

 

[disc qualified]

What's the par on this thread?