Pete Styles – PGA Teaching Pro
Obviously, the par of the golf course is something that we hear an awful lot about, whenever watching TV, it's par 3s, par 4s, par 5s, he's on the par, he's over par. What does par actually mean? For a lot of golf professionals, they're probably not even considering what the par is on certain holes. They almost give themselves its own par.
If you've got a tall pro and he's playing a 520-yard par 5 playing it downwind, he's trying to make a 4 on that hole every day of the week. He doesn't even consider what the par is. He just looks and thinks, "Well, that's a good drive, maybe go over 300 yards. That leaves me with a long or mid-iron into the green." If he makes a 4 on that hole, he will class that as a par really, he's not going to class it as a birdie, even though he's one under on the scorecard, because everybody else in the field is probably thinking the same way that they're going to make a 4 on that hole.
Likewise, if you spin it around and you think that you've got a 480-yard hole on your golf course, but on the scorecard says par 4, but you know it plays uphill into the wind and you're playing off the back tees, in reality, that is not a par 4 for you on that day. Very, very few people can reach that green in 2, uphill into the wind, nearly 500 yards. That's playing like a par 5.
So, don't then get really frustrated that you've only been able to make a 5 or even a 6 on it. Just consider the fact that the par on some holes will shift, particularly if you've got a very windy day. Every hole that plays into the wind, you're going to have to have a hole you would think that comes back down the breeze, back down the wind. So, if it's more into the wind, it's going to make it longer, more par going that way, par 4s turn into par 5s, playing back down the way, maybe some of the par 5s will turn back into par 4s.
So, don't get too hung up on what the par is on any certain hole. Consider what the par is for you on any given day and try and play to that par or utilizing your handicap shots to that net par rather than beating yourself up just because you didn't get a 4 like you did last week. The wind will make a big difference. How long the golf course plays will make a big difference.
So, work out the par for yourself and play to that rather than what the card says you should do.
2012-12-03 Pete Styles – PGA Teaching Pro
Obviously, the par of the golf course is something that we hear an awful lot about, whenever watching TV, it's par 3s, par 4s, par 5s, he's on the par, he's over par. What does par actually mean? For a lot of golf professionals, they're probably not even considering what the par is on certain holes. They almost give themselves its own par.
If you've got a tall pro and he's playing a 520-yard par 5 playing it downwind, he's trying to make a 4 on that hole every day of the week. He doesn't even consider what the par is. He just looks and thinks, “Well, that's a good drive, maybe go over 300 yards. That leaves me with a long or mid-iron into the green.” If he makes a 4 on that hole, he will class that as a par really, he's not going to class it as a birdie, even though he's one under on the scorecard, because everybody else in the field is probably thinking the same way that they're going to make a 4 on that hole.
Likewise, if you spin it around and you think that you've got a 480-yard hole on your golf course, but on the scorecard says par 4, but you know it plays uphill into the wind and you're playing off the back tees, in reality, that is not a par 4 for you on that day. Very, very few people can reach that green in 2, uphill into the wind, nearly 500 yards. That's playing like a par 5.
So, don't then get really frustrated that you've only been able to make a 5 or even a 6 on it. Just consider the fact that the par on some holes will shift, particularly if you've got a very windy day. Every hole that plays into the wind, you're going to have to have a hole you would think that comes back down the breeze, back down the wind. So, if it's more into the wind, it's going to make it longer, more par going that way, par 4s turn into par 5s, playing back down the way, maybe some of the par 5s will turn back into par 4s.
So, don't get too hung up on what the par is on any certain hole. Consider what the par is for you on any given day and try and play to that par or utilizing your handicap shots to that net par rather than beating yourself up just because you didn't get a 4 like you did last week. The wind will make a big difference. How long the golf course plays will make a big difference.
So, work out the par for yourself and play to that rather than what the card says you should do.
