Does a match play tie have to begin at the 1st hole?

[KenL]

Apologies if this has been asked before.

Can two players elect to start a club match play tie at a hole other than the first?

I heard of a tie beginning at the 4th hole in order to bypass the first three holes that were looking busy.

My main disagreement with this is that there is not a fair balance of strokes across 2 nines.

If this is allowed, is it OK for players to agree between them or must they seek permission from the match secretary or their representative?

Thanks!

 

[srixon 1]

You must abide by the club rules. There is probably statement somewhere that stipulates all mAtches must start on the first hole.

 

[Colin L]

A match must be played over the stipulated round unless otherwise authorised by the Committee. Rule 2-1. The meaning of stipulated round includes the sequence in which the holes are to be played. See the Definitions.

http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!rule-14253

You might also note Decision 2-1/4 where it is made clear that players who miss out a couple of holes will be disqualified for not playing the stipulated round.

http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!decision-02,d2-1-4

 

[duncan mackie]

A good question.

You have the answer from the posts already - the committee are required to set out in their conditions of competition what constitutes a stipulated round, and in so doing they should take into account the issue of SI distribution you raise.

The default situation is 1-18 only.

 

[Colin L]

..........
The default situation is 1-18 only.

For a brief - very brief - moment I was wondering where you found Rule 1-18