Adjusting Pars?

[fifteen]

Playing at Morley Field, I've become accustomed to marking every hole as par 3 with the occasional par 4. Most of the holes there are 250+ and still par 3. I was able to grab some rounds in Chicago and there was some really short holes. Probably 230' and still marked as par 4 with very little obstacle in the way.

Take Willow Stream Park in Buffalo Grove for example, they had a hole that was 230' and was marked as a par 4. Even had a hole that was only 320', marked as par 5.

This brings me to my question, do you still play every hole as if they were par 3's or follow the course's scoring system?

 

[JesusShoes]

In my book.....

if its below 750 feet. it's a PAR 3.

 

[XxInnovaxX]

In my book.....

if its below 750 feet. it's a PAR 3.

lol pretty much...the only course ive found that it is necessary to go by the sign par is Gateway-West....other than that everything is a 3, NO MATTER WHAT!!

 

[hacocacyb]

That's funny. I think Willow Stream is a crap course, like most things in the Northern part of Chicago.

I count all holes as a par 3, that way I can handicap course difficulty. For instance, if I know -5 is a good score at one course, I know a course I shoot +5 at is significantly more difficult.

Generally the pars are designed for new people. You should probably just think of everything as a 3.

I hope you played something else in Chicago land, like around Joliet. I hear Morley is one of the best.

 

[rlangton]

The course you played has their par marked too high. Generally I would say 150-400 par 3, 400-800 par 4, 800+ par 5. Just track your scores though and see how you improve on the course.

 

[Camgolfer]

What is par?

 

[CwAlbino]

Some courses put up a course par, which is not pro par. This is set for beginners, likely so they don't feel so frustrated getting a 5 on a 300+ foot hole when that is par. Pro Par is usually not marked on signs, it's just a given.

 

[Mikie4]

I'd have to agree with JS only adding that unusual course obstacles could add a stroke to par on holes under 750. I personally haven't played any, but I could see longer holes having forced lay ups.

My home course has a rec par of 68, but its concievable to comfortably deuce all but 1 or 2 holes if you're a more experienced player. One being 599', you'd have to have a pretty good drive, or sink a fairly long putt/approach to deuce it and the other being a 414' easy turn right up over a hill before straightening out. Only reason I wouldn't call it a comfortable deuce is because the basket is set back into a tree cave with a fairly small opening.

Best I've shot is a 66 but I've only been playing since early May.

 

[bazillion]

What is par?

No.

No-o-o-o-oooooo!!!!!

 

[billnchristy]

A lot of times your high par courses were built in the time of 200' being a bomb throw.

 

[ChainMan]

My home course has one hole that has a couple pin sets that are relatively easy to deuce and a couple pin sets that make you feel like Climo if you can make them in 4. People crab about those pin positions needing to be a 4 par. I just tell people the par 3thing is just a way to keep score. So if you're playing an 18 hole course and you're at +4 at the end you shot a 58. I think the PDGA does allow for variable pars?

 

[Ryan P.]

I always play by whatever the signs say. It helps me to bring out new players to the course and not confuse them.

However, if i get a 4 or 5 on a "Par 4/5" 300' hole, then i'm thinking that i played that hole pretty poorly. If there is no par posted, then i play everything under 490' is a par 3, 490-800' is a par 4, and above that is a 5. courses like that rarely happen though.

 

[Camgolfer]

No.

No-o-o-o-oooooo!!!!!

I felt like someone had to do it...

 

[MrDger]

I always play by whatever the signs say. It helps me to bring out new players to the course and not confuse them.

However, if i get a 4 or 5 on a "Par 4/5" 300' hole, then i'm thinking that i played that hole pretty poorly. If there is no par posted, then i play everything under 490' is a par 3, 490-800' is a par 4, and above that is a 5. courses like that rarely happen though.

I'm going with Ryan on this one. If you play ball golf, you by no means play everything as a par 3, you play what the signage says. I completely understand why people use the par 3 system to compare courses, but your overall stroke score could tell you that without using the "everything is a par 3" system. Like Ryan said, I play whatever the sign says, but I know if I end up with a 4 or 5 on some holes, I'll be upset with how I played it. I think playing with par 3's, 4's, and 5's in some cases make it more interesting, and especially if you're playing with some newcomers.

 

[mashnut]

I play what the sign says, unless (like at Willow Stream) it's just ridiculous. It would be silly to play Idlewild and count every hole as a 3, but a little pitch n putt 9 hole course I'll count as all 3s for myself.

 

[fifteen]

I know Willow Stream and the courses in the area aren't the greatest but it got me laughing. There's also a new one opening up in the area so I'll probably check that out and hopefully their par system is more reasonable.

But it did get me thinking, is there a set system by PDGA that have levels of par based on the length of the hole? Or is it just strictly up to the course designer?

 

[mambrose]

the first hole is a 425 on my home course, and its marked 4, and i always get it in 4, everything else i play as a 3 tho, and uasualy make alot of them in 2.

so i dont agree EVERYTHING is a 3, but most of them are, only reason this 1 isent is because you gotta be careful and not overthrow and land in water.

 

[mashnut]

I know Willow Stream and the courses in the area aren't the greatest but it got me laughing. There's also a new one opening up in the area so I'll probably check that out and hopefully their par system is more reasonable.

But it did get me thinking, is there a set system by PDGA that have levels of par based on the length of the hole? Or is it just strictly up to the course designer?

The pars at the two courses in Buffalo Grove really are pretty silly. Twin Creeks right up the road (if I remember correctly) calls anything over 200' a par 4 (and there aren't that many par 4s...).

Unfortunately there isn't a good standard in use for setting par. There's a couple different methods out there that each have their own followings, but most course designers just wing it at this point, especially on little rec courses like these. My personal opinion is that just like ball golf par should be standardized, and should be something that isn't necessarily easy for recreational players to get. Most ball golfers never shoot under par in their life, and that doesn't seem to deter anyone, and makes an under par round something special for non pro golfers.

 

[klay]

This brings me to my question, do you still play every hole as if they were par 3's or follow the course's scoring system?

I just played Vallarta-Ast for the first time the other day and was blown away by some of the pars listed on the score card when I saw the holes. Overall, there were 6 par 4s and 2 par 5s.

They had some par 5s that were easily par 3s. I decided after my first time through to just play as though they were all 3s and after coming here to log my scores saw that pro par was listed as just that, all 3s.

The am pars on the score card weren't even listed here so I added them, but never plan on using them.

 

[scarpfish]

I don't even pay attention to the signs anymore, particularly on those baby courses that are made for beginners/kids. I just call everything a 3 and factor the +/- from 54.