Do you say your total score or your score in relation to par?

[glassila]

When someone asks how you played do you tell them your total score ("65") or your score in relation to par ("5 over")?

In my area (Upper Michigan) everybody gives their score in relation to par ("3 over", "2 under", etc.).

 

[ray1970]

Relative to par usually.

Not sure why as pars can change depending on course layout and there are courses I play with weird pars that we just play as 54 so if I shot even on one of those courses it would likely be a -2 or-3 if you went off the posted signs.

 

[dmoore1998]

When someone asks how you played do you tell them your total score ("65") or your score in relation to par ("5 over")?

In my area (Upper Michigan) everybody gives their score in relation to par ("3 over", "2 under", etc.).

It depends who is asking. If my buddy is asking how I played our home course, it's in relation to par using every hole as a par 3. But every hole isn't labeled as a par 3 (put in a very long time ago, and the old course pars exist sort of as nostalgia...so people will say they shot 20 under, and we know they aren't local). If it's someone who wouldn't necessarily know I'm counting it as par 3, or someone asking about a different course...I'll usually just say the number.

 

[biscoe]

It varies but mostly total score at this point. Years ago in the dark ages of "all par 3" it was almost always score in relation to par 3. At this point it is fairly seldom that i play a course that is all par 3's so total score is less confusing for people who have no idea what cumulative par actually is on a given course.

 

[jmdaire27]

Verbally, I'll generally say score relative to par, such as "neg 3", or, more realistic these days… "plus 5"…

On a score card, scores are tallied by total strokes.

Little bit of both it seems.

 

[DavidSauls]

I plead the fifth.

 

[DFrah]

When someone asks "how I played", I usually just tell them "I played well" or "I sucked."

...but if I'm pressed for a score, or feel like giving one - yes, it seems to be similar down here in lower Michigan. I'll report relative to par and I'd say most often I hear others doing the same.

I think there is an argument for both ways, but either way someone who isn't familiar with the specific course you played isn't going to have much idea how good or bad the number actually is. "+6" would be an amazing round for me on a championship level course, not so much on the pitch-and-putt 9er down the road. Similarly, "54" would be a great round for me at a lot of places. Pretty bad on a 9er. Maybe that's subconsciously why I usually give the "how I feel about it" answer.

 

[flatflip]

Easiest way to keep track in my head is to count relative to par threes during the round, add it up at the end and report stroke total.

 

[DavidSauls]

It varies but mostly total score at this point. Years ago in the dark ages of "all par 3" it was almost always score in relation to par 3. At this point it is fairly seldom that i play a course that is all par 3's so total score is less confusing for people who have no idea what cumulative par actually is on a given course.

Most of my rounds these days are on a par-62 course that's way over my head.

5 years ago I was keeping score by all-par-3s, then converting that after the round, either to relative to course par (subtract 8) or just total score (trying to break 70). Now I've declined so much it's easier to keep it relative to course par or -- when a cardmate keeps score digitally -- just go with the total. Playing the same course a lot, the raw totals have some meaningful benchmarks.

 

[ru4por]

It depends who is asking. If my buddy is asking how I played our home course, it's in relation to par using every hole as a par 3. But every hole isn't labeled as a par 3 (put in a very long time ago, and the old course pars exist sort of as nostalgia...so people will say they shot 20 under, and we know they aren't local). If it's someone who wouldn't necessarily know I'm counting it as par 3, or someone asking about a different course...I'll usually just say the number.

Agree that it depends on whom is asking and the context. If it is tournament play, par is not always a universally known number. So, I will generally give my actual score, if asked. If playing casual with buddies, we are keeping score on generic scorecards, counting every thing as three...we will often speak in terms of over/under.

 

[Moose33]

Relative to par unless it's sanctioned. Then you have to check the #.

 

[BillFleming]

Depends. One league I play in just goes by over/under par, so that is what we 'report' it in. Another league only goes by score. When I'm playing casual rounds with my usual card mate, we just use over/under par. But my "default" is both....for example: "I shot 14 over for a 68."

 

[robdeforge]

When someone asks how you played do you tell them your total score ("65") or your score in relation to par ("5 over")?

In my area (Upper Michigan) everybody gives their score in relation to par ("3 over", "2 under", etc.).

when I'm talking to my more casual play friends, I say it in relation to par. when I'm talking with my nerdier disc golf friends, just my score

 

[Monocacy]

I usually avoid this problem by not keeping score, or just using an app.

If I keep score in my head, it is relative to par. But some of the local courses have multiple tees and multiple pin positions, so I do not remember par for each configuration. In that case I usually default to either "par 3" or, in the case of particularly tough courses, "par 4".

For example, Patapsco Valley long to long averages 500+ feet per hole, largely in the woods. Official par is 63 but I'm delighted with a 72, which would rate 930+ (in other words, well above my rating).

 

[ThrowBot]

At Diamond X, some people will call it par 54 and some par 55. So over/under par is confusing if you don't specify which.

Some folks will say "I was 2 over The 54" to indicate their score relative to the par they use.

Normally I consider under The 54 to be a good scoring round. I hope to get some like that this year but no luck yet.

 

[Steve West]

When I give my total score it's always met with five seconds of blank stare, followed by "So what's that in relation to par?"

OK, maybe that's because it's hard to subtract par from such a big number, and they are unfamiliar with the term "over par", but sill, no one ever specifies whether they meant in relation to course par or 54.

 

[uncle pennybags]

I only use irrational or imaginary numbers. Everyone ends up confused! :hfive:

 

[Cgkdisc]

I only use irrational or imaginary numbers. Everyone ends up confused! :hfive:

Four and twenty strokes are baked in your pi?

 

[Agricolae]

Relation to par. That is because the question almost always comes from someone who is familiar with the course and layout, and because most of these courses have reasonable and accepted par assigned.

A post above has it right - if someone is unfamiliar with the course or layout, neither my total score nor score-to-par alone will give an idea of how well I played. Both together can provide more information...if par is set *reasonably*.

 

[ray1970]

One of the regulars I play with likes to text our group when he can't make it out and ask how we shot. He usually asks before we even complete our round.

We like to be really vague and not really even report our scores to him and instead make comments about the weather or course conditions.

"How'd you guys shoot?"

"It was really muddy out there today."

Or

"The wind really started picking up around hole six."