The dream level-par round:
18 straight pars or an equal mix of birdies, pars and bogeys?
A round of level-par containing six birdies demands exceptional golfing prowess, while demonstrating incredible potential for even lower scores. To birdie six holes out of 18, a player must possess power, precision and a great putting touch. One of every three holes completed under par is quite something.
It is thrilling to make birdies; there are few better feelings in golf than sinking a putt to get one over on the course. Do it six times in a round and endorphin levels will be off the charts. But what about those six bogeys? Well, therein lies the essence of golf’s compelling nature: the thought that, next time, something truly special could happen.
A bogey is a minor blip, a small correctable error caused by narrowly missing a fairway or an unfortunate three-putt. But, with practice, those minor mistakes can be limited.
A level-par round is the preserve of the elite golfer, but the principle is the same for handicap players. If you are posting scores containing several nett birdies, it is clear you have the capability to improve your scoring by cutting out mistakes. If you are steady on the pars or nett pars, there is not a great deal you can do to shoot lower, save for taking more risks and bringing nett bogeys and worse into the equation. Eighteen straight pars may sound cool, but a level-par round featuring six birdies, six bogeys and six pars wins.
All golfers must be optimists and, with the mixed round of level par (or nett par,) there is real hope to go out next time and replicate the good while eliminating the bad.
The quest for golfing perfection is futile, but it is also compulsive. 18 straight pars
Looking back, I think I have parred entire front nines or back nines in my time, maybe even tiptoed up to ten or 11 consecutive pars. But never all 18, and that is something I would like to achieve, even if my chances are now slim as my golfing ability wanes.
I guess it is all about consistency versus inconsistency, and while I suspect I make at least one birdie in more rounds than I don’t, I fear my game and swing will never be consistent enough to get me through 18 holes unscathed. That would be the dream: to survive a whole round without one single shot-dropping mistake. Wouldn’t that be extremely satisfying?
But isn’t that also a bit negative, I hear you say; focusing on eliminating mistakes rather than making gains. Maybe, and I guess you won’t get the same highs and lows of the more mixed route to a level-par round. But such a round will inevitably still bring the ups and downs that go into making golf such an enthralling game – the disappointment of not birdieing that reachable par 5 can still be countered by the gratifying, hard-fought par on that testing 462-yard uphill two-shotter you rarely reach.
The most famous round of 18 straight pars is Nick Faldo’s at Muirfield in 1987, which helped him clinch The Open – right down to the final five-footer he made to retain his blemish-free scorecard. But I don’t think Sir Nick would have been too bothered about how his score was compiled as he secured the 18th consecutive par, which saw him home by one shot from Paul Azinger and Rodger Davis and led to him lifting the Claret Jug for the first time.