What do beginners value most on tees- distance or par?

[John Theiss]

I would like to get a poll going but am not sure how to do this? I want feedback from beginner players or try to think back when you knew very little about the game.

My question involves a course that has two tees for most holes. The shorter tees are red level tees while the longer tees are blue level tees. In addition, we have 9 gold baskets that stay set long year around. The course is a blue level course that offers 14 shorter red tees and 9 long gold giving a mix for players of all skill.

So what is most important info for a beginner on the tee sign, the distance or par? The reason i ask is because we will not have separate tee signs at the red level tee and trying to get all the info on the tee signs can make them look cluttered. I want to have a grid that shows pins placements on the left hand side and just distances from the longer blue level tees. Now i know that many folks may say well just add, however with nice hole graphics that are expected on quality tee signs, adding RED tee distances will likely clutter it up.


REC ADV PRO
A. 300 3 3 3
B. 360 3 3 3
C. 505 4 4 3

Or maybe if my sign guy works his magic it could look like this but i still wonder if this will be too much info

REC ADV PRO
A. 175 3 A.300 3 3
B. 225 3 B. 360 3 3
C. 400 4 C. 505 4 3

 

[Stardoggy]

I was out yesterday with a bunch of first timers (work outing), and all they kept asking about was par. I convinced them that everything is a 3 (very short course), but I found it odd that par was such a big deal.

 

[Halcón]

Par is far more important for the first timer. He (or she) is coming in with golf knowledge. And in golf, par means something. Birdies and bogeys means something.

Distance is important, and should obviously be displayed as well. But make sure that your expected par in known.

 

[scarpfish]

Distance is something that can be objectively measured with a ruler. Everyone's opinions on par seem to be all over the place. I'd suspect after awhile once they get basic skills honed, a number of new players are just going to start using the all Par 3 mentality anyway.

 

[IDGC_SUPER]

Par, it helps them compare themselves to the course and other players.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Beginners get hung up on par at first. But there are ways to help them see beyond par. In our league at Flaherty Park we look purely at player averages and compare nightly rounds with your last three scores in a rolling average. So it's kind of interesting, it gets the newbs (and everyone else for that matter) to focus on their overall score against the course rather than comparing themselves to players that have been playing seriously for years. It makes them want to beat their average and get better which to me, is what is important.

The only thing I use par for is a easy way add up scores.

Assuming I do it correctly. :wall:

 

[biscoe]

distance is a more important component of a tee sign than par in disc golf.

 

[Halcón]

distance is a more important component of a tee sign than par in disc golf.

Overall. But not for a beginner who doesn't know how far he can throw yet.

 

[ZAMson]

to properly break their spirit, go with "Par 3, ONLY 250 feet" :hfive:

 

[Dan Ensor]

Distance. For the same reason BigSky said par. Distance means a LOT in golf. Generally, people have a club for every 10yd increment.

Also, the satisfaction of parking a par 3 is far less than parking a 300' hole. Even if they're the same hole.

 

[tomte]

Both par and distance are interesting and I liked both on the tee signs as a beginner (how many throws for me to cover the distance, how close can I get to par). Par seemed to be more interesting until you figure out that most holes are par 3 anyway and your overall score is the important number.

What I absolutely hate though, are two different kind of tees. It feels like a "tee for the physically impaired" or "the lesser people". And it takes away pretty much the whole meaning of having a par number. If you need two different kinds of tees the course design as a whole might be broken somewhere else.

I know ball golf has this as well - but discs have an invisible string - balls don't.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Distance is always useful, to all players.
Until there's a universally accepted standard for par, it won't be useful to anyone, and even if there were a universal standard, it would be as useful as distance.

 

[DavidSauls]

Overall. But not for a beginner who doesn't know how far he can throw yet.

When I was starting out, I learned how far I could throw from the distance on the signs.

Then again, we were hung up on par at the start, too.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

edit:

Distance is always useful, to all players.
Until there's a universally accepted standard for par, it won't be useful to anyone, and even if there were a universal standard, it would not be as useful as distance.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

When I was starting out, I learned how far I could throw from the distance on the signs.

Then again, we were hung up on par at the start, too.

I have played less then 20 rounds and pay more attention to the distance listed for the same reason.

 

[Halcón]

When I was starting out, I learned how far I could throw from the distance on the signs.

Then again, we were hung up on par at the start, too.

I'm just coming from a total noob standpoint.

"Hey, what did you get?"

"Par, bogey, par...."

It's not "I threw it 220 feet."

We tell players to bogey the course when they first start. Then shoot for par. Then the birdies will come. Etc...etc...

As much as we elitist DGCR types want to diminish "par," it's still an extremely important concept in our game.

So, to make a somewhat meandering thread succinct...

OP, make sure par is clearly marked on the tee sign. :thmbup:

 

[Timeetyo]

Although distance may actually be more helpful in the end, showing par is what most beginners would rather have of the 2. It is a very easy measuring tool for how much they either failed or succeeded on a given hole which is the instant feedback they want. Without par it is very hard for a beginner with no context to judge if that 3 was an ok par save or a great birdie. Now as they get better they have more of an idea of what they want to shoot on a given hole based on its length & features.

 

[JedV]

Distance. Par is arbitrary at best.

 

[DavidSauls]

In reluctant defense of par, most beginners don't care that the standards aren't uniform, and that the pars don't correlate with the pars on other courses.

Most beginners I meet---and I'm in a position to meet a lot---only play 1 course, with the same handful of buddies, so par is uniform to them.

That said, I'd make the numbers on the signs smaller to include hole #, par, and distance. It's not a lot of information, and should be doable.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

Could you clarify who you are defining as beginners? If a beginner is someone you are expecting to take up disc golf competitively and be involved in tournaments or league play then par is important because that is how they will be measured. I play with my wife, 5 year old son, and random members of my family so par and overall score is not important to us. To take it a step further par is actually an unachievable goal for most people i play with. I have a shot at par on a lot of holes, and get the occasional birdie, but my wife just does not have the distance to consistently have a shot at par so she will look at the distance on the sign and then come up with her own par for the hole. With our son we are lucky if he can make his putt in 3 shots