Slightly OT...Your Course, Your Club Championship Format

[Parker Reeves]

Hello all,

  Quick question for all you GCAers.  I'm wondering about the format you use for your Club Championship.  Do you use straight stroke-play?  Matchplay?  A mix of each?

Thanks!

[Ed Brzezowski]

We use stroke play as a qualifier to get to 16 players. Then match play after that with a 36 hole final.

Concord CC, outside of Philly.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Parker,

While Stroke play over 72 holes will determine the best player, at the local club level I favor match play.

I think an 18 hole medal play qualifier with 16 spots for match play is a good format.
If there's tremendous interest, 32 spots

But, as you expand the qualifying field, scheduling becomes a problem

More clubs are introducing provisions that state that if you can't play a match on the days announced and you play and have a conflict, you won't be eligible the following year or two

[SL_Solow]

We alternate years.  Every other year, 72 hole stroke play on consecutive weekends.  The alternate years, 36 hole qualifier to get to 4 players.  The following weekend, match play.  We used to have 2 separate championchips utilizing each format which I thought was terrific but the time commitment ended that practice.

[Michael Felton]

My clubs back in the UK have a club singles tournament, which is straight knockout match play and also a "club championship" which is 36 holes of stroke play. The club singles is played off handicap, while the other is played off scratch. I think that's fairly typical in the UK, though I may be wrong.

One of them also has a scratch event which is one medal round, with the top 16 going into knockout, but that would be lower in the pecking order. Winning the club singles is the hardest thing to do. Winning the club championship, if you're good is not easy, but easier than winning the singles. I'm not sure which would be considered the more prestigious thing to win.

[PCCraig]

Season long match play tournament, seeded via handicap index.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Season long match play tournament, seeded via handicap index.

That becomes a scheduling nightmare and a breeding ground for gamesmanship

[Dan Kelly]

36 holes stroke play. (Senior Club Championship is only 18 holes, for no good reason I can imagine.)

We also have season-long match-play singles and doubles (better ball) tournaments.

Midland Hills CC (Roseville, Minnesota)

[Bill Crane]

At Springdale GC in Princeton, NJ we hold a 18 hole Medal round to select 8 qualifiers, then match play afterward with a 36 hole final.
 
When I first played in the tournament in the mid 1980s we would have 16 qualifiers and even hold a beaten 8 tournament after the first round, which was always my sweet spot.

We also hold a Senior Championship tournament for men age 55 and older from our white tees that is decided by 36 Medal play (<< revised note).  There is hope for me yet.

There is also a 36 hole Medal championship tournament held concurrently with a 36 hole net tournament as well.

Wm Flynnfan

[PCCraig]

Season long match play tournament, seeded via handicap index.

That becomes a scheduling nightmare and a breeding ground for gamesmanship

Not really... Each round is completed over a month or so and everyone knows the deadlines from the beginning. Here in Minnesota, many families have cabins up north and the ability to schedule a match anytime over an entire month can be helpful when someone spends Thursday evening-Sunday afternoon up north 3x a month. And with said cabin-going, a single weekend tournament would be nearly impossible to assemble a decent field.

[Ryan Taylor]

Flighted 54 hole stroke play on Fri, Sat and Sun in early Aug.

Red Run GC (Willie Park Jr.) outside of Detroit.

[Brad Tufts]

I like that ours is always one weekend.

We alternate between stroke and match play each year.

Stroke play years are three rounds....Fri PM, Sat AM, Sun AM.

I think the record for 54 holes is -3 (67-69-71)...at least that's the best I've seen in the 17 years I have played.  The winning score is usually around +5.  My two stroke play wins were at +5 and +7.  

Match play years are one strokeplay round on Fri PM, cut to top 8, then quarters on Sat AM, semis Sun AM, finals Sun PM.
The playoff for the 8th spot in match play is usually at 77-79.

Our problem has always been a net club championship...they lately have done this with players scheduling matches over several weeks.  It used to be flighted by the one strokeplay score on Friday in match play years, and you would have a former champ who shot 81 in qualifying playing H2H against a 12 who played well in the qualifier...was never good.

Tedesco CC, Marblehead, MA...6450, par 70.

[Chris DeToro]

Ours is flighted with the championship flight losers comprising the 1st flight played over the last month or so of the season.  The first two matches are to be played at your leisure but before "championship" weekend which is typically the last weekend of August.  Semi-finals on Saturday and Finals on Sunday. 

Battle Creek CC (MI)

[Thomas Dai]

At most clubs I've ever been a member at, although the formats have been slightly different, you can pretty much tell in advance who's gonna be club champion, as there are only ever a very few guys (even less for gals) who can win it. That's why the same names appear over-and-over again on the honors board. All the rest of the participants are just also-rans. To many club championships are far too drawn out.

I've always thought a good format would be the 4 lowest handicappers playing 36-hole matchplay off scratch. Semi-final on a Saturday, Final on a Sunday and members encouraged to follow the players around and gather around the last few greens. Have an event like a BBQ and the prize giving afterwards.

atb

[Michael Herrmann]

We actually have two separate tournaments with medal and match play formats.

The formally titled "Club Championship" used to be 72 holes over two weekends in June, but for the last 8-9 years is a Friday PM, Sat AM, Sun AM 54 hole event in mid to late July.  There is a first flight for anyone over a 9 index I believe, but there are no "net" winners.

Separately we have what is called our Presidents Cup, which is a scratch match play championship.  The format and scheduling has flip flopped quite a bit over the years, but in the last few years have found that for purposes of getting more entries, we no longer have an 18 hole qualifying round for the top 16 seeds.  We now simply have a sign up and the low 15 indexes and the defending champion make up the championship flight, and if there is enough interest the next 16 signed up make up the first flight.  All matches are played at scratch.

Miami View GC, Cincinnati, OH

[Jason Topp]

Stroke play at my current club.  54 holes, 2 days from about 7100 and one day from about 7400.  It is a bloodbath for most of the field but the champions manage to come close to par.  I play in the net flight.  Our clubhouse overlooks the final 3 holes on the course so you can enjoy a beverage and watch the finish from a single spot. 

My former club had a stroke play tournament that qualified 7 for the match play (plus the defending champ).  The match play champion was considered the club champion.  I really liked the format.  Even though I had little chance of winning the stroke play, I did have a chance to qualify for match play.  The match play traditionally was held on Labor Day weekend which was perfect for three rounds. 

My public course has a 36 hole stroke play event with a big field with the championship flight playing from 6700 yards or so.  I got to play in the final group one year and it was a thrill to play with a zillion carts following along. 

[Carl Johnson]

We have both: one at stroke play and one at match play.  The stroke play is the older of the two, and is called the "Club Championship."  Last year the same guy won both of them.  This is at Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte.

[David Davis]

We have two different club championships.

Stroke play - 54 holes in one weekend.

Match play - first a 36 hole qualifier then 16 man draw.

Both from 7100+ and always horrible weather, blowing really hard during that time of year.

3 rounds in the mid to high 70's wins the stroke play. Always the same guy, +4.5 hcp. Now trying to go for the European Tour.

He also wins the matchplay the last years.

[jeffwarne]

Friday Chamionship flight-18 holes Qualifying-low 7 +defending champ
play 18 Sat, semis and finals Sunday -only the finals loser can complain about 36 Sunday

all other flights flighted by handicap -8 per flight-Fri,Sat, Sun

[Sven Nilsen]

Question on match play events.  For the championship flight, how common is it for strokes to be awarded, or is it always played at scratch. 

[Bill_McBride]

Season long match play tournament, seeded via handicap index.

That becomes a scheduling nightmare and a breeding ground for gamesmanship

Not if the earlier rounds are play when you can matches.  It's tough to play a 16 player bracket even over two weekends.  If the first three rounds are arranged by the competitors over several weeks, the semis and final can be one weekend. 

[Carl Johnson]

Question on match play events.  For the championship flight, how common is it for strokes to be awarded, or is it always played at scratch.  

At Carolina GC in Charlotte what I would call our match play championship, the Players Cup, is played without handicaps.  However, we do have a separate match play championship that is played with HCs, the President's Cup.  (We also have a championship 4-ball match play with HCs, the Members Cup.)  So, we have four championships - medal with no HC (Club Championship), match no HC, match w/HC and 4-ball match w/HC.  As far as I can tell (not being personally involved), all are well regarded and highly sought after titles.  None of these events are flighted except the two (or three?) round medal play Club Championship conducted over one weekend.  Low gross from any flight is the Club Champ.  Flights are based on current handicaps.  Several years ago the low gross came from the first flight, one back from the championship flight.  I heard there may have been some disgruntlement from the guy who won the championship flight, but that's our rule.  The match play championships go for the entire summer season.

[Tommy Williamsen]

One contributing factor for some clubs is the nature of the membership. My clubs that have primarily local members do stoke play to qualify for 16 spots. Clubs that have a good percentage of national members do stoke play over a weekend.

[Ricardo Ramirez Calvo]

36 holes stroke play as qualifying competition, then match play of 16 players (15 from the Q and the champion of the previous year). 36 holes final. It is the standard format in all clubs in Argentina. The only variation can be on the number of players qualifying for the match play part. In smaller clubs is 8 (7 plus the last champion).

[Douglas Kelley]

At our local club, we have 18 hole stroke play qualifying for the 15 championship flight spots (or 16 if the reigning champion cannot play), non-qualifiers are placed into the next flight, and everyone else is placed into eight person flights tiered by index. The championship is played over three days with no strokes allocated in the matches. The championship match usually gets a pretty big crowd.