With a little bit of thought, it is possible to lower your scores by several shots per round.
In a medal or a stableford competition, the par of every hole is completely irrelevant as you are, or you should be, attempting to produce your lowest gross score on every hole.
A perfect example of why you should ignore the par would be if you are playing a hole of 444 yards uphill and into the wind and the card informs you it is a par four. A par four is a hole that a scratch golfer ( zero handicap ) should be able to reach in two shots and with two putts a par is acheived.
In reality, the vast majoroty of golfers would be unable to reach the green in two shots but the card says it is a par four so the driver is pulled out of the bag to hit the ball as far as possible. The ball is then pulled into the trees or sliced into the long grass on the right in a vain attempt to hit the ball as far as possible so the green can be reached in two shots.
A far more sensible approach would be to look at the length of the hole, check the hazards and wind direction, and then decide the best club to use to allow the ball to be hit onto the fairway to make the next shot easier.
All shots into the wind need less backspin and sidespin so the ball flies straighter.
Most golfers however swing faster into the wind producing more spin. The wind then exaggerates the spin and the ball goes even further offline than usual. A driver has approxiamately 10 degrees of loft so use a club with more loft (15 – 20 degrees) and swing slowly. You will of course lose many yards in distance but you will be on the fairway. You probably still cannot reach the green but if you apply the same principles for your second shot you will be somewhere near the green in two shots.
A simple short shot and you will be on the green and be able to score a four or a five rather than a six or a seven by the time you have extracted your ball from the trees or the long grass. Remember to always swing slowly into the wind.
The next hole could be a par four of 275 yards downhill with a following wind. Again the card says the hole is a par four but it is 169 yards shorter than the first hole and if the course architect has done his job correctly the fairway will be narrower than the previous hole.
Again we need to look at producing your lowest score possible by forgetting the par.
With the wind behind the ball will travel further and the following wind will reduce any side spin and the hole is downhill so an aggresive strategy is needed.
Assuming there are no major hazards and the entrance to the green is clear use a club with at least 15 degrees of loft so the ball will fly higher and the following wind will increase the distance the ball will travel. The card says it is a par four but take dead aim for the centre of the green and swing faster through the ball.
If you hit a great shot you may well have one putt for an eagle (two under par) or two putts for a birdie (one under par).
Remember you can swing faster with the wind behind.
In match play, you should also forget the par as you are playing your opponent and not the course.
I ask many of my pupils whether they would rather score a three on a par five and lose the hole or score a five on a par three and win the hole. The answers are always fascinating and I use the answers to change the philosophy of my pupils so it becomes clear that in match play winning the hole is more important than the score.
Assuming there are no shots involved as you and your opponent have the same handicap and your opponents first shot on the first hole with his driver is hit out of bounds. You may well have had the mindset to use your driver but your opponent now has a two shot penalty. A six iron would be a good choice of club and if you hit a decent shot you will be in the middle of the fairway. Your opponent may then hit a great third shot 50 yards past your ball but he is there for three and you are there for one There is a very good chance you will win the hole.
Maybe in the same game you are one up on the eighteenth tee and you both hit good tee shots. You then hit a fantastic second shot over a lake to within two feet of the hole. You will probly score three so your opponent now has to attempt a shot that he may not attempt normally to have any chance of winning the hole and squaring the match. Whatever the par of the hole was is completely irrelevant and all that matters is the score.
One of my pupils, Giles, reached the final of the English Amateur Championship a few years ago. The final was over 36 holes and he was one down after the first 18 holes. He had a par and two birdies in the first three holes of the second round and found himself four down as his opponent was one shot less on each hole. The par was not relevant.
Another of my pupils, John, recently won his Club Championship for the second time. John was tied with another golfer after 36 holes so they embarked on a three-hole play-off. They came to the last hole with John one shot ahead. The hole was a par three with a lake alongside the green and even though John could easily reach the green in one shot he played a ‘little six iron’ that could not possibly reach the lake leaving him with a simple short shot and an almost certain four. His opponent now had to go for the green in one shot and failed to do so so John won the Championship by playing his opponent and not the par.
More years ago than I care to remember I won the Lincolnshire Professional Championship at The Noth Shore Golf Club, Skegness UK. I can still clearly recall the last hole. It was a par four that I could have reached in one shot. However I knew I could win if I scored a four on the hole so I played a very conservative tee shot onto the fairway. I was then on in two and two putts later I was the Champion – a great feeling. My brother Brian was not impressed as he came second.
CONCLUSION
The par of a hole has no relevance to the outcome of the result in most competition formats so always play for your lowest possible score on every hole and in matchplay always play your opponent.
