Linda, I’m interested about your comment on Rule 33-1 about not competing in both stroke and match play at the same time because that is what I’m doing this weekend.
At our club this weekend we are playing a best ball match play event (B vs. C grade pennant teams). However, the club has made a concession that we can also play in the regular club competition of the day, which is individual and best ball Stableford. Apart from putting out (even if conceded a gimme we need to putt out for our individual score) are there any other considerations we should be taking into account? Certainly the one about making sure the ball is marked on the green to avoid penalties is one consideration we will have to make.
Clearly, our primary event is the match play with the individual Stableford playing a secondary consideration. Hence, match play rules will be the primary rules we need to abide by.
Cheers
Lou Lou
Dear Lou Lou,
You have raised an issue that is near and dear to my heart. Not only do the golf rules prohibit playing simultaneously in a match play and a stroke play competition, they also state quite clearly that the result of a match played under such circumstances is null and void, and the competitors are disqualified from the stroke play competition. Despite this clearly-stated rule, clubs and organizations still insist on combining the two. I am at a loss to explain this blatant disregard of the rules, and am also mystified as to how the players are supposed to cope with the differences in rulings.
Now that I have let off some steam, I will proceed to your question. Here are what I would consider to be the most significant differences between match play rules and stroke play rules:
1. In match play you may concede your opponent’s next stroke, or even an entire hole. In stroke play, you are disqualified if you do not complete a hole.
2. In match play, if you are in doubt as to how to proceed because you are unsure about a rule, there is no provision for playing two balls. You must make a decision and continue playing. If your opponent disagrees with that decision, he can make a claim and the matter will be resolved by the Committee. In stroke play, you may play two balls and have the Committee sort it out later.
3. In match play, if you give wrong information to your opponent, you lose the hole. In stroke play, corrections to your score can be made up until you sign and turn in your score card.
4. In match play, if you hit a wrong ball you lose the hole. However, if you and your opponent accidentally exchange balls during play of a hole, and neither of you can figure out who hit the wrong ball first, then you complete the hole with the balls exchanged. In stroke play, you are penalized two strokes for hitting a wrong ball, and if you don’t correct your mistake you are disqualified.
5. In match play, if you play out of turn, your opponent has the right to recall your stroke and make you hit it again in the proper order (no penalty). In stroke play there is no provision to recall a stroke – the ball is played as it lies.
6. In match play, if you play from outside the teeing ground, there is no penalty. You will either play the ball as it lies, or replay it (if your opponent requires you to do so). In stroke play, there is a two-stroke penalty and you must re-tee within the teeing ground.
7. In match play, there is a one-stroke penalty if you move your opponent’s ball at any time other than during a search. In stroke play there is no penalty. (In both cases, incidentally, the moved ball must be replaced.)
8. In match play, if your ball hits your opponent or his equipment, you have two choices – play it as it lies, or cancel the stroke and replay it. In stroke play, it is a rub of the green, there is no penalty, and you must play the ball as it lies.
9. In match play, if your ball hits your opponent’s ball there is no penalty. In stroke play, if both balls are on the green when this happens, there is a two-stroke penalty for the player whose putt hit the other ball.
This list is by no means complete, Lou, but I hope that it helps you to understand why the differences in the two forms of play make it virtually impossible to proceed within the rules of both match play and stroke play simultaneously. Even if the round were played with no rules infractions (and when has that ever happened?), you would still be ignoring the basic premise of each form of play – match play is played by hole, stroke play is aggregate score. The strategy for the one game is often at odds with the strategy for the other. The rule prohibiting playing concurrently in a match play and stroke play event is a justified and logical rule, and should not be ignored.
Linda
Copyright © 2008 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
