If you watched Tiger Woods Golf Hall of Fame induction on Wednesday night you would have heard him refer to his "personal par" when he was a youngster starting to play.
It reminded me that we should all have a personal par when we play. Like most of you I've figured out by now that I'm not going to make the LPGA tour. Instead I've become a member of the MGA - Mediocre Golf Association!
What is your personal par? To figure it out is quite simple. Par at North Halton is 72. Your personal par would be 72 + your handicap. E.g. Alice's handicap is 30 which means on average she should score 102. She would allow herself 1 stroke on every hole plus another 12 (equals 30) on the 12 most difficult holes. Example below.
So if Alice has a 7 on the first hole she is off to a good start. She's even par!!
Having this type of plan helps to motivate yourself and focus on one hole at a time. Forget that you may have messed up a hole and consequently think you have messed up the whole round. By taking it one hole at a time you can start over on every tee.
Another good way to plan ahead is to break down each hole. For example: #1 hole at NH is a par 5, 409 yards from the Red tees. So in order for Alice to make her personal par of 7 she should reach the green with 5 shots and two putt for the 7. You know what that calculates out to? Hitting her 5 shots an average of 82 yds to the centre of the green! Now doesn’t that sound manageable? Of course it does. And it starts you off the tee with a good frame of mind.
Using this system is treating ourselves in a kinder and more realistic way.
