COMMUNITY

Community  /  Forums  /  Your Game vs Par
Your Game vs Par
ArizonaBlue
Professional Champion
 
189 Views    15 Replies    3 Likes   I like it!
After playing a round of golf on New Year's Eve Day with my son-in-law and a friend at Santa Rita CC, we stopped for dinner at a local Italian place. We discussed the day's round and delved further into how our game is perceived.

In my opinion, many golfers' frustration with their game can be attributed with the failure to shoot "par" golf. They take lessons, read articles in golf publications and watch golf help shows on TV to achieve "perfection."

If we would look at our game in a different way, then the frustration can be resolved. For example, a particular golfer's course handicap on a particular course is 18 ... bogey golf. For this golfer, shooting 90 is the average. So, for this golfer, his "par" is a bogey on every hole. If he pars a hole, it is like a "birdie" ... and a birdie is like an "eagle." Another example is a golfer whose course handicap is 27 ... an average of 99 ... 9 bogeys and 9 double bogeys.

If we realize that this is our game ... bogey golf or even double bogey golf ... then if we shoot our average, we have done our best.

Is there room for improvement? Of course! For example, for the golfer who has the 27 course handicap, he could have a goal of shooting 10 bogeys and 8 double bogeys. Once he gets down to the 26 course handicap, then he can set a goal of 11 bogeys and 7 double bogeys. For the bogey golfer, his goal is 17 bogeys and 1 par ... and so on as he improves.

Of course, the average bogey golfer will not shoot a bogey on every hole. There will be the occasional birdie, par, double and triple bogey. He will have had his triumphs on some holes as well as defeats on others. But if he walks away at the end of the round 18 over par, it is still bogey golf.

My game ... your game ... is what it is. We can enjoy our rounds more if we put less pressure on ourselves to achieve perfection ... and shoot "our game" ... whatever it may be.
foozlenut
Legend
 
# 1    1/2/2011 8:32:05 AM   
So right .....when i play i try to shoot bogey golf and not par. On a par 4 i look at it as 3 to the green and 2 to putt. If i make par thats great but i try to just enjoy the game and the people i'm playing with.


cogolfer1
LowIndex
 
# 2    1/2/2011 9:58:01 AM   
Same with that person. My scale goes as triple=double, double=bogey, bogey=par, par=birdie, birdie=eagle, eagle=double eagle. This is getting close to being halfway in between now I think where I'm looking to shoot 84 on a Par 72 rather than 90.


OtterMan08
Legend
 
# 3    1/2/2011 10:21:21 AM   
"The pursuit of perfection leads to madness, the pursuit of excellence leads to glory" One of my favorite quotes and I got it from a beer commercial of all places. I have few illusions about my game and frustration comes not from a failure to achieve perfection, but from a failure to capitalize on opportunity.

I don't like the idea of standing on the tee thinking I'm going to play for bogey. My feeling is, I'm playing for the best score I can get from any given shot. On a par 3 my first shot is a try for the ace. I haven't made one yet but I'll keep trying. If I put my drive in the rough, what started as a possible birdie hole now becomes an attempt to save par.

The major frustration I experience is putting a great drive straight down the fairway and then chunking an easy 9 iron. I can handle 3 putting from 40 feet, a 3 putt from 12 feet kills me. It's the mental mistakes and unforced errors that drive me up the wall. After a round I'll almost always look over my score card and start subtracting those needless 3 putts and double chips. The fewer of them I have the better I feel about the round.

My goals tend to be more about each shot and less about the end score. I know if I can hit good shots consistently, the score will take care of itself.


LukeTuzinski
Professional Champion
 
# 4    1/2/2011 11:20:01 AM   
I am the exact opposite of you Otter, I don't think of it on a hole by hole or even shot by shot basis, I go for the total score I don't realy care if I got there from a hot putter or monster drives since each time out it seems like one aspect or another of my game is "on". If I shoot around 90 4 or 5 times in a row I set "my par" to 90. I can birdie any given hole, but my problem is 6's & 7's that comes between the flashes of brilliance. Too many valleys not enough peaks. Obviously I want to work my way to actual par, but if I thought of 90 as simply 18 over par I believe I would get discouraged.


# 5    1/2/2011 11:33:21 AM   
to stay around 90, i figure i need to have 5 pars, 5 doubles, and 8 bogeys. birdies are great but not that common for me and as long as i can keep the triples down than something close to the formula above will give me a shot at breaking 90 or at least be in the lower 90's. once i improve, my goals will change. Luke is right, everything isn't gonna be on everyday, sometimes my short game saves me and i don't have to be great with the putter and some days the driver is good and it keeps me from having to hit shots from behind trees with a bad lie. if i can stay out of trouble and not go for it too much than hopefully in the New Year i can aim for 7 pars, 3 doubles, and 8 bogeys giving me a chance for scores between 84 and 88 or so. good post, Blue.


Mark Simmons
Legend
 
# 6    1/2/2011 10:39:15 PM   
Good topic and the posts so far illustrate the different perspectives that come from a variety of personalities and playing ability. As someone who has played over 30 years and gone through a looooonnnnng process of being an over 100 shooter, then 90s, 80s, and now a low single handicap who occasionally shots par, I have the following perspectives.

- As an over 100 shooter I just tried to focus on making more consistent contact and lining up far enough right so my banana ball ended up in the fairway more often. Score wasn't counted as much as number of times I made good contact.

- As a 90s shooter I was still working on making more consistent contact focused on the fundamentals as the method to get there and turning my banana ball into a fade. Also, trying to figure out how far I hit each club 80% of the time.

- As an 80s shooter I focused on hitting greens from 150 yards in more often, course management, reading greens, and executing the fundamentals well enough to keep wasted shots to less than a handful per round.

- When you get to the 70s it's better, more consistent execution of a bunch of things, both physical and mental.

So for me, you see I have focused on and enjoyed the process of learning and improving on specific aspects of the game as opposed to focusing on the score, and that has kept it fun and enjoyable at all stages of the learning process.

Having shot par I can tell you that you don't have to perfect to shoot par. I've never played close to a perfect round, and I think other players of my skill level and better would say the same.

Also, the way handicaps are calculated you'll only shoot better than your handicap about 1/4 of the time. So focusing on beating your handicap can be particularly frustrating.


TNVol-in-TX
Professional Champion
 
# 7    1/2/2011 10:51:04 PM   
I do try to think of the game the way you describe. The problem that I run into is getting frustrated with myself because I know better and I know i can do better.

Today was a good example... warmed up and could do no wrong with any of my clubs... head to the Tee box and the cart dies (4th cart for the 4th week in a row at different courses), swap carts and can't hit to save my life. Get so frustrated (reasons in addition to bad hits) that I simply quit keeping score.

Start relaxing and shooting got better. By the end of he round it went Bogey, Bogey, Birdie, Par, Bogey.....


LyinLewis
Legend
 
# 8    1/2/2011 11:03:01 PM   
From a historical perspective "Bogey" used to be a good score. It wasn't until around 1900 that the term par took use. The Bogey score used to be the ideal, but then we Americans started having a higher goal...hence par.


bradley894
Legend
 
# 9    1/2/2011 11:29:54 PM   
SHAME on you Arizona blue! YOU Cant grade golf on a curve! are you on the school board in a failing public school district or something.. we already have a usga hdcp system to allow folks to play togather on the same level...
EXAMPLE . i top my tee shot on a par 5 , hit my second shot into the woods and need to take an unplayable lie to get a shot out. then i hit my fourth to the sand box in front of the green,, skull my fifth over the green , chip on and 3 putt from 7 feet for a 9 and if im a high handicapper i can call it a bogie and that would be great if i was playing with Hickorys and had 5 clubs in my bag including a brassy , a spoon and a home made nibblic ? and a ball made from hardend tree sap? ok i can hit the ball 250 yards but im allowed to skull one , shank one and flat out whiff one and still make my par on a par 3? not to be a bad guy but ... something isnt right here? i know your heart is in the right place and im a bit brutal but im not going to buy this one... Par is par! if your not a long hitter and you cant make par because you dont have the strength then move up on the tee box.. but if i miss out on my par because i miss the stinking ball because ... well ... i dont know why i miss the ball but when i do its because I MESSED UP! I DID me me me


bradley894
Legend
 
# 10    1/2/2011 11:34:36 PM   
oh and yes bogie is ok! if you play bogie golf i would say your a good golfer! sometimes when we watch and read about the best in the world every day we forget that shooting a round in the high 80's or even 90's can be pretty dard good golf.. if that was your original point im sorry i went off above.. . good topic though..


ArizonaBlue
Professional Champion
 
# 11    1/3/2011 8:57:50 AM   

SHAME on you Arizona blue! YOU Cant grade golf on a curve! are you on the school board in a failing public school district or something.. we already have a usga hdcp system to allow folks to play togather on the same level...
EXAMPLE . i top my tee shot on a par 5 , hit my second shot into the woods and need to take an unplayable lie to get a shot out. then i hit my fourth to the sand box in front of the green,, skull my fifth over the green , chip on and 3 putt from 7 feet for a 9 and if im a high handicapper i can call it a bogie and that would be great if i was playing with Hickorys and had 5 clubs in my bag including a brassy , a spoon and a home made nibblic ? and a ball made from hardend tree sap? ok i can hit the ball 250 yards but im allowed to skull one , shank one and flat out whiff one and still make my par on a par 3? not to be a bad guy but ... something isnt right here? i know your heart is in the right place and im a bit brutal but im not going to buy this one... Par is par! if your not a long hitter and you cant make par because you dont have the strength then move up on the tee box.. but if i miss out on my par because i miss the stinking ball because ... well ... i dont know why i miss the ball but when i do its because I MESSED UP! I DID me me me


The tee boxes I currently play are between 5800 - 6100 yards ... so I already have done long agowhat you have suggested ... and something I wish more golfers would do. There are still some par 4s that are just out of reach. Currently, I don't hit a 3-wood or 5-wood off the deck as I am struggling with that part of my game. This leaves me with my 3-hybrid or 4-hybrid ... which tends to have its own idea where it wants to go. I know what I'm doing wrong and I am working on it.

Even playing from the proper tees for one's game, one may still have problems ... right club, wrong direction is my favorite. So it may leave me with a short chip to the green where I may 2 putt for bogey.

My point is that if we put less stress on our game but giving ourselves some wiggle room ... while at the same time setting goals to play better ... and not get so frustrated and angry. When I have a shot that doesn't go well, I may be frustered ... but I relieve my stress by laughing. I'm not a pro golfer. Sometimes, things go as I planned. Other times, they don't. But if you allow the frustration and stress to build up as you play, you will only make your game worse.

Sure, I'd like to par every hole. But I realize that I would need to work on my game more than I do now. So, for me ... and maybe for others, bogey is not a bad score.


bradley894
Legend
 
# 12    1/3/2011 9:36:10 AM   
Ok Blue . i just checked your scores. :) you are a good golfer in my book... ya we all misshit shots ... even tiger.. looks like your like many of us on the edge of making it to the next level... I PLAY a little game with myself when i play alone to keep focus and keep the pressure off wile still adding some urgency to hit a fairway and a green.. i havent done this but a few times but the rounds were well played when i did it. i never made a big noumber wile doing this and give it a try: i call it the 5's or better game and you would be a good test candidate... :)
Here is what you do... on the first tee... 5s or better is your goal.. it may be a par 4... so you have a chance to make a couple not so great shots and still make your 5 or even with no stress make a putt for a 4... here is the gig... keep your card but in your head keep count.. REMEMBER all 5's is usualy a 90 and a pair of 45s , and yes on the par 5s it will put you in the mind set to have a shot at the green on you 3rd as your main priority... BUT! the best thing about this is you have the par 3's! so YOU START YOUR 9 with the noumber 45 in your head! make a 5 on the first par four and your good to go.. thill playing to a 45... on track... hole two is a par 4 again and you get up and down for a 4! so now your score after two holes in your head is a 44! 3rd is a par 5 and you slip up a bit and take a 6 ,,, no big deal ! your playing to a 46 and you have two par 3's on the front yet to get back below 45! :) SEE where im going? keeps focus on one shot at a time and ONE HOLE at a time.. by the time your at the turn you may be at a 42 and you find yourself by then hitting one of your better scores.. I dont know .. did it a few time and got caught up playing with a group but one of the rounds i did this last fall in crappy conditions i think i shot a 78,,, (a great score for me!) and i think it keeps your mind free and lets good things happen,,, I wish the fairways in wisconsin were clear of snow so i could didle with this idia or maybe someone has done this before but if your in arizona id love for you to give it a try... Remember .. start with a 45... a not bad 9 to start with.. then add 1 if you shoot a 6 and subtract 1 if you take a 4 ,,, keep score that way and let me know . if you play with others let them keep the normal card... stick with the 5s or better and the score starting from 45. As far as fairway woods.. IM far from a pro but when im not hitting them im swaying with my head or moving it... top the ball ... best to relax and focus on not moving your head so you dont hit behind the ball or the top of it.. maybe buy a 4 wood... it gets the ball out of the ruff and only plays ten yards shorter than a 3... should play much longer than your rescue.... just some rambling blue... but it worked great for my son when he had the same problem... and when im topping or misshitting my 3 wood after a sweet drive down the middle im moving my head and with the longer club and the not so forgiving face that your dont have with your driver you need to stay over the ball.. how many times have you seen tiger on the range with a golf club along side his head or in front of it held by his caddie to make sure he isnt moving his head... even knowing this i still make the mistake..... but then again... so does the best player in the world so... we are only human.
s
SHAME on you Arizona blue! YOU Cant grade golf on a curve! are you on the school board in a failing public school district or something.. we already have a usga hdcp system to allow folks to play togather on the same level...
EXAMPLE . i top my tee shot on a par 5 , hit my second shot into the woods and need to take an unplayable lie to get a shot out. then i hit my fourth to the sand box in front of the green,, skull my fifth over the green , chip on and 3 putt from 7 feet for a 9 and if im a high handicapper i can call it a bogie and that would be great if i was playing with Hickorys and had 5 clubs in my bag including a brassy , a spoon and a home made nibblic ? and a ball made from hardend tree sap? ok i can hit the ball 250 yards but im allowed to skull one , shank one and flat out whiff one and still make my par on a par 3? not to be a bad guy but ... something isnt right here? i know your heart is in the right place and im a bit brutal but im not going to buy this one... Par is par! if your not a long hitter and you cant make par because you dont have the strength then move up on the tee box.. but if i miss out on my par because i miss the stinking ball because ... well ... i dont know why i miss the ball but when i do its because I MESSED UP! I DID me me me


The tee boxes I currently play are between 5800 - 6100 yards ... so I already have done long agowhat you have suggested ... and something I wish more golfers would do. There are still some par 4s that are just out of reach. Currently, I don't hit a 3-wood or 5-wood off the deck as I am struggling with that part of my game. This leaves me with my 3-hybrid or 4-hybrid ... which tends to have its own idea where it wants to go. I know what I'm doing wrong and I am working on it.

Even playing from the proper tees for one's game, one may still have problems ... right club, wrong direction is my favorite. So it may leave me with a short chip to the green where I may 2 putt for bogey.

My point is that if we put less stress on our game but giving ourselves some wiggle room ... while at the same time setting goals to play better ... and not get so frustrated and angry. When I have a shot that doesn't go well, I may be frustered ... but I relieve my stress by laughing. I'm not a pro golfer. Sometimes, things go as I planned. Other times, they don't. But if you allow the frustration and stress to build up as you play, you will only make your game worse.

Sure, I'd like to par every hole. But I realize that I would need to work on my game more than I do now. So, for me ... and maybe for others, bogey is not a bad score.


# 13    1/3/2011 12:07:40 PM   
i like the play for 5's idea, Bradley. might have to try that. even if you bogey or double a par 5 you can make them up by making some 4's throughout your round and a little give and take should keep your score around 90. same concept as to what i do but instead of having an overall goal for your round it keeps challenging on each hole to make your 5 and even if you screw up, you still have a chance to make it up on the next one.


ArizonaBlue
Professional Champion
 
# 14    1/3/2011 2:06:55 PM   
I'll give it a try this Saturday ... I'm playing Santa Rita again.

Ok Blue . i just checked your scores. :) you are a good golfer in my book... ya we all misshit shots ... even tiger.. looks like your like many of us on the edge of making it to the next level... I PLAY a little game with myself when i play alone to keep focus and keep the pressure off wile still adding some urgency to hit a fairway and a green.. i havent done this but a few times but the rounds were well played when i did it. i never made a big noumber wile doing this and give it a try: i call it the 5's or better game and you would be a good test candidate... :)
Here is what you do... on the first tee... 5s or better is your goal.. it may be a par 4... so you have a chance to make a couple not so great shots and still make your 5 or even with no stress make a putt for a 4... here is the gig... keep your card but in your head keep count.. REMEMBER all 5's is usualy a 90 and a pair of 45s , and yes on the par 5s it will put you in the mind set to have a shot at the green on you 3rd as your main priority... BUT! the best thing about this is you have the par 3's! so YOU START YOUR 9 with the noumber 45 in your head! make a 5 on the first par four and your good to go.. thill playing to a 45... on track... hole two is a par 4 again and you get up and down for a 4! so now your score after two holes in your head is a 44! 3rd is a par 5 and you slip up a bit and take a 6 ,,, no big deal ! your playing to a 46 and you have two par 3's on the front yet to get back below 45! :) SEE where im going? keeps focus on one shot at a time and ONE HOLE at a time.. by the time your at the turn you may be at a 42 and you find yourself by then hitting one of your better scores.. I dont know .. did it a few time and got caught up playing with a group but one of the rounds i did this last fall in crappy conditions i think i shot a 78,,, (a great score for me!) and i think it keeps your mind free and lets good things happen,,, I wish the fairways in wisconsin were clear of snow so i could didle with this idia or maybe someone has done this before but if your in arizona id love for you to give it a try... Remember .. start with a 45... a not bad 9 to start with.. then add 1 if you shoot a 6 and subtract 1 if you take a 4 ,,, keep score that way and let me know . if you play with others let them keep the normal card... stick with the 5s or better and the score starting from 45. As far as fairway woods.. IM far from a pro but when im not hitting them im swaying with my head or moving it... top the ball ... best to relax and focus on not moving your head so you dont hit behind the ball or the top of it.. maybe buy a 4 wood... it gets the ball out of the ruff and only plays ten yards shorter than a 3... should play much longer than your rescue.... just some rambling blue... but it worked great for my son when he had the same problem... and when im topping or misshitting my 3 wood after a sweet drive down the middle im moving my head and with the longer club and the not so forgiving face that your dont have with your driver you need to stay over the ball.. how many times have you seen tiger on the range with a golf club along side his head or in front of it held by his caddie to make sure he isnt moving his head... even knowing this i still make the mistake..... but then again... so does the best player in the world so... we are only human.
s
SHAME on you Arizona blue! YOU Cant grade golf on a curve! are you on the school board in a failing public school district or something.. we already have a usga hdcp system to allow folks to play togather on the same level...
EXAMPLE . i top my tee shot on a par 5 , hit my second shot into the woods and need to take an unplayable lie to get a shot out. then i hit my fourth to the sand box in front of the green,, skull my fifth over the green , chip on and 3 putt from 7 feet for a 9 and if im a high handicapper i can call it a bogie and that would be great if i was playing with Hickorys and had 5 clubs in my bag including a brassy , a spoon and a home made nibblic ? and a ball made from hardend tree sap? ok i can hit the ball 250 yards but im allowed to skull one , shank one and flat out whiff one and still make my par on a par 3? not to be a bad guy but ... something isnt right here? i know your heart is in the right place and im a bit brutal but im not going to buy this one... Par is par! if your not a long hitter and you cant make par because you dont have the strength then move up on the tee box.. but if i miss out on my par because i miss the stinking ball because ... well ... i dont know why i miss the ball but when i do its because I MESSED UP! I DID me me me


The tee boxes I currently play are between 5800 - 6100 yards ... so I already have done long agowhat you have suggested ... and something I wish more golfers would do. There are still some par 4s that are just out of reach. Currently, I don't hit a 3-wood or 5-wood off the deck as I am struggling with that part of my game. This leaves me with my 3-hybrid or 4-hybrid ... which tends to have its own idea where it wants to go. I know what I'm doing wrong and I am working on it.

Even playing from the proper tees for one's game, one may still have problems ... right club, wrong direction is my favorite. So it may leave me with a short chip to the green where I may 2 putt for bogey.

My point is that if we put less stress on our game but giving ourselves some wiggle room ... while at the same time setting goals to play better ... and not get so frustrated and angry. When I have a shot that doesn't go well, I may be frustered ... but I relieve my stress by laughing. I'm not a pro golfer. Sometimes, things go as I planned. Other times, they don't. But if you allow the frustration and stress to build up as you play, you will only make your game worse.

Sure, I'd like to par every hole. But I realize that I would need to work on my game more than I do now. So, for me ... and maybe for others, bogey is not a bad score.


LukeTuzinski
Professional Champion
 
# 15    1/3/2011 3:09:58 PM   
play for a 5 is exactly the mentality I go in with at this stage in my game.