Par on each course is the predetermined number of strokes that a scratch or zero handicap golfer should need to finish all 18 holes.

Usually, regulation golf courses (18-hole courses) are par-72, but this is not an official standard and some courses are par-70 or par-71.

Thus, for a scratch golfer, anything below the low 70s can usually be deemed a decent round of golf. However, it has been widely reported that only 1% or less of golfers are scratch golfers, so those who play with a handicap and cannot make par need not feel they are inept golfers.

The vast majority of professional golfers, however, are scratch golfers.

What is the Record Score for 18 holes?

The lowest officially recorded score over the course of a round of golf was 55 by Rhein Gibson in 2012.

Gibson shot 12 birdies, two eagles, one hole in one on a par 71 on May 12, 2012, at River Oaks Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma.

On August 27, 2020, Alexander Hughes equalled the world record with a 55 in Jenks, Oklahoma, within 100 miles of where Gibson had first set the record.

In the leading professional tours, however, nobody has shot a lower score than 58. Ryo Ishikawa, Jim Furyk, Kim Seong-hyeon and Bryson DeChambeau have all achieved that feat.

In the women’s game, Annika Sorenstam holds the record for the lowest score in a major tour competition with 59.

Annika Sorenstam with a student//Getty Images

Annika Sorenstam with a student//Getty Images

Tiger Woods, the most successful golfer of his generation, holds a career record of 59 for a round.

Lowest Scores in Leading Professional Tours

What’s a Good Score for an Average Golfer?

Many people play golf at a relatively casual level and certainly, the average golfer will not come near shooting a 55 or even a 75.

Research from the National Golf Foundation (NGF) suggests that the average score for a round of golf is 94. The NGF has claimed that 62% of all golfers shoot above 90.