Par is the number of strokes a very good golfer is expected to need on a hole — or across a full round. Everything in golf is measured relative to it. Birdie, bogey, eagle, double bogey — they're all just ways of saying "how many more or fewer shots than par."
Once you understand par, a lot of golf suddenly makes sense.
Par on a single hole
Every hole on a golf course has a par: either 3, 4, or 5. The number reflects the length of the hole and tells you how many strokes a scratch golfer (roughly, an excellent amateur) is expected to need to get the ball in the hole.
Par 3 — a shorter hole. A good player is expected to reach the green in one shot, then take two putts. Total: 3.
Par 4 — a medium-length hole. Expected to reach the green in two shots, then two putts. Total: 4.
Par 5 — a long hole. Expected to reach the green in three shots, then two putts. Total: 5.
You'll occasionally come across a par 6 on very long holes at some courses, but they're rare. The vast majority of holes are par 3, 4, or 5.
Notice that par always assumes two putts. That's intentional — the standard is built on reaching the green in a certain number of shots (the "regulation" number) and then two-putting. If a scratch golfer takes three putts, they've made a bogey even if they reached the green perfectly.
Par on a full round
Add up the par of all 18 holes and you get the course par — usually 70, 71, or 72, with 72 being most common.
A par-72 course might have:
- 4 par-3 holes (4 × 3 = 12)
- 10 par-4 holes (10 × 4 = 40)
- 4 par-5 holes (4 × 5 = 20)
- Total: 72
The exact mix varies by course. A championship layout might have more par 5s; a shorter, older course might be a par 69 or 70.
When someone says they "shot par," they mean their total strokes for 18 holes equalled the course par — typically 72. That's an excellent score by any measure.
What par is not
Here's the big misconception: par is not the average score for recreational golfers.
Par was designed as the standard for elite amateur golfers — scratch players. The average recreational golfer shoots between 90 and 100 on an 18-hole course. That's 18–28 strokes over par. That's completely normal and has nothing to do with playing badly.
So when a beginner says "I'm trying to play to par," they've set a goal that fewer than 2% of all golfers in the world achieve regularly. When someone says "I play to my handicap," that's the realistic version of the same ambition.
Think of par as the yardstick, not the standard. It tells you how the hole was designed and how scores compare — not what you're expected to shoot.
How par shapes the way you score
Every score in golf is described relative to par on the hole. This is why learning par immediately unlocks the rest of the vocabulary:
| Your score | vs par | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2 on a par 3 | −1 | Birdie |
| 3 on a par 4 | −1 | Birdie |
| 4 on a par 5 | −1 | Birdie |
| 3 on a par 3 | 0 | Par |
| 4 on a par 4 | 0 | Par |
| 5 on a par 5 | 0 | Par |
| 4 on a par 3 | +1 | Bogey |
| 5 on a par 4 | +1 | Bogey |
| 6 on a par 5 | +1 | Bogey |
And further down:
- Eagle: 2 under par on the hole
- Double bogey: 2 over par on the hole
- Albatross: 3 under par (rare and celebrated)
On a scorecard and a leaderboard, scores are shown as a number relative to par for the round: −4 means 4 under par (excellent), +12 means 12 over par (a tough day), E means exactly par (level par, also written as 0).
What "playing to par" looks like in practice
On a par-4 hole, the par route looks like this:
- Drive into the fairway
- Iron shot onto the green
- First putt to within a foot or two
- Tap in the second putt
Four shots. Any deviation — a shot in the rough, a missed green, a three-putt — and you're looking at bogey or worse unless you recover with something good.
That sequence requires consistent ball-striking and competent putting. It's achievable for any experienced golfer on a good hole. Doing it consistently on every hole across 18 is what separates scratch players from everyone else.
Net par: how handicap changes everything
Here's where it gets interesting for club golfers: thanks to the handicap system, you don't need to shoot par to "play to par."
If your Course Handicap is 18, you receive one extra stroke on every hole. On a par-4, you effectively have 5 shots to match par. If you make 5, that's a gross bogey but a net par — and in Stableford, it scores the same 2 points as a scratch player's 4.
This is the whole point of handicap: it scales par to your level. A 20-handicapper making a net par has played that hole as well as the format requires, even if the scorecard shows a 5 or 6.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called "par"? The word comes from the Latin "par," meaning equal or on a level. It entered golf vocabulary in the late 19th century to describe the expected score for a hole on a good day.
Can a hole be par 2? Technically no — par always assumes at least one shot to reach the green and two putts, making 3 the minimum. Par-2 holes don't exist in standard golf, though novelty courses sometimes play with the format.
Is the course par the same from all tee boxes? Not always. Some courses have different par ratings for different tees, especially if a tee significantly changes the length of several holes. Most courses maintain the same par from all tees and adjust via Course Rating and Slope instead.
If I always make bogey, is my handicap roughly 18? Approximately yes — a player who consistently makes bogey on every hole shoots 18 over par on a par-72 course (90 total), which corresponds to roughly a Handicap Index of 18–20. This is why "bogey golfer" is the informal term for a player in that range.