The definition of par is "average" not "expert". The "average" player throws 250-350ft.
No, from the rulebook it's "the score an expert disc golfer would be expected to make on a given hole with errorless play " - in other words, the number of good (not miraculous) throws it should take the player to complete the hole. This will be lower than average, because bad shots, penalty strokes and the like do not figure in "errorless play" but do increase the average score.
"Expert", to some, means 1000-rated players only, and they have a good point. Perhaps that is "true par" or something.
However, for tournaments that are age or sex restricted, it would seem appropriate to use an expert of the right age or sex, even if that means something other than 1000-rated.
That leads to the use of different pars for different levels of players. Here, the expert is a Blue, White or Red level player.
It's easier than the golf system where every player calculates their own "net par" for every hole based on their sex, handicap, course rating and slope.
If there's a 500ft or so hole that's fairly wide open it should be considered a par 4 since its going to take 3 consecutive "average" shots to birdie it. It can't be considered a Par 3 since even an "expert" player who can throw 400+ ft. will rarely deuce it. It would be considered an easy par 4 but its still a par 4 none the less.
I judge errorless play by the proportion of expert (or appropriately skilled players) who get each score. If a hole is only rarely deuced, par is more than 2 because it takes unusually lucky or good throws to get a 2. If a large chunk (1/e) of players get a 3 (or better), that hole is par 3, because it is possible to complete the hole with 3 errorless throws. Even if there are a lot of 4's, 5's and 6's which bring the average score up to 4.5, that hole is still par 3. That's how it should be played to keep up with the leaders. Penalty throws and bad shots don't define how a hole is to be played errorlessly.
This definition seems to do the best job of letting par do what it is supposed to do:
- Let players measure their skill against a standard,
- Let players measure their performance against an unchanging (or at least very slowly changing) measure of the performance of the leaders in a competition (even if those other players started on different holes or have played a different number of holes),
- Indicate the strategy needed to keep up with the leaders, and least importantly,
- As a shortcut to adding up scores.
As for "expecting birdies", that is ridiculous. Par is errorless play; you can't "expect" to do better. You may be able to do better, but not that often. The reason players expect so-called birdies is because most par 2 holes are mislabeled as par 3's.
Yes, I know I left out "allowing two throws from close range to hole out." from the definition of par. Without defining "close range" that part has no meaning. To me, those are just the last two throws. If more than 37% of players score a two, the tee throw on that hole is close range.
Also, I hate the term "hole out", so I avoid it when I can.