Par for the course

Par for the course constitutes blatant misuse of the golfing term because it means average. Whereas par for the course in golfing terms means excellent because a par score amounts to a scratch score, the score of a highly accomplished player. The confusion gets worse. In golf, below par means an even better score whereas, out of the context of golf, it means the very opposite. For example, if someone is told their work is below par it means below average, which is not very good at all. Par comes from the Latin par meaning equal and we get words like parity from the same root. That is why par in a golfing context should not be confused with par or average in other fields of endeavour. Golfers are always trying to score at par or below. The further they go below par the better, whereas the very opposite is true in other contexts. See also Scratch.