Hi Linda,
First of all greetings from New Zealand.
Can I say that having read nearly all of your Question and
Answers, I would like to congratulate you on a format which is both easy to interpret
and understand.
I would like to ask you some questions with regard to Match
Play but before I pose the question I will give you some background.
There is a tendency especially among senior players to hold
golf tournaments using a Match Play format which uses the Stableford points
scored on the hole to determine a win or a loss as the net score does in match
play.
This format has also been used in some Provincial
Tournaments. I am of the opinion that this contravenes the rules of golf,
because a net score cannot be achieved when the players can no longer score a Stableford
point and the hole is then halved.
The argument they use for using this format for four-ball
(best ball) match play is as follows: They feel it is unfair if the lowest
handicapper goes back to scratch, because they believe for some reason that the
lowest handicapper is being deprived of his handicap strokes.
They also use this format in mixed tournaments by combining
the Stableford points of a male and female player and then applying a win and
loss to the hole depending upon those Stableford points.
My questions are:
1. Is it permissible under the rules of golf to use the
Stableford points as the basis for deciding the result a hole in match play
instead of the net score?
2: In handicap match play why does the lowest
handicapped person go back to zero? (I suspect it’s something to do with the
USGA Handicapping system).
Conclusion: I have searched numerous golf courses
around the world on the Internet and have never found a competition format
based on Stableford match play, which leads me to believe it is either against
the rules of golf or so unfair clubs just won’t do it.
Kind Regards,
Lou from New Zealand
Dear Lou,
Answer to Question #1:
Stableford competitions are a form of stroke play. The Rules
for stroke play and match play are so different that the Rules of Golf do not
permit combining the two forms of play [Rule 33-1]. You may not conduct a match
play competition using Stableford scoring, plain and simple.
Answer to Question #2:
When two golfers are playing a match, the player with the
lower handicap plays at scratch (no strokes), and the player with the higher
handicap receives the difference in the Course Handicap of the two players. For
example, if Hal’s Course Handicap is 8, and Jack’s Course Handicap is 12, Hal
will play at scratch and Jack will receive four handicap strokes (one each on
the number 1, 2, 3, and 4 handicap holes).
This system is eminently fair. The hole that has been
designated as the #1 handicap hole is the hole where the higher handicapper
will most need a stroke to help him halve the hole against a better player. This
order continues down to the #18 handicap hole, which should be the hole where
the weaker player is least likely to need a stroke to halve a hole.
Going back to Hal and Jack, if Hal plays at scratch (as he
should), Jack will receive a handicap stroke on the four holes that would be
the most difficult for him to halve without a handicap stroke to lean on. On
the other hand, if Hal receives a handicap stroke on the first 8 handicap holes
(where he should not), and Jack
receives a stroke on the first 12, here is the problem: Instead of receiving a
stroke on the four holes where it has been determined that he will most likely need
a stroke to halve the hole, Jack will now receive a stroke on the #9, 10, 11,
and 12 handicap holes, where he is far less likely to need the extra help. Hal
will have an unfair advantage on the first four handicap holes, which he has a
better chance to win now that Jack has to play them even up; Jack will have an
unfair advantage on handicap holes 9–12, where a handicap stroke will help him
win.
The purpose of handicapping holes is to equalize the competition between players of differing ability on
each hole; it is not to advantage one player over another on certain holes. Players
should receive strokes to help them halve a hole, not to help them win a hole. The
higher handicapper should receive his strokes on the holes where he will most
likely need a stroke to halve the hole (starting with the #1 handicap hole). In
order for that to happen, the better player must play at scratch.
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
