I'll go the other way in this debate. I think par, as a measuring stick, is one of the great mental tools in golf for designers and tournament officials -- it sets a standard for all who play a hole, and challenges them to meet it or beat it....and that becomes a very mental exercise on a great course where the standard isn't exactly right. The course I play every week, Pasatiempo, is littered with holes that should rightly be considered 1/2 par holes...par 3 1/2s, par 4 1/2s and par 5 and 1/2s....sometimes the "true" par changes with the wind or softness of the fairways. But by throwing a number on the card, it changes the way that a hole (and the result) is perceived by golfers, and in many ways I think adds to the enjoyment of a hole (and often frustration).
The first hole at Pasatiempo is thought of as a good, tough hole because it's over 450 and a par 4. As a par 5, it would scoffed at for being too easy. Silly? Of course. But a 4 gives a player a great sense of accomplishment because they have parred a tough hole. Same with hole 3...a nasty long uphill par 3 that often plays like a par 4. On that hole, a 3 is just a 3 unless there's a "par," a high bar against which all can measure their accomplishment.
Think of the US Open. It would be nothing without the concept of "par." Par on those holes creates the illusion that the holes, and the course, are hard, by setting up an extraordinarily high standard. That may be dumb, but I think it's part of the allure of the game that keeps you frustrated, and always trying to get better. I recognize that it's nothing more than a mind game, but for that very reason, I like it.