The Air View Aluminium singles match play competition will be run over the course of the year. Here are some general rules: • In Matchplay the game is played by holes • The opponent holing the ball in the least number of shots, after handicap is taken into consideration wins the hole. •The reckoning of holes is kept by the terms "So Many Holes Up", "All Square", &c. • The terms "dormie" or "on wood" are used when the opponent is so many holes up as there are left to play. •A hole is "halved" or "squared" if each opponent holes out with the same number of net strokes. • A match is won by the player who is leading by a greater number of holes than there are left to play. •Concession of next stroke is when a player concedes to their opponent the next stroke assuming that they would have holed out, usually short putts. • A player may concede a hole or match at any point prior to the completion of the hole or match. •General penalty for any breach of the Rules of Golf is deemed to be loss of hole.
The Newcastle MBA Golf Club Singles Knockout shall obey the following rules:
• At the start of the year, all members interested in participating in the Singles Knockout competition must compete in the opening (qualifying) round. •A seeded draw is prepared by the committee on the basis of the qualifying round results to determine who will face who in round two of the competition. • Depending on numbers some may receive a bye into the second round. • All rounds following the first round are closed draw. Depending on your placement from the first draw you will know who your possible next opponent is based on the match either above or below you in the table, which will be made available via email or on this website. •The person whose name is at the top of each draw/match is responsible for organizing the match. • Each round is to be played either at the designated game in the fixture or at a time and course convenient to both golfers before that round. Failure to do so will result in victory to the available member at the original designated match or if both members unavailable at the toss of a coin. • In the absence of a Match Handicap Index published by the venue golf course, the INDEX below will prevail. To determine the handicaps the full differential is used. Take the lower handicap from the higher to determine the difference, then Holes with Match Index up to this value are the holes that the higher handicapper has shots on over their opponent. Two players, Player A H'cap=11, Player B H'cap=18. Player A will play with a handicap of 0 as he/she has the lower handicap. Player B will play with a handicap of 7 which is the full differential between the two handicaps 18-11=7. Player B will have a shot on holes with Match index 1 through to 7. • The GolfLink Handicap held on the day of the match will be the handicap used. This does NOT include any penalty points incurred in previous outings. • In case of a tie at the conclusion of the Match the competitors may determine the winner by: One or the other of the players conceding the match. Playing sudden death extra holes until a result is achieved. The toss of a coin. In case of a tie in the Final of the competition, extra holes will be played until a result is achieved. • When the match has been played it is the responsibility of the winner to inform the committee of the result. • All Committee decisions are final and cannot be challenged.
Match Play Index The Committee must publish a table indicating the order of holes at which handicap strokes are to be given or received (Rule 33-4).
The following is provided by Golf Australia as an option for clubs (found on GA website here). This method provides for a fairly even distribution throughout the round. It also disregards hole difficulties (acknowledging that a 30-marker receives 5 strokes from a 25-marker, which is also what a 5-marker receives from a scratch marker, but that there can be clear differences in the holes a 5-marker and scratch marker will find the most challenging). It is fair to players on all handicap levels, and it has proved satisfactory in use. It avoids allocating low-numbered strokes to the last two holes so players receiving few strokes will have the opportunity to use these before a match is decided. It also avoids allocating low-numbered strokes to the first three holes in case a match goes to extra holes.
Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Index 18 8 12 3 14 6 10 1 16
Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Index 5 11 2 15 7 13 4 17 9
Singles Knock-out ~ Match Play Explained with acknowledgements to Brent Kelley, About.com Guide
The Way It's Played In this sense, match play is a whole different game than stroke play. In stroke play, golfers accumulate strokes over the course of 18 holes. The golfer with the fewest strokes at the completion of the round wins.
In match play, each hole is a separate competition. The player with the fewest strokes on an individual hole wins that hole; the player winning the most holes wins the match.
The stroke total for 18 holes simply doesn't matter in match play. Stroke play is more a player vs. the course approach; match play is directly player vs. player, or side vs. side. There is one opponent you must beat, and that's the opponent you're facing in the match you're playing right now.
Conceded Putts In friendly rounds of golf, golfers often ask for and give "gimmies," very short putts that one simply picks up rather than holing out. Gimmies, needless to say, are illegal under the Rules of Golf, but many recreational golfers use them anyway.
In match play, however, conceded putts are perfectly legal. Your opponent can concede a putt to you at any point, whether it's six inches from the cup or 60 feet. But conceded putts almost always come, of course, on very short putts.
Conceded putts should only be offered, they should never be requested. That's why in some match play matches you'll notice a golfer lingering over a very short putt - the golfer is hoping his opponent will tell him to just pick it up.
Fellow-Competitor vs. Opponent This is a semantic difference. In stroke play, the golfers you are playing against are your "fellow-competitors." In match play, the golfer you are playing against is your "opponent."
Hit That One Again There are several scenarios in match play where a transgression might result in your opponent canceling your shot and requiring you to replay it; whereas in stroke play, the same transgression would result in a 2-stroke penalty or no penalty at all.
The Match Committee has determined that wherever an inescapable conflict exists, the rules of stroke play will prevail. For example, in the examples below, re-hitting a shot is in breach of stroke play rules. The conflict can be overcome by playing 2 balls, scoring the first as stroke, and the second towards the match **. In the fourth example, no such conflict exists. The 2 stroke penalty will be applied to the stroke score, whilst the match score remains unaffected.
** as one is entitled to do when in doubt of a rule or procedure (see Stroke Rule 3.3)
Those examples:
• Playing out of turn: In stroke play, order of play is a matter of etiquette. If you hit out of turn, it's a breach of etiquette, but there is no penalty. In match play, if you hit out of turn your opponent can require you to replay the shot in the proper order. And if your first shot was a great one, you can bet that you'll be replaying.
• Hitting from outside the teeing ground: In stroke play, teeing off from outside the teeing ground (the teeing ground is between the tee markers and up to two club lengths behind the tee markers) results in a 2-stroke penalty. In match play, there is no stroke penalty, but your opponent can cancel your shot and require you to replay it.
• Hitting an opponent: In stroke play, if your ball hits a fellow-competitor or his equipment (if it is accidently stopped or deflected by same), it's rub of the green. In match play, you have the option to replay the shot.
• Hitting a ball at rest on the green: In stroke play, if your putt strikes another ball on the green, you get a 2-stroke penalty. In match play, there is no penalty.
The Big Penalty In the rule book, just about every section concludes with a warning: "Penalty for Breach of Rule." If a golfer fails to follow the proper procedures set forth in the rules, he will incur a penalty in addition to any penalties set forth in that rule.
That penalty in stroke play is usually 2 strokes, and in match play is usually loss of hole.