I agree with them. People do say it but it seems a negative saying. I have never said it.

'par for the course' refers to what one could expect based mainly on previous experiences. It is a well known idiom,but not that commonly used. It derives originally from golf courses, meaning the expected number of times a good player in golf will hit the ball to get it in all the holes. "- They replace a lot of workers in the firm lately. - It is par for the course around here, in a place with such a high turnover."

I wouldn't say that it is common but may hear it at some point. It is used enough that everyone in the USA knows what it means. But it's not like we go around saying it often. It means "that's typical". If you want to look "cool", I would not use this idiom. Young people would not use this idiom.

sorry, wrong answer mine!