A rule conundrum!

[Colin L]

Thanks

So is the majority of the thread simply semantics between 'zero difference' and an 'unknown amount of difference' (even if on occasion that unknown amount is actually zero)

No.

 

[rulefan]

A couple of comments re SIs.

Matches rarely use all 18 holes. Equalisation doesn't work very well if the stokes needed cannot be utilised if the relevant hole is not played. It would be different if the result was dependent on net score over 18 holes, but that is a different kettle.

Difficulty, using the present rating system means nothing. The USGA rating process, shows clearly that hole difficulty varies for different classes of player depending on where the obstacles are in relation to the player's hitting length. A 'difficult' hole for a scratch player may well be relatively 'easy' for a 20 capper because eg the only obstacle is a lake at 250 yards.