current competition constructs
Ha ha, "current competition constructs"! Which means the way the game has been played since the beginning, and how golf was played for decades before that. Ooh, I guess I'm supposed to be primed to expect it will change any day now, right?
Just so everyone knows, "scoring" is actually defined. It's adding up the number of throws; fewest wins.
It is true is that, in golf, trying to get the minimum score and competing against the course is older than adding up the number of strokes. From USGA's FAQ page:
"What is the origin of the word 'bogey?' top
The term 'bogey' comes from a song that was popular in the British Isles in the early 1890s, called "The Bogey Man" (later known as "The Colonel Bogey March"). The character of the song was an elusive figure who hid in the shadows: "I'm the Bogey Man, catch me if you can."
Golfers in Scotland and England equated the quest for the elusive Bogey Man with the quest for the elusive perfect score. By the mid to late 1890s, the term 'bogey score' referred to the ideal score a good player could be expected to make on a hole under perfect conditions. It also came to be used to describe stroke play tournaments - hence, in early Rules books we find a section detailing the regulations for 'Bogey Competitions.' It was only in the late 1900s/early 1910s that the concept of 'Par' started to emerge - this being the designated number of strokes a scratch player could be expected to take on a hole in ideal conditions. In this way par was distinguished from bogey. The term par itself is a standard term in sports handicapping, where it simply means 'level' or 'even.'"
Note that there WAS a term for the perfect score, and that term was "bogey". Obviously, the meaning of "bogey" has changed. However "par" has
always meant the score expected of a scratch player - in both golf and disc golf.
Also, "birdie" has
always meant scoring better than par:
"How did the terms 'birdie' and 'eagle' come into golf? top
The term 'birdie' originated in the United States in 1899. H.B. Martin's "Fifty Years of American Golf" contains an account of a foursomes match played at the Atlantic City (N.J.) CC. One of the players, Ab Smith relates: "my ball... came to rest within six inches of the cup. I said 'That was a bird of a shot... I suggest that when one of us plays a hole in one under par he receives double compensation.' The other two agreed and we began right away, just as soon as the next one came, to call it a 'birdie.' In 19th-century American slang, 'bird' refereed to anyone or anything excellent or wonderful.[…]"
Note that the switch from chasing perfect score of "bogey" to stroke play against other players (and using par - not as a score, but as a way to measure how well they are playing), happened long before disc golf was started. So, disc golf has no words for - or tradition of - playing against the perfect score.
Chuck, you are correct that there is no need for any throw to get punished more than creating a bad lie. And that the game would be better for it. But, getting so much else wrong - whether by lack of knowledge or by intentional deceit - undermines your credibility.
If there needs to be a vocabulary for playing against the course by seeking the perfect score, make one up. Use new words. Don't corrupt words which already have established meaning. Even if you were to successfully mess up what "scoring", "par", and "birdie" mean, that wouldn't lead to everyone being convinced penalty throws shouldn't exist. It also wouldn't lead to touring pros high-fiving each other when they get a 3 on a wide open 600 foot hole.