Par 71

[pieface]

Apologies if this is a stupid question, my club course is a par 71 course but has a couple of huge par 4's which I couldn't dream of reaching in 2 shots.
What reason do clubs have for making a course a par 71 rather than a par 72?

Cheers

 

[Tashyboy]

How huge is huge Mr Pieface 👍

 

[Orikoru]

There's no law that says what par the course has to be. My home course is par 68, a few other local ones are 69 and we semi-regularly play on a course which is par 65.

 

[garyinderry]

The number of par 3, 4 and 5 holes will dictate the par.


Pieface - there will be plenty at your course who need the challenge of long holes. Forget about making par on those and use you allocated shots.

 

[pieface]

To be honest they wouldn't seem that huge to better players I would imagine, just the lads I play with all feel the same as we are all quite new.
One of them is 480 yards but plays uphill, even if I hit my best drive I still can't reach it in 2.

 

[patricks148]

Apologies if this is a stupid question, my club course is a par 71 course but has a couple of huge par 4's which I couldn't dream of reaching in 2 shots.
What reason do clubs have for making a course a par 71 rather than a par 72?

Cheers

probably because all the holes pars added together make it 71

Plus if you are a high handicap and they are low SI where you get shots, you are not meant to get par

 

[srixon 1]

What is the course CSS? That is what handicap changes are based around.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

To be honest they wouldn't seem that huge to better players I would imagine, just the lads I play with all feel the same as we are all quite new.
One of them is 480 yards but plays uphill, even if I hit my best drive I still can't reach it in 2.

I'm surprised an uphill 480 yard hole is a par 4.

What is the SSS for the course?

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Apologies if this is a stupid question, my club course is a par 71 course but has a couple of huge par 4's which I couldn't dream of reaching in 2 shots.
What reason do clubs have for making a course a par 71 rather than a par 72?

Cheers

Welcome to my world. My course is a par 72 and I can not reach ANY of the par 4's in 2. There are two that I might reach in the height of summer with plenty of roll but that is it. Mine is a long course, you have two long holes. Such is life.

I got a bit grumpy about it last year and then realised it was my choice to play there, my choice to renew this year.

 

[r0wly86]

Apologies if this is a stupid question, my club course is a par 71 course but has a couple of huge par 4's which I couldn't dream of reaching in 2 shots.
What reason do clubs have for making a course a par 71 rather than a par 72?

Cheers

I'm sure someone will correct me, but I think it's down to the SSS calculations, that say how far a scratch golfer hits the ball and the dispersion over a certain distance. So if a scratch golfer could most likely hit the green in 2 then it's a par4

I think

 

[Canary_Yellow]

I'm sure someone will correct me, but I think it's down to the SSS calculations, that say how far a scratch golfer hits the ball and the dispersion over a certain distance. So if a scratch golfer could most likely hit the green in 2 then it's a par4

I think

I think that's how SSS is set. Surely the club can set the par as anything they want and that's what gives rise to the need for a SSS?

 

[patricks148]

I'm sure someone will correct me, but I think it's down to the SSS calculations, that say how far a scratch golfer hits the ball and the dispersion over a certain distance. So if a scratch golfer could most likely hit the green in 2 then it's a par4

I think

why are you mentioning the SSS, OP asked why its a par 71, no mention of SSS?

 

[Capella]

The rating of a course (including its par and the par of the individual holes) is part of the handicapping system. The EGA for example gives the following lengths (in meters, because that's how we roll in continental Europe):

Par3: Ladies, up to 200 m, Gents up to 235 m
Par4: Ladies 185 - 385 m, Gents 220 - 450 m
Par5: Ladies, longer than 350 m, Gents longer than 415 m

		exceptions are possible if a hole plays extremely easy or difficult for it's given length, for example because it is extremely up- or downhill. I assume that the CONGU system has a similar table of recommended lengths somewhere.

 

[IanM]

That was always the guide here, but in yards and I am sure that has changed over the years. Anything over 475 yards was a par 5, now we see 500+ yard par 4s on Tour all the time.

So, to answer the OPs question... 71 is the sum of the pars. The SSS if widely different is of interest. They haven't made it 72 because they haven't. Design, available land, wanting to be different. You'll see some courses on Tour that are Par 70, but 72 for members. The 1st at Wentworth is a Par 4 in the PGA, but a Par 5 on the club scorecard

 

[rosecott]

The rating of a course (including its par and the par of the individual holes) is part of the handicapping system. The EGA for example gives the following lengths (in meters, because that's how we roll in continental Europe):

Par3: Ladies, up to 200 m, Gents up to 235 m
Par4: Ladies 185 - 385 m, Gents 220 - 450 m
Par5: Ladies, longer than 350 m, Gents longer than 415 m

		exceptions are possible if a hole plays extremely easy or difficult for it's given length, for example because it is extremely up- or downhill. I assume that the CONGU system has a similar table of recommended lengths somewhere.

CONGU manual extract:

Par is used for Par/Bogey,and Stableford competitions. Par for each hole should be established by
the club in relation to length and playing difficulty, within the following ranges:
Men (Women)
Yards
Par 3 Up to 250 [Up to 210]
Par 4 220 – 500 [180 – 430]
Par 5 440-720 [370-620]
Par 6 660+ [560+]

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

To be honest they wouldn't seem that huge to better players I would imagine, just the lads I play with all feel the same as we are all quite new.
One of them is 480 yards but plays uphill, even if I hit my best drive I still can't reach it in 2.

That's golf. My place has a 474yd par 4 with the first 320yds being steady haul uphill; it then dog legs to the right and drops gently down to the green. So for almost everyone in the club, the approach shot to the green is blind and I guess 90% of members never hit it in two.

I think that it was once a par 5 (measured point stuck a yard or two back) - but just too easy as a par 5 these days with distances we can get off the tee.

And it is SI 2 so we use our shot.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I play holes like that in a different way. I aim for about 100yds or so short of the green in 2, then aim for a pitch and hopefully single putt. Whatever I walk off the hole with wont get to me, as playing the hole the way I do is easier on the mind and my general game.
I accept I am no DJ when it comes to length, so why beat yourself up about it.

 

[User101]

What is the course CSS? That is what handicap changes are based around.

A course doesn't have a css, an sss yes, but css no. The C stands for competition.

 

[jim8flog]

As probably already said the club can set it own par for a hole based not just on length but also upon difficulty and looking at the sort of scores on a particular hole when played under competition conditions.

A county assessor will set the SSS for the course based upon factors as laid out in the course assessment guide they use.

All players should not necessarily be able to reach all holes in the par. It is why a player has a handicap.

We have 3 par 4 holes at our course where only the best players ( length and accuracy) can regularly reach the green in 2, it is why they are stroke indexes 1,2 and 4.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Loads of courses have long par 4's I can't reach. I remember the Forest of Arden off the whites was a long(ish) haul and a lot were in the 430-440 yard area. I had a set game plan to try and get it in play off the tee and then hit whatever club left me around 80-100 yards which I was confident to hit a green and get relatively close in three with a chance to hole a putt for par. There are several holes on my own course that are 400 ish yards and hard to hit. Position off the tee and length mean I'm not in a position to get to the corner of dog legs etc and so should try and lay up but somehow the brain often thinks I can carve it Bubba like. Rarely works and I rarely learn the lesson