Of course. Well, think of them as "triple-bogey holes".
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The Par 6
- Thread starter Billy K2
- Start date
Of course. Well, think of them as "triple-bogey holes".
thirtydirtybirds
Double Eagle Member
If you have the space for a par 6, just make 2 really well planned holes out of it. MAYBE if there is a triple dogleg or something I could see it, but I'd rather play 2 great holes than one really long mediocre one.
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
I don't think designers should ever "forcibly" insert a par 6 in course layout. But the one I did on Highbridge Gold just presented itself as a logical option that made sense in the flow of the layout plus added another marketing curiosity to this multi-course complex. I've never heard anyone think the hole itself didn't make sense and par 6 seemed right for its length and challenge. This mostly technical, but relatively open, gold level course does not have another par 4 or 5 hole where you can really open up on your fairway throws. So this par 6 which does use one of the abandoned ball golf fairways gives you a few opportunities including rollers with a nice panorama view as you play it.
simpletwist
* Ace Member *
Exactly. What's the point? One of the great advantages of disc golf over ball golf is simply that its easier to play. And most disc golfers, those NOT making a living throwing plastic, want to have fun. But with a couple bad throws a Par 6 becomes a triple bogey or more. That doesn't say "Fun" to me.
Easier, yes, but easy? Not quite. Stick to our roots. A bunch of Frisbee throwing nonconformists playing "Golf" with a disc instead of a stick and ball.
Par 6 = :wall:
Cgkdisc
.:Hall of Fame Member:.
Par 6s are definitely official in ball golf with perhaps 50 on golf courses worldwide. From the USGA Handicap System guidebook, holes over 691 yards are par 6 for men and over 591 yards for women.
filobedo
Double Eagle Member
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2008
- Messages
- 1,205
I think those guidelines for distances are from the tips and par is not always from all tees on the same holes. Member tees are normally shorter with different pars at many private clubs that host PGA events. Some par 5's on tour would be considered par 6's if club members played them. I do remember one of the courses in Little River, SC or Calabash, NC having a par 6 or 7 (Carolina Shores maybe?) and I think one of the Pinehurst courses had a par 7 years back. There is also a hole at True Blue in Pawley's Island that I thought was a par 6 when I played it from the tips for the first time but when we finished the hole, no such luck. With so many golf courses going out of business, it is not cost feasible to have par 6's as the maintenance would increase just for a novelty. I personally would not play a course just to say I had played a par 6.
Why is that a false rule?
While some courses have par 6s and some designers will continue to try to make 'something a little different', the best reason for NOT having par 6s are simply that "not great players" simply loose track of their score over such a long distance / time! Been there, done that. In MA there's a "quarter mile hole" used in a tournament. An O.B. corn field all the way down the right and prickers up your butt down the left (you wished you'd have gone O.B.); fairway about 80 ft wide. Playing in mixed (division) groups, I've seen more than once a couple of guys who swore they carded double O.B. 9s. They carded a 10 and an 11...but was impossible to reason with a really grumpy, peeved, etc. guy.
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2009
- Messages
- 6,856
It's one of those things that a lot of people believe, but has no basis in the rules.
What rules? PDGA rules? I was under the impression that the PDGA doesn't really have hard and fast rules on course design, just recommendations.
I'm gonna try and take this discussion to another thread b/c this is a disagreement in philosophy that I run into occasionally which I find interesting.
BuzzSharpe
Par Member
I LOVE These Philosophical Threads
There is too much to consider to set a specific distance as adequate input for a par assignaton of 6, or any other number, from 2 up. Distance is perhaps the primary consideration, but other factors, such as effective length; foliage density; fairway direction or shape; OB's, Mando's and/or other obstacles; topography and terrain; and especially the skill level targeted are as or more important. Overall course par schematic should also be considered. But maybe the most important question to answer in designing a hole to be a Par 6 or not, is "What does the land give you?"
In the original 1000'+ Blue/1200'+ Gold design of #8 at Springwood, it was done for rarity, overall par schematic along with the two par 2's and because it was what the land presented. My biggest misconception of that hole was that there was going to be a local players' association willing to do the work to make the hole work, which there never was and therefore, which it never did.
As mentioned above, the PDGA does present guidelines. I've been informed that I give too much credence and credibility to that chart, as it is antiquated and obsolete and should be trumped by the personal opinions and preferences of players of youth and high skill level, even (and perhaps especially) when they have no real design experience, talent or vision.
When we were designing Johnson Street in the early, early 90's, I proposed a 777' long hole for the power tower field. Such was unfathomable at that time, as the longest drives by the best players were in the 250' range and there were only Par 3 holes in existance. Now, twenty-some years later, mostly due to plastic improvements, that distance in that type of wide openness is considered a Par 5 for Red, White and Blue tees and a long Par 4 for Gold level players.
As a final and perhaps repetitive point, relative to the brief Par 2 discussion above...ALL holes are filler holes, in that they all fill the space between the preceding hole and the following hole.
There is too much to consider to set a specific distance as adequate input for a par assignaton of 6, or any other number, from 2 up. Distance is perhaps the primary consideration, but other factors, such as effective length; foliage density; fairway direction or shape; OB's, Mando's and/or other obstacles; topography and terrain; and especially the skill level targeted are as or more important. Overall course par schematic should also be considered. But maybe the most important question to answer in designing a hole to be a Par 6 or not, is "What does the land give you?"
In the original 1000'+ Blue/1200'+ Gold design of #8 at Springwood, it was done for rarity, overall par schematic along with the two par 2's and because it was what the land presented. My biggest misconception of that hole was that there was going to be a local players' association willing to do the work to make the hole work, which there never was and therefore, which it never did.
As mentioned above, the PDGA does present guidelines. I've been informed that I give too much credence and credibility to that chart, as it is antiquated and obsolete and should be trumped by the personal opinions and preferences of players of youth and high skill level, even (and perhaps especially) when they have no real design experience, talent or vision.
When we were designing Johnson Street in the early, early 90's, I proposed a 777' long hole for the power tower field. Such was unfathomable at that time, as the longest drives by the best players were in the 250' range and there were only Par 3 holes in existance. Now, twenty-some years later, mostly due to plastic improvements, that distance in that type of wide openness is considered a Par 5 for Red, White and Blue tees and a long Par 4 for Gold level players.
As a final and perhaps repetitive point, relative to the brief Par 2 discussion above...ALL holes are filler holes, in that they all fill the space between the preceding hole and the following hole.
