I hate countback

[User20205]

When I posted the same thing a couple of months ago I was just told to "man up" and accept it!

there was a post a while back. it had about 30 replies, a few ideas were suggested, none of which were better or as easy to apply as countback.

re deferring to the lowest handicapper or lowest gross, Jez rightly pointed out that it is a handicap comp & therefore that can't be changed in the event of a tie.

personally I'm all for going off plan and introducing some kind of 80's pop trivia quiz, or a cream cracker eating contest to decide the winner. Both seems as relevant as countback

 

[bladeplayer]

Lets be honest , countback is not fair , the comp is over 18/36 holes so whether its the front 9 or back 9 you play well it shouldnt matter .because it has nothing to do with an individulasied 9 holes ..


On the other hand..


there is no other sensible solution to us amatuers who cant hang around for play offs or turn up some other day for one ..

count back is a clear & checkable solution to an unsolvable dilemma .. we all know it exist & we all know how it works ..

 

[ScienceBoy]

I have lost on countback more times than I have won.

Until someone finds something significantly better then I still think its currently the best system for deciding who placed where.

All good arguements were made in the other thread a while back but when it comes down to it the other person scored better than you over the closing holes when you both were warmed up and should be playing your best. Part of the back 9 is also dealing with pressure so if they handled it better and made less mistakes then they deserve it. Thats how I justify it to myself and it seems more fair then.

 

[chrisd]

I have lost on countback more times than I have won.

Until someone finds something significantly better then I still think its currently the best system for deciding who placed where.

All good arguements were made in the other thread a while back but when it comes down to it the other person scored better than you over the closing holes when you both were warmed up and should be playing your best. Part of the back 9 is also dealing with pressure so if they handled it better and made less mistakes then they deserve it. Thats how I justify it to myself and it seems more fair then.

...... and if you play the back 9 first and they play it the other way round?

 

[ScienceBoy]

...... and if you play the back 9 first and they play it the other way round?

In that situation I would struggle to justify it as it would not seem fair if we compared two different nines played in different orders! I have only ever encountered countback when everyone plays the holes in the same order.

I still think for the standard situation is the best method, when people start teeing off on the 10th then it pretty much ruins it!

 

[chrisd]

In that situation I would struggle to justify it as it would not seem fair if we compared two different nines played in different orders! I have only ever encountered countback when everyone plays the holes in the same order.

I still think for the standard situation is the best method, when people start teeing off on the 10th then it pretty much ruins it!

Almost all of our competitions have a 2 tee start

 

[rosecott]

In that situation I would struggle to justify it as it would not seem fair if we compared two different nines played in different orders! I have only ever encountered countback when everyone plays the holes in the same order.

I still think for the standard situation is the best method, when people start teeing off on the 10th then it pretty much ruins it!

We use two starting points for our midweek comps but still use countback on the back nine as per the scorecard.

 

[ScienceBoy]

We use two starting points for our midweek comps but still use countback on the back nine as per the scorecard.

Almost all of our competitions have a 2 tee start

Countback could be really quite unfair then, I feel for you two gents! I would also feel really hard done by to loose on countback if comparing two different nines. Surely there must be a better way for that situation right? Maybe therods ideas or the "who can throw the golf shoe the fartherst" competitions suggested in the previous thread as they all seem about as fair!

Sadly I doubt many clubs feel as strongly as some of us do on here about how unfair it could when people with the same score have teed off different holes.

Countback does have its place though and I still feel in the right situation its the best option currently in use when it compares two equivalent 9 holes.

 

[MKDave]

I've got nothing against countback apart from the examples mentioned here where 2 starts are used.

If you think about play off holes then you would have to plump for the person who finished their round strongest as the most likely to prevail. I know thats not always the case. I've lost once and won twice on countback.

It's been mentioned quite alot that over your round there are usually shots which another day would have gone in and would have won the comp. The only time I lost on countback was with a group a friends for a birthday. I pulled out 43 points and played a blinder, really couldn't complain about any missed opportunities as they balance out with my good fortune. I had 22 front 21 back, and he did it the other way round. Fair play is all I can say.

 

[User20205]

Maybe therods ideas or the "who can throw the golf shoe the fartherst" competitions suggested in the previous thread as they all seem about as fair!

genuis. :thup:

I would love it if last year Homer & bladeplayer settled the GM centenary final by having a welly throwing competition. Best of 3, longest wins. It would be youtube magic

 

[rosecott]

genuis. :thup:

I would love it if last year Homer & bladeplayer settled the GM centenary final by having a welly throwing competition. Best of 3, longest wins. It would be youtube magic

I think it would have to be golf-related. Why not a play-off consisting of an attempt to shank with every club in the bag - highest number of shanks wins.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

genuis. :thup:

I would love it if last year Homer & bladeplayer settled the GM centenary final by having a welly throwing competition. Best of 3, longest wins. It would be youtube magic

Can I have a go with one from each of my 17 pairs

 

[bladeplayer]

genuis. :thup:

I would love it if last year Homer & bladeplayer settled the GM centenary final by having a welly throwing competition. Best of 3, longest wins. It would be youtube magic

id be up for that , i grew up on a farm , couldnt clean the cow crap out of the sheds if i couldnt find my boots (wellies to the townies),, got good at throwing mine far away :thup: