The Strategist's Par Game

Nov 4

Here is a new 18-hole on-course game, "The Strategist's Par," built directly from your sources on discipline, game theory, and elite performance.

This game is not about shooting the lowest score. It's a points-based system designed to reward disciplined decisions, conservative strategy, and bogey avoidance. The goal is to accumulate the most points by the end of the round.

The Strategist's Par

Objective

To score the maximum number of points by creating a disciplined, conservative game plan and executing it—rewarding the process over the outcome.

This game forces you to compete against your own ego and rewards the player who makes the smartest, highest-percentage decisions, directly reflecting the principles in the "Discipline Code" and "Game Theory" documents.

Step 1: Define Your "Discipline Par" (DP) Before the Round

Before you tee off, you will go through the scorecard and assign a "Discipline Par" (DP) for all 18 holes. This is the "what you said you would do" from the AI Ebook on Discipline.

This is NOT the course par. It is your strategic target for the hole.
Use your Clippd data to make this plan. If your data shows you make double bogey 40% of the time when hitting driver on a tight par 4, your DP for that hole might be 5.
The DP is based on a conservative, high-percentage plan that avoids big numbers.

Example:

Hole 5 (Par 4, 430 yards, water left): The pin is tucked left. Your DP is 4. The plan is to aim for the center of the fairway, then the center of the green, and two-putt. You will not aim at the pin.
Hole 6 (Par 5, 560 yards, narrow): You can't reach it in two. The "disciplined" play is 3-wood, 7-iron, and wedge. Your DP is 5.
Hole 7 (Par 3, 200 yards, tiny green): This is a very difficult hole. A bogey is not a bad score. Your DP is 4. The plan is to play safely to the fat part of the green or the "miss" side, get up and down for 4, and guarantee you don't make 5.

Step 2: The Scoring System

You get points based on your score relative to your Discipline Par (DP). This system is weighted to heavily reward bogey avoidance and pars.

Score Relative to Your Discipline Par (DP)

Points Awarded

Why?

Birdie (or better)

+3 Points

Disciplined plan, perfect execution.

Par

+2 Points

The core of a disciplined round.

Bogey

-1 Point

A minor failure of the plan or execution.

Double Bogey or worse

-3 Points

A major failure. This is what we must avoid.

Special Case (The "Smart Bogey"):

If your DP was a 5 (or higher) on a Par 4...
And you make that 5...
You receive +1 Point.
Why? You identified a difficult hole, created a conservative plan to avoid a double bogey, and executed it. You accepted the bogey as a "win" for that hole. This is peak bogey avoidance.

Step 3: The "Decision Audit" (Game Theory Points)

This is the most important part. After every hole, you must add or subtract one point based on your decision-making. This is the "Game Theory" component. You are auditing your process, not just the result.

Add +1 Point if:

You stuck to your disciplined, conservative plan even if you felt tempted (e.g., you hit 3-iron off the tee as planned, even though you felt good and wanted to hit driver).
You made a smart, conservative choice under pressure (e.g., punching out of the trees sideways instead of trying the 1-in-100 hero shot through a gap).
You played the high-percentage shot to the center of the green instead of "pin hunting."

Subtract -1 Point if:

You violated your plan because of ego or frustration (e.g., "I'm going to rip driver here" when your DP plan was a 3-wood).
You took an unnecessary, low-percentage risk (e.g., trying to hit a 3-wood out of deep rough).
You "pin-hunted" when the conservative play was to the middle of the green and missed it short-sided.

Note: You do not get a -1 Decision Audit point for a bad swing. If your plan was to hit a 3-iron and you hit a bad 3-iron, that is an execution error (punished by the scoring in Step 2), not a decision error.

Putting It All Together: Example Holes

Hole 1: Par 4 (Your DP = 4)

Plan: Driver to the wide fairway, 8-iron to the center of the green.
Result: You hit a perfect drive. You hit your 8-iron to 15 feet and make the putt for Birdie.
Score Points: Your DP was 4, you made 3. That's a Birdie. +3 Points.
Decision Audit: You executed your plan perfectly. +1 Point.
Total for Hole: +4 Points

Hole 2: Par 5 (Your DP = 5)

Plan: 3-wood, 7-iron, Wedge. No hero shots.
Result: You hit a great 3-wood. You're tempted to hit a 3-wood again, but you stick to the plan and hit 7-iron. You hit your wedge to 20 feet and two-putt for Par.
Score Points: Your DP was 5, you made 5. That's a Par. +2 Points.
Decision Audit: You were tempted but remained disciplined and stuck to your conservative plan. +1 Point.
Total for Hole: +3 Points

Hole 3: Par 4 (Your DP = 4)

Plan: 3-iron off the tee to avoid the bunkers, 6-iron in.
Result: You feel good and hit Driver instead, violating your plan. You hit it in the bunker, fail to get on the green, and make Double Bogey.
Score Points: Your DP was 4, you made 6. That's a Double Bogey. -3 Points.
Decision Audit: You let your ego override your disciplined plan. -1 Point.
Total for Hole: -4 Points

Hole 4: Par 3 (Your DP = 4)

Plan: This is a very hard hole. The plan is to guarantee no worse than 4. Aim for the safe bailout area.
Result: You hit your tee shot to the bailout area as planned. You chip on to 10 feet and miss the putt. You make Bogey.
Score Points: Your DP was 4, you made 4. This is the "Smart Bogey." +1 Point.
Decision Audit: You executed your conservative plan perfectly to avoid a big number. +1 Point.
Total for Hole: +2 Points

The player with the highest positive score at the end of 18 holes is the one who demonstrated the most discipline and made the best strategic decisions.

Ryan Crysler