I’m not going to spend too much time talking about match play (all right, as I look at the finished blog entry this did run a little long). As discussed last week, we play match play in our singles matches every night in REGL, but we use stroke play rules to address things like penalties. Why? Because we also have to publish a score for every hole to generate new handicaps for the next week and we need to calculate Team Net each week.
The rules for match play are best understood by spending some time each year watching either the Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup or the U.S. Amateur. In those events the sole purpose is to establish a winner or loser of a given match and to either move on to the next round or get a point for your team. Instead of a leaderboard with numbers under par, you get a leaderboard with how many holes a given individual or team is up on another. The rules are set up differently in a match play event because the player(s) and opponent(s) compete solely against each other on every hole, they can see each other play, and they can protect their own interests when it comes down to administering rules. Each player does not bear the burden of protecting the field regarding possible rule violations – they just have to protect their match.
Rule 3.2 is pretty long, and I decided to link to it
, and decided I’d try to condense a lot of it (failed miserably).
As opposed to stroke play, a player plays each hole and there is a result (win, loss or tie) associated with that hole. There are actually three ways a player can win a hole in match play: 1) by completing the hole in fewer strokes (including hole handicap strokes and penalty strokes) than the opponent, 2) the opponent concedes the hole (regardless of the number of strokes taken), or 3) the opponent receives the dreaded general penalty.
Let’s talk about the general penalty for a moment. In stroke play, if you do something egregious like hit someone else’s ball, deliberately deflect a ball in motion, or ground your club in a bunker the general penalty applies and you add two strokes to your hole score. That’s probably going to sting, but in match play, the same actions generate the general penalty, but in match play, that’s loss of the hole. Play the wrong ball and discover you’ve done so? Go pick up your own and march to the next tee box.
Holes can also be tied or halved if either: 1) you and your opponent have the same number of strokes (after applying penalty and handicap strokes), or 2) you both agree that the hole is tied. This second option came into play at the World Match Play event this year when Kevin Na hadn’t conceded a putt yet and Dustin Johnson slapped the ball out of the way (thinking the putt HAD been conceded). Rather than Dustin losing the hole because he removed the ball without marking it, Kevin and Dustin agreed to halve the hole (which would have been the result if Dustin had made his second putt).
There are three ways to win a hole, and there are three ways to win a match. The most common is that you are leading by more holes than you have holes left to play. When you lead by the same number of holes as there are left to play you are “dormy”. Secondly, your opponent can concede the match at any time. If he does, you win the match. Finally, your opponent can be disqualified.
In some match play events (Ryder Cup for instance) ties are allowed at the end of the round. In others a winner must be determined and typically play will extend to extra holes as denoted by the committee.
Concessions are a match play specialty, and we employ them liberally in the Ruggles Evening Golf League when it comes to conceding putts inside the length of the flagstick. “That’s Good!” is something we all say at one point or another in a round, but if we were playing a strict round of stroke play golf, we’d never be allowed to pick up an un-holed ball. In a real match play event the next stroke, a hole, or even a match may be conceded at any point.
Keep in mind the following points when conceding a stroke. The concession only counts for the next stroke to be played. Once a ball is in motion, you cannot concede that stroke – you concede the next one. If the moving ball happens to find the bottom of the cup, your concession isn’t needed anyway.
Furthermore, if you concede a stroke, that stroke counts toward the opponent’s score. Your opponent lines up a par putt and it grazes the hole and spins out by 6 inches. If you concede that stroke after it doesn’t fall, your opponent has a bogey on the hole. I have heard of some people just starting out in this game that started with the delusion that if someone said “That’s Good!”, it applied to the stroke that missed. In other words, the guy who missed the par putt and heard “That’s Good” thought that meant he got a par for the hole. Not so.
You can concede a hole anytime before a hole is completed. You don’t want to play #5? Just concede the hole and move on to #6. That’s allowed in match play. Same goes for conceding a match. Just because the result is in doubt doesn’t mean that you can’t give up and go home a loser. However, concession of a stroke, hole or match is final – there is no taking it back, so be careful what you say.
Another point is that a concession must be clearly communicated and understood by both parties. I’d suggest a loud and unequivocal “That’s Good!” or “I concede that stroke” or “I concede that hole”, but it can also be communicated by gesture, but I’d be careful to make sure both you and your opponent are on the same page as far as non-verbal communication. If a ball is lifted because one party thinks that a concession has been communicated but they are mistaken, the ball must be replaced if the location is known, or it must be estimated to the best of their ability.
A note on handicaps in match play – get them right. If you state your handicap (registered with the committee) to your opponent and it’s too high, you will be disqualified if the match starts and the error has not been corrected. If you state your handicap and it’s too low, you have to live with that handicap for the rest of the match if it has already started. Handicaps are applied by hole in match play (as we know very well in REGL singles matches) and they’re applied by the course hole handicap. Thus if the difference between handicaps is two strokes and you’re playing the front nine at Ruggles, the higher handicapped player will receive one handicap stroke on holes 7 and 2. If the higher handicapped player records a gross score of 6 on hole #7, his net score on the hole is a 5. If that’s better than his opponent’s score, he would win the hole.
The number of strokes taken on a given hole as it is played is very important in match play. A player may elect to play a hole differently if he knows how many strokes his opponent has played during the hole. Therefore, at any point in time during play of a hole, a player may ask his opponent for the total number of strokes played at that point. The opponent must reply, and the opponent must be truthful. If he does not respond or responds with an incorrect number before the next shot is played or a concession is made, the general penalty is applied and the opponent will LOSE THE HOLE! The opponent can also offer the number of strokes he has played, and if he’s lying to you, he loses the hole unless he corrects his error prior to your next stroke.
Your opponent must also provide you with the true number of strokes taken on a finished hole prior to starting the next hole or he loses the previous hole if the number of strokes changes the outcome of the previous hole. For instance, if a hole is believed to have been won by player A who had a par, and player B says he got a bogey when it was really a double bogey, the match is not affected and there is no penalty. However, if player A had a par and player B claims he also had a par and player B is found to have given an incorrect score after they tee off on the next hole, the general penalty is applied to player B and he would lose the previous hole.
It is always a good policy to inform your opponent of any penalty you call on yourself. The penalty stroke will probably affect how he plays the hole as a result. Failure to tell the opponent of a penalty prior to his next shot would result in the general penalty for you and you will lose the hole anyway. However, if the opponent already knew of the penalty, the general penalty will not be applied.
All players should also know how the match stands at any point in time. I would suggest prior to teeing off on a given hole, both parties should agree where the match stands (we are all square, you guys are 1 up, etc.). If you tee off after the match score has been agreed to and it’s wrong, it becomes the match score.
Finally, it is up to the individuals involved in the match to adjudicate rights and interests. If a player has knowledge of a rule infraction, they can bring it to the attention of their opponent or they can choose to ignore it. However, if both players agree to ignore an infraction that they know to apply to a given situation, they are subject to disqualification by the committee.