Competition background infor

[ainley87simon]

So hopefully from next week I will be fully paid up member of club, and on my way to having an official handicap which I fully expect to be 28 (which is what I play off at the moment).

I was hoping someone would be able to clarify a few points for me about competition play. I rather naively thought all competitions would be stableford, but I see people on here talking about Matchplay comps, and also 4BBB, could some please explain what 4BBB is?

Secondly I was looking through some of the comps that my club will be running over the next few months, and noticed that alot of the stableford competitions state [SUP]3/4[/SUP] handicaps as a maximum does this mean that I would be playing off 21 rather than 28 for the purposes of a comp?

Finally I know that off 28 I get 2 shots on the 10 hardest holes on a course. Does that remain the case until my handicap drops below 20? Or do I lose a shot on every hold stoke index 10 or less every time I drop a point?

 

[cookelad]

So hopefully from next week I will be fully paid up member of club, and on my way to having an official handicap which I fully expect to be 28 (which is what I play off at the moment).

I was hoping someone would be able to clarify a few points for me about competition play. I rather naively thought all competitions would be stableford, but I see people on here talking about Matchplay comps, and also 4BBB, could some please explain what 4BBB is? FourBall Better Ball -Pairs competition, both play your own ball at the end of each hole the best nett score is recorded

Secondly I was looking through some of the comps that my club will be running over the next few months, and noticed that alot of the stableford competitions state [SUP]3/4[/SUP] handicaps as a maximum does this mean that I would be playing off 21 rather than 28 for the purposes of a comp? I imagine this is only for the 4BBB comps as 3/4 comps won't be qualifiers but yes it does mean you would be playing off 21 not 28

Finally I know that off 28 I get 2 shots on the 10 hardest holes on a course. Does that remain the case until my handicap drops below 20? Or do I lose a shot on every hold stoke index 10 or less every time I drop a point?when you reach 27 you'll be getting 2 shots per hole on holes stroke index 1-9, when you get to 26 you'll be getting 2 per hole on stroke indexes 1-8 and so on

Hope that makes sense!

 

[pbrown7582]

Good luck with the membership and 3 cards to get an official handicap.
There are lots of different club comps pairs and singles.
Matchplay is head to head where you play against an opponent like the Ryder cup where a draw is set out and a series of rounds result in only 2 players left for a final.
4bbb fourball better ball. Is a pairs comp where you play with a partner and the best score on each hole is recorded in separate columns on the scorecard player a and player b to give a 'team' score.
It is unusual for lots of stableford comps to be played off 3/4 h/cap these days as they are then non qualifiers and don't count for h/cap purposes.
With regard to strokes received you get 18 1 on each hole and there after however many above 18 your handicap is you are given 2 on those holes so 20 gives 2 shots on SI 1, & 2 whereas 28gives you 2 shots on SI holes 1-10.
Once you start playing it'll be a lot easier than it sounds. But if in doubt just record your score and ask in clubhouse after.

 

[ainley87simon]

Great thanks cookelad perfect sense! Might be a while before I get 2 shots on 9 holes, but I can live in hope

 

[Colin L]

4BBB is short for 4 ball better ball. This is a format in which you and a partner each play a ball and at each hole the better of your two scores counts.

You can play this as matchplay where you are pitted against another pair and the better score of each partnership at each hole wins the hole. The normal handicapping of 4BBB matchplay is to take the lowest handicapped player of the 4. He gets no strokes. The other 3 get 3/4 of the difference between their handicaps and that of the lowest. So if the lowest in your match was 12, you on 28 would get 3/4 of 28-12 which would be 12 strokes.

You will also find 4BBB stroke play competitions where the better gross score of you and your partner at each hole is added up just as in single stroke play. In this format your handicap allowance is simply deducted from the total.

The normal for a stableford competition is full handicap, but that is a matter for your club.

On a 28 handicap you will receive 2 strokes on 10 holes according to the SI. On 27 you will receive 2 strokes on 9 holes. On 26 you get 2 on 8 holes and so on.

And as a postcript, the stroke index does not necessarily show which are the most difficult holes. There are other factors like distribution to avoid a player getting all his allowance in a bunch of holes rather than spread out.

 

[ainley87simon]

Thanks pbrown7582. Notice you are from Strensall golf club. I am not sure but I think I might have met a couple of your fellow members at Willow Valley (next to the M62 brighouse) after the Open Champtionship last year (When adam scott threw it away). They raved about their club made me very jealous.

 

[duncan mackie]

Secondly I was looking through some of the comps that my club will be running over the next few months, and noticed that alot of the stableford competitions state [SUP]3/4[/SUP] handicaps as a maximum does this mean that I would be playing off 21 rather than 28 for the purposes of a comp?

this is very very strange...on the one hand you are corect in your interpretation regarding handicaps

it also means that the competitions are NQ for handicapping purposes!

it is extremely unusual for clubs to do this now - which club?

just to add to cookielad's responses -

matches are played against opponents; strokeplay competitions are played against 'the field'.

4BBB can be played in both matches ie one pair against the other, best score from each side to count for the hole or as a strokeplay format (either medal or stableford scoreing but usually the latter) where pairs compete as Cookielad outlines.

 

[pbrown7582]

Know where willow valley is pass it every other week on m62 back n forth to m/cr. not played it mind.
It is a good club decent course, but members opinions tend to be rose tinted don't forget. Everywhere has its pros and cons!

 

[Stuey01]

My club only has I think 2 stablefords a year. The rest are medal, matchplay and a few giggle 4bbb "comps"

The 4bbb are mostly charity days and stuff like that at mine, played stableford, 3/4 handicap, best 2 scores from 4 on each hole. Results in some very good scores.