[Tony_Muldoon]

ON the Machrihanish thread it is suggested the 1st also makes an excellent 19th hole in Matchplay.

I was wondering what proportion of matches ever go the 19th? The Ryder Cup is often lauded for its adherence to Matchplay but in fact they settle for a half if the match is a/s after 18.  This is also true for most society Matchplay, like the BUA Cup.  My experience of playing the game properly, i.e. to the finish, would suggest less than 10% of games going beyond 18. If this is correct do we overate the importance of the 19th hole?



Can anyone find the figures for the no of Ryder Cup matches that end in a draw.  I realise it’s not quite the same thing as there’s no guarantee how they would have played the hole knowing it was the final one, but I think it probably evens out over time.

Can you score a half in the Walker Cup?

[Niall C]

ON the Machrihanish thread it is suggested the 1st also makes an excellent 19th hole in Matchplay.

I was wondering what proportion of matches ever go the 19th? The Ryder Cup is often lauded for its adherence to Matchplay but in fact they settle for a half if the match is a/s after 18.  This is also true for most society Matchplay, like the BUA Cup.  My experience of playing the game properly, i.e. to the finish, would suggest less than 10% of games going beyond 18. If this is correct do we overate the importance of the 19th hole?



Can anyone find the figures for the no of Ryder Cup matches that end in a draw.  I realise it’s not quite the same thing as there’s no guarantee how they would have played the hole knowing it was the final one, but I think it probably evens out over time.

Can you score a half in the Walker Cup?

Tony

I think the answer to your last question is yes. With regards to the question of percentage of matches that finish in a half, I've no idea, however I would suggest that back in the days of team matches, games didn't go to extra holes. I'm not sure that in the big money matches that the old timers used to play that they necessarily went into extra holes either. I suspect it's only been used for knock-out comps and even then I seem to recall matches being replayed over 18 holes when there's been a half. Could be wrong on that last one mind.

Niall

[Bill_McBride]

One thing I like about George Thomas courses is that some of them have the second hole return to the clubhouse, one benefit of which is keeping extra hole matches close to the clubhouse. 

I think matches go to extra holes if it's an individual competition - the US and British Amateurs, the Accenture Match Play, your club championship - but not in team competitions - the Walker, Ryder, Buda and Dixie Cups - where a half point adds to the team totals.

[Tom_Doak]

I think matches go to extra holes if it's an individual competition - the US and British Amateurs, the Accenture Match Play, your club championship - but not in team competitions - the Walker, Ryder, Buda and Dixie Cups - where a half point adds to the team totals.

That's correct.  Matches go to extra holes when you need a result -- i.e. someone's got to advance to the next round.  In a team competition, a tie is fine.

I've had to mess with the principle of requiring extra holes for the Renaissance Cup, because we play nine-hole matches with the winners advancing immediately to another match starting on #10 -- so there's no room for extra holes.  In that case, we use a tie-breaker rule, that in case of a tied match, the last team to have won a hole moves on.  It makes for some exciting finishes!

As to Tony's original question, 10-15% is probably a reasonable guess for the number of matches that go to extra holes.  But the final of the U.S. Amateur last year did go to the 37th hole.

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