I met a Par loving dufus

[Nemmers]

Do you play tournaments often?

Par is VERY important when folks miss holes and the penalty is par+4. Depending on the skill level of the player, this matters quite a bit. Missing a Par 5 and carding a 9 is way different than missing a Par 3 and carding a 7 especially in your total score scenario.

I play tournaments fairly regularly and even run a sanctioned league. The scenario you cite above (missed holes) doesn't factor in because there's no pre-registration for rounds and thus, people are already there, everyone starts at the same time (since leagues are only one round), and everyone who's signed up knows where they're supposed to go. It's not impossible, I suppose, but you'd have to be a supreme idiot to have that affect you in a league.

Regardless, your point is well-taken...specifically for tournaments above L-Tier. I could see that problem arise here in Des Moines though, where some courses don't list have pars listed. (Ewing Park is an example of this.) In that instance I think the most fair way to do it would be to default to the "everything's a par three" mentality, in the absence of clear guidance.

 

[scarpfish]

Do you play tournaments often?

Par is VERY important when folks miss holes and the penalty is par+4. Depending on the skill level of the player, this matters quite a bit. Missing a Par 5 and carding a 9 is way different than missing a Par 3 and carding a 7 especially in your total score scenario.

This is a problem for TD's to iron out at tournaments, and I can count in a decade of tournament play the number of cases it had to be used on one finger. It's not really an applicable matter for players to worry about at single round events or casual play.

But it does perhaps open discussion on why a player in a shotgun start round should be penalized more for missing an early hole designated Par 4 or 5 when they had no choice in what hole they started on.

 

[Jenga54]

This is a problem for TD's to iron out at tournaments, and I can count in a decade of tournament play the number of cases it had to be used on one finger. It's not really an applicable matter for players to worry about at single round events or casual play.

But it does perhaps open discussion on why a player in a shotgun start round should be penalized more for missing an early hole designated Par 4 or 5 when they had no choice in what hole they started on.

Just ask Sarah Hokum.....

Oh my - you aren't penalized more for missing a par 5 than a par 3. If you like we can work the math nice and slow.

 

[teemkey]

This is a problem for TD's to iron out at tournaments, and I can count in a decade of tournament play the number of cases it had to be used on one finger.

Better use two of your digits:
Cat Allen 2014 Worlds
Sarah Hokom 2015 Worlds

Locally, one player was late because the baby sitter was late (Kenny Hall). Another got sick for the last couple of holes on Saturday and wanted to play Sunday (Mike Myers).

So two more ... someone else get the thumb at least

 

[dashiellx]

I would add four strokes to the mode score for that hole within the players division.
If the data set is bimodal and one of the modes is a median I would take that plus 4.
If neither or both modes are median I would take the higher of the two plus 4.
If there is no mode I would take the median value plus 4.
If the median value is based on a calculation of two middle values I would take the higher of the two plus 4.

AND I would make the player do this calculation adding the appropriate two strokes if they get it wrong!

Very complicated.

 

[biscoe]

Better use two of your digits:
Cat Allen 2014 Worlds
Sarah Hokom 2015 Worlds

Locally, one player was late because the baby sitter was late (Kenny Hall). Another got sick for the last couple of holes on Saturday and wanted to play Sunday (Mike Myers).

So two more ... someone else get the thumb at least

If Mike got to play Sunday he was lucky because the rule only applies to holes missed at the outset of the round.

 

[DavidSauls]

If Mike got to play Sunday he was lucky because the rule only applies to holes missed at the outset of the round.

I believe it now applies to missed holes at any point in a round.

 

[DavidSauls]

This is a problem for TD's to iron out at tournaments, and I can count in a decade of tournament play the number of cases it had to be used on one finger. It's not really an applicable matter for players to worry about at single round events or casual play.

But it does perhaps open discussion on why a player in a shotgun start round should be penalized more for missing an early hole designated Par 4 or 5 when they had no choice in what hole they started on.

I've seen it happen a lot more often than that. Particular on Sunday morning Round 3.

I don't see it as being penalized more. If pars are set in any vaguely reasonable fashion, the player starting on a harder hole is getting penalized the same amount over his most likely score, if he hadn't been late. Far worse would be if you are and I are both late, I was to start on an easy-2 hole, you were to start on a monster hole, and we're both given the same score.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Better use two of your digits:
Cat Allen 2014 Worlds
Sarah Hokom 2015 Worlds

Locally, one player was late because the baby sitter was late (Kenny Hall). Another got sick for the last couple of holes on Saturday and wanted to play Sunday (Mike Myers).

So two more ... someone else get the thumb at least

Johne McCray, Pro Worlds 2006, two holes

 

[biscoe]

I believe it now applies to missed holes at any point in a round.

oops...my bad... why is it that virtually every time the rules change it is for the worse? (rhetorical)

 

[Kodachrome]

What is par?

Baby don't bird me...don't bird me...no mo'.

 

[nose down]

Baby don't bird me...don't bird me...no mo'.

I see what you did there!

 

[Lewis]

Par doesn't directly affect your score, but it can affect how you feel about your score. If how you feel about your score during a round affects how you play, then I suppose you could say par can affect your score, but only because you let it get in your head.

 

[Putt for D'oh]

Par doesn't directly affect your score, but it can affect how you feel about your score. If how you feel about your score during a round affects how you play, then I suppose you could say par can affect your score, but only because you let it get in your head.

Which then going back to the OP and the dude he was talking too there is a good chance that someone who would make the statement about par affecting score really does let it go to his head AND lets it influence the way he plays. So from his personal perspective its true.

 

[Improbably]

Which then going back to the OP and the dude he was talking too there is a good chance that someone who would make the statement about par affecting score really does let it go to his head AND lets it influence the way he plays. So from his personal perspective its true.

Even though the gentleman dufus was not able to explain to me his personal understanding of arithmetic his explanation didn't go down the path of perceived difficulty effecting ones confidence/satisfaction in a specific score.

 

[Didn'tSeeThatTree]

Who cares!?! Lowest number wins, but using par as a measuring stick is more fun.

IMO par isn't perfect, but is important because it's a cleaner way to express performance. There is more inconsistency in how par is set in disc golf vs. regular golf. It is generally much easier to get a birdie in disc golf than regular golf which is perfectly ok! To me it's part of the appeal, and helps bring new players to the game. If I had to guess the "par 3 only" crowd doesn't like this aspect of the game.

 

[DanJon]

Better use two of your digits:
Cat Allen 2014 Worlds
Sarah Hokom 2015 Worlds

Locally, one player was late because the baby sitter was late (Kenny Hall). Another got sick for the last couple of holes on Saturday and wanted to play Sunday (Mike Myers).

So two more ... someone else get the thumb at least

This past Sunday I almost missed the start of the third round at the Standing Rocks Open. My alarm didn't go off but luckily my little girl woke me up. I had a 45 minute drive to get there and then had to run down a steep ski hill to get to my tee. I arrived right as the 2 minute warning went off. No warm up and ended up taking a two on the first hole.

Would have been a lot different had I been late and taken a 7.

 

[Atvizory2000]

Guy - "Shot an 80 the other day"
Me - "Wow! You suck"
Guy - "It was 24 holes at Idlewild"
Me - "I guess par does matter"

 

[Improbably]

If I had to guess the "par 3 only" crowd doesn't like this aspect of the game.

I wonder if there really is a "par 3 only" crowd? There are people who focus on stroke play and there are people who really care about par.

The people who focus on stroke play often use all par 3 as a score keeping shortcut.

The people who really care about par seem to want to assign pars of 4 or 5 to a lot of holes, but strangely almost never a 2. . .

Is there actually someone who really cares about par but insists all par 3 is the best way of implementing par?

 

[Steve West]

I wonder if there really is a "par 3 only" crowd? There are people who focus on stroke play and there are people who really care about par.

The people who focus on stroke play often use all par 3 as a score keeping shortcut.

The people who really care about par seem to want to assign pars of 4 or 5 to a lot of holes, but strangely almost never a 2. . .

Is there actually someone who really cares about par but insists all par 3 is the best way of implementing par?

For most Open tournaments, all par 3 would work better than assigning pars of 4 or 5 to a lot of holes, but strangely almost never a 2.