Whats par for you?

[simpletwist]

Someone here quoted Willie Nelson on the subject of par.

"Par is whatever I say it is. I've got one hole that's a par 23 and yesterday I damn near birdied the sucker."

That'd be me. Thanks for remembering. I love that quote.

I'm not a pro, or even a pro wannabe. I write our scores down. Maybe it's my age or maybe it's the kynd, maybe both, but this way I don't have to remember anything from hole to hole. And at the end of the day I can record my score accurately. I can then look back and see which holes (shots) I need to work to improve and which ones I'm pretty comfortable with.

 

[skinner21]

Only for you, however.

Every other week this pops up on a new discussion thread, and it all repeats.

What is needed is a page that explains it all---

Definition of par
CR Par
"Par 3" scorekeeping
Why the posted pars on courses vary so.
Why it all matters.
Why it doesn't matter.
Etc.

Then each time some starts this again, we can just copy & paste all of that into the discussion and save 100,000 keystrokes.

but then how are we supposed to boost our post counts?

 

[ptld2001]

So if you're playing a 350' hole and you can drive 350' then it would be a par 2?

Note that I said average productive drive distance. If you can drive 350' towards the hole under average conditions (not in an open field), then I would expect you to play a 350' hole as a par 2. It certainly wouldn't be an incentive towards improvement to keep playing it as a par 3. If you play the hole as a 3, then your goal is just the lowest score possible, rather than trying to achieve a goal on a hole-by-hole basis. Obviously, this breaks down when your average drive distance is longer than the hole length, but then you should probably be playing longer/harder courses.

 

[Adam Schneider]

I really don't understand they're all par 3 menatality. I played ball golf for years and still do ocassionally. Some course are all par 3s and that's what they are referred to as. But most courses are not. I've played some courses where making par was very difficult and others where it was not. Lenght was not the only factor.

Here's the problem: when you play ball golf, they throw in a nice little cardstock scorecard in exchange for the $50 you fork over to play the course. Most disc golf courses don't have scorecards. Many of them don't even have tee signs. On these, you just say everything's a 3, and then you get in the habit. Like someone else said, it's not even really "par," but it sure makes things a hell of a lot easier.

 

[simpletwist]

Here's the problem: when you play ball golf, they throw in a nice little cardstock scorecard in exchange for the $50 you fork over to play the course. Most disc golf courses don't have scorecards. Many of them don't even have tee signs. On these, you just say everything's a 3, and then you get in the habit. Like someone else said, it's not even really "par," but it sure makes things a hell of a lot easier.

Well then I'm blessed to live in Western NY. Every course around these parts has a link on this site to print a scorecard. And many if not most have a box at the first tee that usually has scorecards available.

 

[DavidSauls]

but then how are we supposed to boost our post counts?

I think the thread about overrated things in disc golf will take care of this problem nicely. If handled correctly, it could branch out into 37 different thread drifts and keep us occupied for a long, long time.

 

[waynewf]

I've gotten over the whole par discussion. If I'm playing with people playing all 3's, i'm happy to play along. If the course is marked with 4's and 5's, or if I print out a scorecard from the courses website with 4's and 5's, I still keep my raw score, but I do think of those pars as my baseline.
Generally speaking I believe in 4's and 5's in disc golf, but I also realize that there may be a bigger disparity between pro and amateur players in disc golf as opposed to ball golf...whereas in ball golf a player may not be able to drive with the pros, but he's at least in the same range where he just may be shooting a couple of clubs lower than the pro. In disc golf, i think the pros that can drive 450+ compared to an amateur that can get 300 or so on their drive creates a greater disparity and thus, a greater debate when it comes to the par discussion.

 

[locuno1]

 

[Lovan]

lowest post count wins right lol

 

[zenbot]

lowest post count wins right lol

You've got me beat.

 

[Preacher]

I think this debate will outlast the Energizer Bunny!!!!! Along with the Buzz VS. Roc debate and the what is an "Ace" debate and it should count if lands on the top of the basket debate. Stop debating and play more disc golf.

 

[billnchristy]

whatever they say plus like 15-20 so i can shoot under par for an entire round

Hahaha I was going to say the same thing.

I play sign par unless its lunacy, then I will play all 3s.

 

[mohmandm]

all par 3's... I get made fun of by my non avid friends because of this

 

[Adaven]

We have a funny little course here in GR. this course has no holes longer than about 300'-310' most are much shorter. There are three or so holes that are par 5's at around 250-300'. there are plenty of par fours and a couple of threes. When ever I go to this park me and my buddies will count marked par. Its a great confidence booster. So far I think I have the record at something like -24 or -25. This in no way reflects my ability but every once in a while you need a pick me up.

 

[DiscChucker]

I play sign par unless its lunacy, then I will play all 3s.

Bingo! That is a great way to look at it.

 

[Midnightbiker]

The course I play is pretty tough (Oak Meadow). The last sanctioned tournament had 57 players and out of two rounds each, only one person finished under par (and he had 9 over on the first round). Since I am a beginner, I just make every hole a par 4.

I tell my beginer friends to do that, because they get upset when I am getting a 2 or 3 on the holes that they are getting a 4 or 5. I tell them just try to get a 4 on every hole, and that seems to make them a little happier.

 

[RHINESEL]

Par IS what the course designer says it is and for me that is the end of the discussion.

I couldn't agree more. At a well thought out course where the designer has determined what par is than that is what I count.

Unmarked par though is up for grabs. I have no problem with a par 3 for an average hole.

My "par" though, being what I aim for based on my ability, may differ from what is stated on the course. But that's just a target number and not what I record.

 

[Neophyte]

It really depends on the course. For a shorter/casual course, I count everything as par 3, but a championship calibur course, I will go by the course's par.

Usually a Par 3 is pretty doable but there are some course that unless you have the ability to drive +400ft or through trees a Par 3 is just not possible (Giles Run, Brandwine, Iron Hill of the ones I have played) if this is the case I will go by the posted par. If I am playing with one of my buddies then we just gauge it off of what the other got.

 

[discgolf757]

all the holes are par threes at my course, so thats what i go by, there is another one (diamond x) that has two par fours, but for tourney play, they make them threes, i havent been there yet, but i want to

 

[El Oso Peligroso]

to be honest I think this is one thing our sport as a whole should try to improve on. when I played warrior's path, the par as listed on the signs was ridiculously high. I was playing one of the crappiest rounds of my life and scored like 2 over par. After that we switched to all par 3s.

Normally I'll play all 3's, although most of the courses around here really are all par 3's, but generally if it's over 500 ft. I'll play it as a 4. I just don't think it's reasonable to say you should be in and out of a 600 ft. hole in 3 and if you do you should get a birdie for your efforts.