I’ve got to respectfully disagree with @Bigdadenergy (a little bit)
For a plus handicap, you can reasonably find a way to make par after topping a drive 20 feet on a 425 yard par 4. I am a 3 handicap, and I’ll tell you what my reaction is if I hit that shot: I’m now playing a 418 yard par 4 (if my ball is still on short grass) or a 418 yard par 4.5/5 (if my ball is in the rough or in a bad lie).
Once you’ve gotten yourself in trouble or otherwise given up a stroke, I think the worst thing you can do is force yourself to play for a score on a hole based on conceptions regarding par. “Par” changes all the time on a hole!
@ScottFawcettDECADE will tell you that for a PGA tour pro, when you hit into the trees on a par 4, it takes 3.8 shots to get into the hole from there. 3.8!!! So what are you doing trying to pull off a miracle shot to try and make “par”? Take the punch out, advance the ball, maybe you get up and down for par, probably you’re walking away with bogey.
I think the easiest path to shooting lower scores - certainly to break 90 - is to eliminate your “leaky” shots. That second stroke to get out of the trees. That second stroke to get onto the green when you tried that flop shot you’ve never practiced to a short-sided pin. That topped driver-off-the-deck when you were still thinking about that 20 foot drive you just hit.
I will very much agree with @Bigdadenergy that I hit a s**t ton of bad shots, and you should never let a bad shot defeat you. This past weekend, according to @ScottFawcettDECADE’s Decade app, I hit 10 shots that cost me more than 0.5 strokes-gained. I’m pretty proud of the fact that on 8 of the 10 subsequent shots, I had positive strokes-gained, mostly by just punching out or otherwise not being stupid, which ultimately led to a 74 (which is a darned good score for me).