Matchplay format?

[Airlie_Andy]

As I joined a club for the first time at the back end of last year I haven't really got much competition experience. After work today I have my first ever crack at a match play format (singles). So a couple of things;

1) Any particular rules I should be aware of? How is the card filled in for example?

2) Any advice on how to approach it? Play conservative and use my shots for example?

Thank in advance.

 

[louise_a]

I would say play normally however bear in mind how your opponent is playing too,for exampe if your opponent puts it in the long stuff, consider playing safer to make sure your ball is in play. If you lose a hole forget it.
Just keep a record of the score, you normally need to hand the card in, just declare the result, however I normally put thescores down and keep a running tally of how many up or down I am.

 

[Lump]

Don't try to play the course. You want to play your opponent. Use your shots wisely and most of all. RELAX!

 

[pbrown7582]

Relax and enjoy. Card only for reference as score doesn't matter it's how you do against your oppo. Play your normal game but do consider as mentioned above where how your opponent is doing. Never take anything for granted nothing worse than thinking you've got the hole won and a miracle recovery chip (etc) and all of a sudden you have a 4 footer for a half!
Good luck.

 

[duncan mackie]

I am one of those firmly in the camp of 'play the course with your own game and let the handicaps take care of the rest'.

There may be the odd, and obvious, situation where your choice of shot is directly influenced by the situation but, even here, be careful!

For anyone but elite golfers setting out to 'play your opponent not the course' is a recipe for disaster -

a.you get wound up in their game rather than yours
b.you spend every hole working out who's lying what, net or gross, rather than focusing on just doing the best you can
c. you take on impossible shots because your perceive you need to to match 'him', which are doomed to failure and get you out of your rhythm/tempo
d. your endless what if scenarios won't all play out - so you loose confidence in your mental judgment as well.

 

[Curls]

Hi Andy, the great Jack Nicklaus had a few top tips for matchplay that I've used and to date they've done me well:

1. Some folk think you can win with a late flourish - attack from the start.

Go out to win the first hole. If you win it, win the second. If you're 4 up - get to 5 up. I know it sounds obvious, but some folk take a while to get going and find themselves chasing. You're allowed play the course on the day of a matchplay comp (not stroke obviously), so if youre fit enough get down there and play a few holes (not too many, youll be wrecked if it goes to play offs!). Practice plenty of putts from around the 1st and 2nd holes, you might have a similar putt for a win early on and itll rattle him if you sink them, the hardest opponent in matchplay is one that putts great, youre never sure if you have it won cos they can get it down from anywhere.

2. Stay focussed. You'd be surprised how fragile 3 up is on the back 9, when someone puts a couple of wins together you can feel like its slipping away, the momentum is with them, and they can often finish it out, so don't take your foot off the gas. Same goes for (as was said above) thinking a hole is over before it is, its only over when he concedes or the ball is in the hole, I split the fairway on Friday and saw him tank it in the deep stuff, thought it was lost or a hack-out at best so I played a lay up, he flushed it out and won the hole which was a double-blow cos I thought I had it won.

3. Jack always said pay the course not the man - I think this has to do with thinking a hole is over, its only if he tanks two OOB that you should probably iron it off the tee, have a gameplan of how to play the hole and stick to it unless he goes completely la la.

Hopefully that helps, most of all enjoy it, its my favourite format. Oh and when you have that putt for the win, try not to think of it as the putt for the win - its just a ball, a hole and a few feet of grass - roll it in. Ive been guilty of pulling the winning putt cos I strangled the putter with nerves, now if Im putting for the win I hold the putter like a little baby bird (not my words, but theyve stuck with me).

Most of all - have fun!!!

 

[SoapbarSE]

My humble advice would be to work on the mental aspects of your putting game - spend a lot of time on the putting green just focusing on the target, working on a consistent preshot routine that you can rely on. I've found the more time I spend on the putting green doing this, the easier it is to make a point when it matters.

My friend played a singles tournament last weekend and I just said work on your putting. If you're playing with handicaps or just a player of similar ability, every hole you're likely to have at least a putt or an up and down for a half, and obviously they'll be times you'll be putting to win a hole under pressure - the more you practice the easier you'll find these situations.

Also I find a club that you can rely on to hit off the tee - if you lose your way a little you can revert back to it when you need to get the ball in play. I use a wood off the tee if my driving starts letting me down.

Finally Bob Rotella gave some great advice for all golf rounds - enjoy the challenge of the day, whatever it may be. Enjoy the pressure putts, see your target only and think how great it'll feel to make it!

 

[bladeplayer]

Always assume he is going to make that putt or chip.. if he doesnt then great , but if your standing over a 4ft putt with the mentality you have 2 possibly 3 to win & he drains it , its hard to change your focus to must make ...
play at your own pace , if he walks slow then dont wait for him, get to your ball & get into shot mode .. if he walks fast let him on ..


Dont bother with or get involved in mind games , experienced match players will have their little ways ..

just do what you need to do to win the hole , if 5 will win a par 3 just make sure you dont take 6 , pushing for a 2 will still only be 1up ..
Just enjoy the experience , good or bad your overall game will improve from playing matches , you will find out alot about your mental game ..

Good Luck

 

[Airlie_Andy]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Just about to leave work and head to the course so hopefully I can put it all to good use and play well.

 

[Curls]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Just about to leave work and head to the course so hopefully I can put it all to good use and play well.

Let us know how you go, regardless of whats gone before remember every hole is a unique chance to go another one up (or claw one back)

 

[RGDave]

I am one of those firmly in the camp of 'play the course with your own game and let the handicaps take care of the rest'.

Too right.

There are a few holes where I know/expect I'm most probably going to lose. However, I just play my game and it's surprising how my "safe" bogey is just as useful and as "almost par".

I pay zero attention to anything (give or take total disasters) until we get on the green. I learned my lesson of anticipating the outcome years ago. Choosing your shot based on someone else's is normally a recipe for trouble. Easy for me to say I guess as I'm a 95% bogey and par player, but forcing things is dangerous.

 

[Airlie_Andy]

Well that was interesting. First of all I was playing a 21 handicapper who played much better than that. First 3 holes I think the nerves got the better of me and I found myself hitting shanks and all sorts, and my opponent was level par through the first 3 holes so I was quickly 3 holes down. I then settled down and won the next hole and halved the 5th then won the par 5 6th. We halved the 7th and exchanged holes on the 8th and 9th so I found myself 2 down at the turn. The 10th was then the stereotypical match play hole. It's a drivable par 4 at about 265 yards, my opponent hit a good drive but found the fairway bunker about 50 yards short. I then hit my drive to 20 yards left of the green in the semi rough. Advantage me. He then plays a great bunker shot to about 20 feet and I proceed to duff my chip shot which I then follow up with another poor chip leaving myself about 30 feet from the hole. Advantage my opponent. I then did the unthinkable and drained my par putt from 30 feet while my opponent raced his birdie putt 10 feet past the hole. Advantage me again. He held his nerve and sunk a very good par putt to halve the hole and it just summed up match play golf perfectly. By the 18th tee the match was all square and a very enjoyable round had been had. I then managed to throw it all away by driving my ball out of bounds which was a dissapointing way to lose the match but I think my opponent was a deserving winner in the end. So unfortunately all the great advice didn't get me the win but it certainly helped me make sure it at least went down the 18th so it was much appreciated.

 

[Curls]

Well that was interesting.

a 21 handicapper who played much better than that

level par through the first 3 holes

BBAANNNDDDIITTT!!!!! Only joking, thats what many will say but I know its probably not the case. My playing partner plays off 20 and is capable of runs of pars any day, he's capable of very good play, its just he tends to throw it away and put a couple of horror shows together then the head goes down and he's 20 over again before he knows what happened. In matchplay you can write off that 8 or 9 you just took though, so it allows him to be competitive. You had to give 5 shots and he played better than h/c, so you must have held your own to take it down the 18th. Like you say, shame to lose it in the play off but play offs are like penalty shoots outs, anything can happen, very good of you to say the better man won, that sort of sportsmanship is sadly lacking in others. Great lessons learned and you did well to claw it back from being 3 down so early, that 10th will stay with you for a while and like you say is the epitome of matchplay, its a great format.

Next time, don't let him go 3 up ;-)

 

[Val]

Well that was interesting. First of all I was playing a 21 handicapper who played much better than that. First 3 holes.

It does happen, I played with a 24 HC last year in a medal and he was gross level par through 7 or 8 holes and ended up with 34 SF points when reality kicked in for him, he had a horrid back 9.

 

[Airlie_Andy]

BBAANNNDDDIITTT!!!!! Only joking, thats what many will say but I know its probably not the case. My playing partner plays off 20 and is capable of runs of pars any day, he's capable of very good play, its just he tends to throw it away and put a couple of horror shows together then the head goes down and he's 20 over again before he knows what happened. In matchplay you can write off that 8 or 9 you just took though, so it allows him to be competitive. You had to give 5 shots and he played better than h/c, so you must have held your own to take it down the 18th. Like you say, shame to lose it in the play off but play offs are like penalty shoots outs, anything can happen, very good of you to say the better man won, that sort of sportsmanship is sadly lacking in others. Great lessons learned and you did well to claw it back from being 3 down so early, that 10th will stay with you for a while and like you say is the epitome of matchplay, its a great format.

Next time, don't let him go 3 up ;-)

Definately not a bandit he just played those first 3 holes very well finding the fairway and greens in regulation. To be honest I played that badly for those holes he would have won with bogeys, the nerves definately got the better of me. As it turns out he was such a nice guy that I quickly got over that and just enjoyed the round and the company. It's a great format and really the first time I've ever thought about actually competing against another player. Even in the few comps I've played so far I've not thought about winning them or what a good score might be but just playing it like any other round of golf. Signed up for the Subday morning comp and planning on playing at least 1 a week now as I clearly need to work on controlling the nerves in a competitive situation particularly at the start of the round. As you rightly say 3 down after 3 holes is never going to work

 

[Airlie_Andy]

It does happen, I played with a 24 HC last year in a medal and he was gross level par through 7 or 8 holes and ended up with 34 SF points when reality kicked in for him, he had a horrid back 9.

I didn't mean it to sound like I was suggesting he was a bandit or anything just that he got off to a great start. As you say he had some bad holes as well so I've got no complaints in that regard, stayed for a drink after the round and he actually won it last year so I don't mind losing to the defending champion

 

[Curls]

Good to hear you enjoyed it, I joined a club and started playing comps for the first time this year, really enjoy it, as someone said "yeah you feel nerves, excitement, adrenaline - isn't that why you're out here?!" Next time you feel the nerves creep in take a deep breath and a big smile and enjoy them

 

[Curls]

he actually won it last year

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here I was defending him, you didn't say his name was Juan Carlo Bandites!!!!!