Do you go by the pars on the sign or all 3s?

[Stetz1010]

Basil-Marella - we play everything as a 3 because of the overall shortness of the course, less that 6,000ft - although there are 2 or 3 legit Par 4's in there - going with what everyone else is saying, it's just easier to keep track if you play everthing a 3, and if you learn to 3 holes that'll be played as par 4/5 in a tourney, it'll only make you a better player.

 

[bwiese]

that would actualy be 36 under par.

not if you were counting every thing as par 5

 

[DiscJunkie]

Depends on the course.
Some courses have very fair par designations, others are way too easy.

 

[RoundWounds]

I keep score using par 3 for everything. But, there's one hole that's 596 feet that I've made a par four for myself. When I first started playing (in July) I couldn't believe that they were all par 3. I was told though that after I started improving I'd see why and after a couple of months I definitely do.

 

[bhuff]

If par is 57 and you 3 everything you still shoot a 54. if Par is 54 and you 3 everything, your still going to shoot a 54...Play it how you want, but to be more fair the longer 600ft holes are usually 4's. They were at the tournament yesterday.

 

[Brall]

all 3's

unless i'm at Deis Hill Park, Ohio, i go by tee signs there

 

[bwiese]

I think most people who play every thing par 3 know there are holes that they might not get a 3 on.

For instance:

1100ft hole. If it has any sort of obsticles other than an open field most players are going to consider getting a 3 on that hole as making a stroke on the field. They would feel like they got a birdie or some circomstances maybe an eagle for the hole but would still count it as par for counting strokes.

Another is a short 150 foot hole. Should be a two all day long and 2 times on sunday. Any time I 3 that hole I walk away knowing I lost a stroke to alot of people. So it still is par, but I know it was a mistake.

The number on the sign just gives you a general idea on the difficulty of the hole.

 

[chrishysell]

i don't keep score

 

[bwiese]

^others keep it for you.

 

[Bones2039]

We usually go by the signs on the course when I play with my friends, however when I go by myself it all depends on the course. Norhside Park in Sartell, MN for instance I play as all 3's but Hidden Lake DGC in St. Augusta, MN I use the posted par.

 

[Noill]

It's just easier to go by par 3's all the time regardless of tee-sign
if you want to be technical about it you can check the SSA for a course

for example take the Winter Park course in Kewaunee, WI
It's a 27 hole (with the alternates) and SSA is currently at 75.02
Divide that by 27 and you get 2.78 (estimated up)...
this course has more difficulty than the hole lengths suggest and the average is under Par 3 for each hole... par 4's and par 5's listed on some tee signs...

Just in case anyone is interested, here is where you can get the SSA
SSA's

 

[sgamerp]

Seeing as I play rec, I go by the signs unless they are horribly off.

 

[vcadd]

When I started,everything was par 3.People started to write alternate pars on the signs.Then courses started putting 4s and 5s on the signs.Our club plays everything par 3 but I see the pro's playing 4s and 5s.The scores are the same but the mental game is different for 4s and 5s.I think we need to pick a method and just stay with it.I personally would like to see 4s and 5s.

 

[superberry]

All par 3's, but only because we typically say a plus or minus score when we talk amongst our group of fellow golfers. Ultimately, we're just keeping score because that's what really matters. We want to know how difficult courses are relative to one another, and against ourselves. If we said "4 under", it really wouldn't mean anything. But it does because we inherently all know that we're playing all par 3's. As long as we know how many holes there were, then we know the total score, which is what matters.

 

[Noill]

^this is a good explanation...

Just always play par 3 and you always know how you did and how your score compares to the group...
It's just easier... in the end who cares really... I'd just rather have an easier way of keeping track then trying to remember which holes were 4's or 5's...

 

[superberry]

It's just easier to go by par 3's all the time regardless of tee-sign
if you want to be technical about it you can check the SSA for a course

for example take the Winter Park course in Kewaunee, WI
It's a 27 hole (with the alternates) and SSA is currently at 75.02
Divide that by 27 and you get 2.78 (estimated up)...
this course has more difficulty than the hole lengths suggest and the average is under Par 3 for each hole... par 4's and par 5's listed on some tee signs...

Just in case anyone is interested, here is where you can get the SSA
SSA's

Winter Park has a design per tee based on PDGA skill level colors. i.e. a Blue player is someone rated 930 or higher, so when they play Blue tees, the par is 'their' par (all 3's, one posted par 4 at Winter). Now, a Red player is someone rated 780. So when a red player plays a red tee, that's the labelled par on the sign (par 96 overall). And, red tees are considerably shorter and easier, but to a Red player they're still mainly par 4's as opposed to Blue players playing longer and harder Blue tees as par 3's. [Really Winter Park's Red tees should be green or even purple per the current PDGA guidelines]

The gap in the labelling at Winter Park is when a red player plays a blue tee, or a Blue player plays a Red tee. "Par" is not labelled, addressed, or calculated based on those instances. We'd need more individual scores of PDGA rated players in order to calculate par. Obviously when a Blue player plays Red Tees, they'll shoot better, and when a red player plays Blue tees, they'll be hard pressed to throw the labelled par. (e.g. I've thrown 66, 67, & 68 from Red tees this year. Red tee "par" is 96, but I refer to my best score as '15 under' which is playing all par 3).

Realtive difficulty is easy to see though if you throwout this lame mentality of how well you did based on being over or under par. I think that's a carry over from PGA results reported on the sports ticker on TV. I know that my best score on Winter Park Red tees is 66, and my best score on Winter Blue tees is 74. That's what people can understand.

This my friends is why we just play all par 3! Did you understand WTF I was talking about from a skill level, and tee level designer's perspective?!?!??!?!

 

[DSCJNKY]

... I see the pro's playing 4s and 5s.The scores are the same but the mental game is different...

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.
The mental aspect of what Par is is extremely important... especially mid-round. Walking away from a Hole with the idea you just birdied the Hole as opposed to bogeying it is huge... even if total score is what is most important in the end.

Example:
I was at the USDGC this year and was hanging around a few of the players after the rounds... I don't remember hearing anything like this:

Pro1: "How'd ya shoot today?"
Pro 2: "I shot a 20 over"
Pro 1: "Oh man. You shot an 88?"
Pro 2: "No... I shot a 74. Didn't you know that every hole in the world of disc golf is a 3?"
Pro 1: "Oh yeah... I forgot, we're Pros"

DSCJNKY

PS... Question: How many Par 3's were on the USDGC course this year? 18 or 7. If you said 18, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[RussMB]

Well, it really depends on the course. I use the Tee signs, because I log my scores. I did like the old scorecard feature that offered Pro/Rec pars. Sometimes I'll use All threes, but if I'm playing a new course. I'll always go by the Tee signs. So I guess it just depends on the course I'm playing. I'm not really a fan of the Par 3 only deal. I am aware that there are some courses that might want to look at their pars. But, as long as it's the same for everyone, then I can at least compare my scores to others.

 

[j0atz]

all 3s or depending on who im playing with.

 

[Olorin]

Close Range Par

My answer to the poll -- None of the above.
I always use Close Range Par, for the appropriate course/layout level.

For a little bit of history check out DGCR Par Threads.