Defense of Par

[Patrick Hodgdon]

What course do you think best defends par? Why?

Also how does a course's ability to defend par affect it's rating and or a golfer's ability to enjoy his round?

[John Moore II]

All depends on how it 'defends par.' Though I think thats a bad term. But a course can be fun to play and not be overly difficult. And it depends on the golfer. When I am playing really well, I want to play a golf course that is  back breaking hard, to see where my game really stands. But thats certainly not what the average golfer wants. In general, I don't think the average golfer cares about protecting par, or whatever that means. I think has an effect on the rating because even Tom Doak has it written into his ratings that sometimes a course might get lower than others because its too short to challenge the better player. As for what course best defends par? I have no idea.

[Richard Choi]

Why do you need to defend par? Why is it so precious that it must be defended? Par is just a number. If you think it is too easy of a par 4, just name it par 3, and voila! you have one of the toughest par 3 in the world!

I just want to know if the hole is fun. What par that hole is really secondary.

[PCCraig]

Regardless of what's on the scorecard, don't the best holes allow you to make your own personal par?

You could "defend par" by building a target style golf course with each landing area defined by bunkers and water...but that's not usually the type of course most on here like to play.

I would say though that IMO the best golf courses remain interesting for 0-30 handicaps with interesting greens and green complexes.

[Tim Nugent]

In concept, I feel the best course that defends par is a course that defends it equally from all tees.  A course that defends par from the tips with back-breaking length or forces carries that causes exponential trouble for the up tees is one-dimensional.