Aargh.... Four weeks to go and our team was in a solid 4th in the East. Then we got whooped on three consecutive nights - with a week to go we've got to jump two teams just to make it in. The hurt doesn't help when you were one of the ones that went out on two of those three nights. The mirror isn't my best friend at the moment, but it does point out the problem.
Speaking about playoffs, I thought it would be good to dig up one of my ancient blogs regarding playoff rules. Fortunately, Joe McKeever's still hosting my old posts, and I've stuck the August 2014 edition as a featured post on the current page.
Really, the biggest difference between a regular REGL match and a playoff match is that you CANNOT have a tie. If your match is finished and both teams have 9 points, proceed to either Hole #1 (if you've been playing the front nine) or Hole #10 (back nine) and play a hole where the only thing that counts is the aggregate scores (yours plus your partner's vs. your two competitor's combination (with handicaps factored in)). For instance, if you're playing #1 and your team got one handicap stroke the first time you played it, and your recorded a par 4, and your partner made a 6, your combined score is a 10. With one handicap stroke, you'd have a net 9. If the other team recorded a combined 10 strokes or more, you win the match and will have to come back (maybe the next day) for the next match. If your opponents recorded a combined 9 strokes, move on the Hole #2 and continue until either one of you wins or it's too dark to play. If it's too dark, you'll have to make some arrangement to pick up where you left off prior to the start of the next day's playoff matches (even if two different players have to play).
Another playoff MUST - get your playoff handicap and make sure you know what it is prior to arriving at your match. In the Championship Match last year, one of the competitor's didn't know their handicap had changed and it affected the result of a very tight match.
Dave Edwards has a fantastic section of the website devoted only to the playoffs that include the bracket, the results, AND the playoff handicaps. If you're in, you need to pay attention.
One more important nugget - the playoffs start on MONDAY the 28th. So, even if you normally play your matches on Tuesday, you'll be playing your first match on a Monday - get players lined up for potentially Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday of that first week.
Even though there's more at stake in a playoff match (winners get MONEY!), that doesn't mean the pace of play should suffer. We're getting later in the year where daylight is precious - walk with a purpose, help each other out, and play ready golf.
Good luck to all of you. I can't believe this year's schedule has already evaporated. Unless something special crops up, this will probably be my last post until we kick off next year. I always appreciate suggestions for topics. I also love stories and like to include things that really happen in our league, so don't be bashful - share!