Par...

[Jay Dub]

(2) Par gives us a measure of portability between courses. If I tell you I shot 62 yesterday, what does that mean? Good? Bad? But if I tell you I shot 5 under par, it gives you an idea; better if par were more consistently and accurately set, but still, a better idea than the raw score.

This is the best reason I see for using par. In this area if I shoot a 62 at Mt Airy that would be something to tell people about, on the other hand a 62 at Winton Woods would be something I would never want anyone to know about.

 

[swhite]

I came to this thread just to see who is actually letting themselves get sucked in to this again.

 

[Motorpro]

Davidsauls.....that's a logical list of reasons,some more then others......I find it funny that skipping a hole only gets a penalty (what other sport would do that? Can you imagine a baseball team skipping an inning and just get a 2 run penalty?) . I can't see how par can be accurate without it changing constantly for the amount of leaves on the trees, wind speed,wind direction or a dozen other things that change constantly. As I have said I never suggest getting rid of par just can't see a reason to spend much or energy worrying about it.

 

[DavidSauls]

Davidsauls.....that's a logical list of reasons,some more then others......I find it funny that skipping a hole only gets a penalty (what other sport would do that? Can you imagine a baseball team skipping an inning and just get a 2 run penalty?) . I can't see how par can be accurate without it changing constantly for the amount of leaves on the trees, wind speed,wind direction or a dozen other things that change constantly. As I have said I never suggest getting rid of par just can't see a reason to spend much or energy worrying about it.

To the first, a very casual and participation-friendly sport, that doesn't want to throw people out of tournaments. I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point, our higher-level pro events have disqualification for missing a hole. If they're going to hold themselves out as a professional sport, a higher standard is in order. (Youth baseball, for instance, even at the overly-serious all-star level, has a generous grace period before a forfeit, on the grounds that they'd rather not throw people out).

To the latter, I rather agree. Except that it's just a philosophical discussion, at least for some of us. Those who are endeavoring to make disc golf a bigger spectator sport, in person or online or perhaps even on TV, had a more serious interest in getting par correct. I'm not among them---I have little interest in following the top pros---but I don't begrudge their efforts, overall, or in regards to a better standard of par.

 

[DavidSauls]

….my feeling on the ongoing discussion/debate about par is that, if we're going to have par---and it seems clear we are---we should try to make it the best, most useful par we can. It's an exchange of ideas of how to do so.

And that participation in the par discussion/debate is voluntary.

 

[Nemmers]

The Problem of Par....

 

[spahnandsain]

A flute without holes is not a flute.

 

[curmudgeonDwindle]

Discussions about 'par' are a game nested within the larger game of golf and some people have more skill in one or the other, which may account for some of a discussion's appeal, intensity or torpor. In this way, discussions about 'par' may be seen as analogous to having side bets with other players during tournament. We choose to increase the 'stakes' to make the game more interesting, despite the fact the essential nature of 'golf' or 'par' hasn't changed.

Moreover, the 'value' of par is directly related to where one looks for their 'golf validation' and orientation amongst other players/people, as Chuck explicitly points out. 'Golf validation' is related to one's beliefs and goals for play.

 

[NegaSnapples]

Davidsauls.....that's a logical list of reasons,some more then others......I find it funny that skipping a hole only gets a penalty (what other sport would do that? Can you imagine a baseball team skipping an inning and just get a 2 run penalty?) . I can't see how par can be accurate without it changing constantly for the amount of leaves on the trees, wind speed,wind direction or a dozen other things that change constantly. As I have said I never suggest getting rid of par just can't see a reason to spend much or energy worrying about it.

Par is the score that an expert disc golfer would be expected to make on a given hole with errorless play under ordinary weather conditions, as determined by the Director

https://www.pdga.com/rules/official-rules-disc-golf/811

Your example of wind speed and wind direction don't affect par. I'm curious what the "dozen other things" are.

I'm skeptical that leaves on a tree would change any hole significantly. I've at least never seen a hole personally where par would change due to that factor. I've seen holes become slightly more difficult with more foliage for sure. Not sure if I've ever seen a hole become significantly more difficult though.

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

…..that thread mentions, many times, the opinions of people, no more qualified than you to have one, of the supposed benefits of par, and particularly of what they call an accurate par, even though they aren't really following the definition of par.

FIFY

 

[lyleoross]

Par Shmar. Wouldn't you rather know why I like the Buzzz better than the Roc?

Not really, I'd much rather know why I should use a Roc or a Buzz, or a Panther or a...

 

[lyleoross]

I came to this thread just to see who is actually letting themselves get sucked in to this again.

The value of a thread is inversely proportional to whether or not it has Par in it's title?

 

[araytx]

Does it really matter if each hole has it's own par? What if par is 54 and the first 17 holes are par 1? Then the Last hole is par 37??? Isnt it the same? Besides the driving order, what's good about it?

If anyone is serious, as in they REALLY want to know, I'll happily explain it. That is, I'll explain why a TRUE PAR is important. If you're just posturing or have your mind already made up, then please ignore my comments.

There's a difference between actual use and tradition. I would be happy if someone could explain an actual use for par but so far any explanation I have heard makes no logical sense. I am not suggesting doing away with par. I just can't see arguing about something that basically is a baseline for people who never played that hole before to shoot for.

P.S. A "hint" is it has to deal with the spectator experience. So if you don't care about spectators (i.e., you only see it from a player's perspective), you can also ignore my comments.

After reading about how the word "par" came to be used for golf, I learned it was borrowed from the stock market. A journalist was asking about scores needed to win the Open and decided that was "par", used in stock trading as a normal or average value of a stock. And this happened in 1870, a long time after people had been playing the game. So it seems the origin is more for non-players than for the game itself.

See I told ya.