Match Play and the Growth of Golf

[Mike_Young]

Seems pretty obvious that many of the issues that haunt golf today in this country could be eliminated by a concerted campaign to promote match play.  Speed of play will increase, golf is more fun to watch.  

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Mike i would walk on hot coals to see the PGA match play again. It is twice as entertaining to watch as stroke play. yet, the star power issue seems to keep the tour and Tv locked into the we we are. Toms and Chris D is not a bad match though. I love the shot making that match play brings out as well as the strategy.

[Bill_McBride]

It's interesting that 99% of club golf is match play and 99% of professional golf is medal play.  Too bad a lot of club golfers think you have to emulate the medal play pace of play while playing match play!  Once you get past the medal play mentality, it really doesn't matter that your aging frame can't make the turn you made as a kid, or the feet don't hold up as well either.  If "X" is just a lost hole like a bogey, you can enjoy a round of golf even if it's not up to your old standards.  It always amazes me when a few of my buddies want to know what they shot, when we just played a fun fourball match and irrelevant putts were kicked away.

But then there's a four or fivesome of old guys at my club who are proud of how fast they play (typically 3 hrs all with push carts) - their question isn't "what did you shoot?", it's "how fast did we play?"   And get in their way at your own risk!

[JohnV]

There is no way that 99% of club golf is match play.  Every Saturday and Sunday at every club I've ever belonged to there were tournaments of some kind and they were always stroke play.  Within most foursomes it was usually match play if they had any kind of game, but many times four guys just play golf and don't have a competition and they aren't playing match play.

I do love match play and my favorite days on the course are refereeing match play at the US Mid-Amateur or other events.

[Joe Hancock]

I think the place to get this ball rolling is at the high school level. Our course is home to several teams, both male and female. If these young folks could get the spirit of winning and losing as a team, rather than the spirit of personal accomplishment based soley on any given days performance, they would have more fun.

Joe

[Brent Hutto]

Not to import the USGA Handicap thread into this one but...

Virtually every golfer at the typical club or public course that's competing is playing match play. Even if there's some sort of medal-play dogfight or whatever the guys who play together usually have a little match among themselves and it's almost never stroke-play.

However, they are keeping a stroke-play score at the same time because in their conceptualization that's what the USGA handicap system requires. Now it may be stroke play with conceded putts and all sorts of other things not allowed at stroke play under the Rules but match play in the US typically has no advantage in pace of play because golfers treat every stroke as sacred.

Now in fact the handicap system's rules allow for pretty much any kind of two-ball or four-ball match without having to treat it like a simultaneous medal-play game but for whatever reason that ain't how the golfers treat it. They basically deal with match play as stroke play with gimmes (not that they don't also play gimmes every chance they get in actual medal competition). Personally, I always try to find some kind of match because plodding along counting to 90 or whatever is tedious.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I must be e member of an odd club for almost all of us play matches as well. It is just pick up games and not organized by the club like in the UK.

[Tom_Doak]

I love match play but, really, it's not even what most members of clubs in the UK and Australia play on a regular basis.

Most club competitions there are Stableford format, which is just what they should be in the US.  After a net bogey, no points to be had, pick it up and move on; but you putt out everything when there are points involved.

This would still work fine for handicapping in the US system, since your "adjusted score" is really just a matter of throwing out all the net doubles and triples.  In fact, they could easily realign handicap reporting based on Stableford score rather than gross score if they wanted to.

[ForkaB]

Tom

I don't know about Australia, but you are not correct vis a vis the UK. Virtually all club competitions over here are pure stroke play, not Stableford.  Informal competitions (i.e. road trips, business outings) are often played at Stableford, as it is a particularly good format for fun golf with groups including many people with iffy handicaps.  Bounce games (in my experience) are increasingly played in the Skins format (assuming you have more than 2 players in your group).

Anyone who wants to see how UK competitions are actually conducted, can go to www.how-did-i-do.co.uk which gives extraordinary detail on competitions held by a large number of the clubs, including many of the more beloved ones.

[Sean_A]

Rich

Our comps are a mix, but friendlies, which is the vast majority of golf played, are almost always match play.  If there are large throw ups then 3/4 stableford is the format.  

A typical time for a fourball is 3:20.  I like this speed even if I play in a two ball.  I am a slow walker! Anything much quicker than 3:00 makes me feel rushed, which is the last thing I want on a golf course.

Ciao

Sean

[Sean Walsh]

At the few clubs I have been a member at in Australia I would say at least half the comps I have played in have been either Stableford or Par.  With Stableford being by far my favourite probably due to it being more friendly to the higher handicapper. One bad hole doesn't ruin your score.

I generally also go in a state wide comp each year that is matchplay.

[Mark Brown]

Mike,

I agree. Match play is the answer. It's faster, more fun, promotes camaraderie, keep you interested in the game, and loosens up American golfers who are so anal about stroke play and handicaps. The heck with the USGA and so much emphasis on holing everything out. Let's have some fun. Difficult courses would also be more fun to play.

[johnk]

Much as I love match play, I doubt it has much to do with the growth of golf.

I'm not sure what the issues that haunt golf today are in the US. However, I love match play, and I don't think playing more competitions or having more people playing in match play would help solve them.

If the big issue is getting more people to play, I don't see how match play overcomes the initial problem of basic competency...  i.e. golf is too hard to learn.  Does match play change the equation with respect to access or cost?

Even if the average round time suddenly decreased to 3:15 due to match play rules, I don't think this would increase play.  In fact, in Scotland, where the average round length is much shorter, I think there are several "issues" with the game not growing...  

[A.G._Crockett]

I think the place to get this ball rolling is at the high school level. Our course is home to several teams, both male and female. If these young folks could get the spirit of winning and losing as a team, rather than the spirit of personal accomplishment based soley on any given days performance, they would have more fun.

Joe

Joe,
I'm a HS golf coach; we occasionally play a match-play format, but the region and state tournaments are at stroke play, and with a short season and limited playing dates, there isn't a lot of opportunity or incentive.  Also, the kids do still win and lose as a team whether it is stroke or match play.  I'm not sure that I see the difference in that regard.

I also have to say that, in spite of a personal love for match play, I'm not at all sure that I buy into the idea that it is as much faster as everyone is assuming here, other than in singles.  In a four ball match, time spent determining which side is away, or which partner should play first, or reading each other's putts, seems to cancel out time saved by concessions.

[James Bennett]

Further to Tom Doak's comment about common play

At my club in Adelaide, Australia, the first Saturday of the month is medal round (stroke, from the back tees).  The other Saturday's are an alternating mixture of stableford and par.  Most competitions during the week and Sundays are stableford.

This appears to be the common practice amongst the 20 or so courses around Adelaide.

Our Championships (grade and Club) plus about 4 other events involve matchplay.  It is a rare treat (enjoyed by those playing) to be involved in such a match.  However, to change a stableford type individual round to match play would be a courageous thing to schedule in the annual program.

Of course, all of the side bets are effectively match play, without the gimmes of course!

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Congrats to my LSU Tiger David Toms for a great match play victory today. I do wish as stated earlier that the PGA was match once more.

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