Most golfers have become accustomed to the fact that 18-hole par is 72. In other words, unless you are on a 9-hole course (in which case the par would be 36), the average or standard golf course par is 72 strokes. However, you may have wondered if all golf courses are 72 par, or are there other golf courses with different par?
Are all golf courses par 72? Nowadays, almost all private and public golf courses have a standard of 72 as their par. In other words, a majority of all modern day golf courses have a standardized baseline of 72 par.
Both the USGA and R&A have made efforts to standardize what par is. Practically all of their resources, like the handicap calculating chart, works off of the assumption that par is 72. Keeping par the same for all courses allows for equal comparisons, or so the USGA believes.
Why Is Par 72 On Most Golf Courses?
There is no solid reason as to why 72 was picked as the magic number. When golf first began, 72 just so happened to be the general average that most golf courses fell into. However, once most courses began to stick to this number it made many things a lot easier and standardized across the board.
The reason this made it easier to standardize, is because it makes it much simpler to calculate a players skill level as every score is compared apples to apples. It is practically industry standard for golf courses to have the same baseline par.
How Does 72 Par Make 18 Hole Golf Easier?
It makes it much easier to calculate and measure your score when all courses have the same standard par. It’s pretty much the same reason as to why we use the same measurements for length/distance. If everyone used their own measurements instead of the standard inches, then it would complicate things and require a lot more calculation just to see how things stack up to one another.
Let’s say that Course 1 has a standard par of 72, and Course 2 has a standard par of 68. If you shoot 2 over on both of these courses, it may seem like you scored the same on both courses, but you actually didn’t
Having some type of baseline makes it easier for players and organizers to gauge how each score compares to one another.
What Is Par On A Par 3 Course
There are special types of courses that only have par 3 holes on them. This means that you can either play 9 or 18 holes of golf without having to play a par 4 or par 5 hole. These are the exceptions to the par 72 rule. Below is what the overall par score should be for a par-3 course.
| Course | Overall Par |
| 9-Hole Par 3 | Par 27 |
| 18-Hole Par 3 | Par 54 |
Par 3 courses are sometimes referred to as ‘executive courses’ as they are much faster to complete than a regular golf outing. As I mentioned above, par 3 golf courses are really the only exception to the par 72 rule. Pretty much all other golf courses have their par as 72 strokes.
How Is Par Determined On A Golf Course?
Par is added up by taking the average amount of shots it would take to get from the tee box to the green, then adding 2 strokes for putting. For example:
Let’s say hole 1 is a par 5:
- It takes 3 shots to get from the tee box to the green
- Add 2 strokes for putting
- Total strokes for hole 1 = 5
Keep in mind that par is determined based on how an average golfer would shoot on a given hole.
What Is Par 3 On A Golf Course?
Par 3 is, most commonly, the shortest hole a golf course can have in terms of distance. It means that it should take the average player 3 strokes to get their ball into the hole.
Based on the calculation above, this means that it should take the average player 1 stroke to get their ball onto the green, and 2 putts to sink the ball.
What Is Par 4 On A Golf Course?
A par 4 in golf means that it takes the average player 4 strokes to sink their ball into the hole. A par 4 is the middle ground in terms of distance as it is shorter than a par 5 but longer than a par 4.
If we were to calculate this, a par 4 hole would mean that the average player would take about 2 strokes to get to the green and another 2 strokes get the ball into the hole.
What Is Par 5 On A Golf Course?
A par 5 in golf is, most commonly, the longest hole that a golf course can have. It means that it takes the average golfer 5 strokes to get their ball into the hole.
As mentioned above a par 5 is generally the longest hole on a golf course, so it requires golf clubs that will get you a lot of distance, like a driver. Using the calculation above, a par 5 would mean that the average player would take about 3 strokes to get to the green and another 2 strokes to sink the ball into the hole.
Final Thoughts: Are All Golf Courses Par 72
So, with the exception of par 3 golf courses, it is pretty well understood that almost all golf courses have an overall par of 72. While there is no real reason behind why that number was chosen, it somehow stuck. Chances are, that is how it is going to be for a while.
If you do happen to find a course that is something like a par 68 or 70, try to find out how old the course is. Chances are that course has been there since the early 1900s if not before. It was more common for those kinds of golf courses to be around.