Matchplay stroke index mixup

[cliveb]

Not sure if this question belongs in the rules section, but I guess there might have been a decision about it, so here goes...

Earlier this week I was playing in an important interclub match at a neutral venue.
I was giving my opponent 3 shots.
We had just finished the 12th hole on which we both scored 6, and this was the conversation:

me: that's a half
him: sorry, I get a shot on this hole
me: I don't think you do, it's stroke index 4
him: it's stroke index 2

We then got out the cards we had picked up, and sure enough they showed different SI allocations. He had picked his up in the locker room and I had picked mine up in the pro shop.

Now it strikes me that regardless of which card was correct (as it happens, it was mine), the situation was unfair to both of us. I was playing the hole thinking he didn't have a shot, and he was playing it thinking he did. We both adjusted our tactics according to what we thought the SI was.

We settled it amicably (he eventually beat me on the 21st hole), but I thought I'd ask here whether there is any decision that covers this situation?

(Of course the moral of the story is that before starting a match you should agree not only how many shots are being given, but also agree on which holes. I will be sure to do that in future).

 

[rulefan]

The result stands.

There isn't a specific decision for this situation but 6-2a/3 indicates the principle.

 

[FuzzyDuck]

How come there were two different scorecards floating around? Had the course changed the stroke indexes recently?

 

[cliveb]

How come there were two different scorecards floating around? Had the course changed the stroke indexes recently?

The club in question is Northwood. If anyone knows the answer, I'd be interested.
I guess we should have asked the pro shop for an explanation.
(Somebody suggested that perhaps they have different stroke indexes during the winter and they'd just switched over to the summer ones.)

 

[fundy]

a course i was at a member of had the indexes changed. they had new cards printed but these were only to be used once the tight owner had used up his stocks of the old cards! however new cards were used in comps immediately and it caused similar confusion to this!

 

[3offTheTee]

Whilst unlikely you would know the answer, what was the SI on the actual tee box?

 

[nickjdavis]

How come there were two different scorecards floating around? Had the course changed the stroke indexes recently?

I have heard of some clubs apparently having a card for Matchplay where the SI's are allocated as per the CONGU guidelines, and a different card for Stableford comps where there SI's have been based on an analysis of difficulty based on previous scores.

 

[jim8flog]

How come there were two different scorecards floating around? Had the course changed the stroke indexes recently?

The England Golf recommendation is that there should be 2 scorecards one for match play and one for stableford.

 

[rulefan]

The England Golf recommendation is that there should be 2 scorecards one for match play and one for stableford.

They only recommend that there should be two cards if there are different SI allocations.