The Meaning of Golf Term 'Par-In'

As golf fans we sometimes hear that a golfer needs to "par-in" or that another has already "parred-in." What do these golf expressions mean? Let's define the terms.

To par-in is to make nothing but pars (or better) for the remainder of the round. A golfer who "parred-in" mades pars from whatever point in the round to which the expression is being applied.

These terms are almost always used in relation either to a golfer's chances of winning a tournament, or of achieving a specific scoring goal.

Imagine an 20-handicapper standing on the 16th tee. She looks at her scorecard and realizes she has a real shot at breaking 90 — a good score for her. But in order to reach that goal, she can't bogey any of the three remaining holes. That golfer might say (to herself or to anyone else in her group), "If I par-in, I can break 90."

Maybe a PGA Tour golfer is playing a par-71 golf course and is 12-under par through 15 holes. We might hear the announcer say, "He just needs to par-in to shoot 59."

Other examples of using the expression: "Tiger had six birdies in his first 12 holes, then parred-in from there." Or, "If she pars-in from here, she'll post 265 for the clubhouse lead."

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