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

[optidiscic]

On courses Im not familiar with I typically just keep a running tally in my hand of my overall score.. I glance at signs to gauge hole difficulty

One place this never works is at Rutgers which has flat 250 foot par 5 holes. A true Albatross wonderland! Rutgers is very old and gets a pass....so given that relic I can see why many go by everything is a 3.

 

[AdamE]

Tee signs are sometimes very wrong. Take a look at the pars at George Washington Park in Indy. The signs and hole info say it's a par 76, when it's really just a par 54 or 55.

I use the over/under 3 to keep score because most courses are par 54. And when I'm playing a course like Charlie Vettiner, Idlewild, or Old English for example, I still use the over/under 3 method and just keep in mind at the end par is more than 54.

 

[cali]

Depends on the course. If it's anything but Fairborn I'll go 3's but Fairborn has some serious 500-780' par 4 and 5's.

 

[Terry C]

Depends on the course. If it's anything but Fairborn I'll go 3's but Fairborn has some serious 500-780' par 4 and 5's.

Im this way. I always use par 3's unless the course is a monster with 1000+ foot fairways, then Ill humble myself by playing with par 4-5's.

 

[VictorB]

Never cared what posted pars are.


An arbitrary par number isn't going to make the number of throws I take during a round any different. Using a 'par 3' gauge in my head makes it easier to keep track of my scoring when I'm not writing it down though.

 

[CwAlbino]

Everything three, then change it to course par at the end (if there is one)

Clear example, I go all the way through Iowa State's Stable Run course and come up with an even for 18 holes. 18 * 3 = 54. Course par is 56 for golds, so I got -2.

Either way, it took 54 strokes for me to finish the course.

 

[jaymon1]

I use over/under 3 as a scorekeeping method, simply for the sake of simplicity. Not coincindentally, of the 99 holes contained in what I consider my local courses, 92 or so are truly par 3 in my opinion, and I would think by most standards that could be applied, give or take a few holes.

Now if I throw a four on the one local hole that is shown as a par 5 on the sign, and is also a valid par 5 in my judgement, then I am as pleased as if I had thrown a 2 on any of the 90+ par 3s. But for purpose of keeping score I still think +1 for that hole.

I have played a few courses in my travels that were so long that I switched to an over/under 4 scorekeeping method, both to keep the math simple and more so to keep the score from becoming too depressing.

 

[HarkeyPuck]

That's because we don't have Par 2 in disc golf.

Hole 2, 5 & 7
http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=1638&mode=hi

 

[HarkeyPuck]

Hey HarkeyPuck, you shot 68 at Deer Lakes. Anyone you're excited to tell this too, will know it's a tough course with a design that is not all par 3. Saying how well you did over or under par is arbitrary to those who do not know.

I was trying to explain how my mind set would be different if I played Deer Lakes as all par 3 as opposed to posted par, not for bragging rights.

 

[johnnyfoodstamp]

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.

Now this is the answer I was looking for. Thanks man!

 

[CwAlbino]

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.

I've never actually thought "Yes I took a 5 down! I shot 5 better than most pros shoot!".

I think, I shot a 49.

 

[HarkeyPuck]

49? On a short par 54 course, yes I've shot a 49. I'd love to see a 49 at a Championship quality course of par 66 - 70.

 

[jdggna]

I count them all as threes. It just makes tallying the score easier at the end...just add/subtract from 54 every time...no confusion and less mistakes on my part. I know that there are par 4s and par 5s out there. I just don't "count" them as that, even though they are.

As for the mental aspect of it, I know if I shot well or not. I know if I missed an opportunity to gain a stoke on most of the competition, so it isn't a big deal to me.

 

[Jimb]

I voted for, and go by, the course signs/score cards. I keep a score card for all rounds. That way I don't have to try to remember even simple over/under numbers in my head which still leaves "me" too much room for error. Plus, then I can record my scores on DGCR to take advantage of the cool stats available. Gratuitous Timg plug.

And if par seems "off" to me, I will note it for my own personal reference and sometimes in my reviews. I made note of it in my review of Woodland Valley Black Bear for example.

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=260

 

[moose-mdg]

3's......

 

[aPfaff]

Everything I play is par 3. But once I played with these really new peeps and they insisted on playing everything Par 5. So I shot like -15

 

[DiscChucker]

For me, I determine this on a course by course basis. More times than not I will go by the posted par on the tee sign unless it's obvious that the posted par is intended for a beginner level player. Good examples of this are my two home courses, Dorton Park and North Cabarrus Park. I play those as all 3's (but will be disappointed if I don't get 2's on several of the holes).

I also play Kilborne as all 3's but there are two holes that are posted as par 4. One of those holes, hole 12, eats me alive. As of today my stas for that hole are 0 birdies, 2 pars, 12 bogies, 2 double bogies and 1 triple bogey. Those are based on playing it as a par 3. If I played it as the posted par 4, the stats would be much easier to swallow; 2 birdies, 12 pars, 2 bogies, 1 double bogey and 0 triple bogies. However, I choose to play it as a par 3 because I know that it's within my reach that my game will improve over time and the stats will reflect the improvement.

Courses where I always play the posted par and probably always will are Renny, Nevin, Hornets Nest and Elon. My game has a long way to go before I can even think of achieving a 3 on many of the holes that are posted something other than 3 on those courses. These are championship caliber courses designed by knowledgeable course designers. As an intermediate level player I feel the posted pars are realistically attainable for an intermediate player.

I track all my scores and post them in the Scorebook here at DGCR. I'm the personality type that likes to track my progress so that I can see trends in my game over time. I understand how many people will play everything as a par 3 for the simple fact that it makes it easier to keep track of your score without having to write it down. But for myself, keeping score on each hole and recording it provides me the granularity to evaluate my weakest areas on a given course. For me, the posted par on a difficult course serves as a goal to be reached.

 

[douglat2]

if the course has pro tees i will play the posted "pro par" (assuming i'm throwing from said tees) otherwise it's all threes.

 

[thrembo]

All 3's. It doesn't really matter as you still have the same amount of throws on matter what the pars are. It just makes it easier to keep score using 3's.

 

[superberry]

I think one point is that we don't "play" all par 3 or posted par in general. But, we keep score as all par 3 for ease. At least those who keep score in their head like most of the people I play with and especially the older generations. But nowadays with fancy phones and apps, more and more people are using them as scorecards, so maybe the difference is not only in player experience and type of courses played, but difference in age as well.