Matchplay!

[delc]

Yesterday I got knocked out of two Matchplay singles competitions in one day, both by players playing out of their respective skins. In the first match my 14 handicap opponent was only 7 over par gross to the point when he beat me 5&4 at the 14th! We walked in after that because the weather wasn't very nice.

In the afternoon I played a 20 handicapper who had a run of nett and actual birdies that got him to 4 up after only 5 holes. I battled back to be only one down after 17, but made a bit of a mess of the 18th hole, so he won 2up! He worked afterwards that he had scored 39 points, his best score for ages! Isn't that the problem with Matchplay? You can play well (which I did) and lose, or play badly and win, if your opponent plays even worse! 😕

 

[BTatHome]

If you think that's the problem with Matchplay then you shouldn't play it. Shooting 39 pts isn't really playing great though is it, off 20 he could easily have played much better than that.

Are you suggesting a way for the person playing worse over 18 holes to win the match? Surely the person playing the best golf over the holes should be the winner?

 

[stokie_93]

Yesterday I got knocked out of two Matchplay singles competitions in one day, both by players playing out of their respective skins. In the first match my 14 handicap opponent was only 7 over par gross to the point when he beat me 5&4 at the 14th! We walked in after that because the weather wasn't very nice.

In the afternoon I played a 20 handicapper who had a run of nett and actual birdies that got him to 4 up after only 5 holes. I battled back to be only one down after 17, but made a bit of a mess of the 18th hole, so he won 2up! He worked afterwards that he had scored 39 points, his best score for ages! Isn't that the problem with Matchplay? You can play well (which I did) and lose, or play badly and win, if your opponent plays even worse! 

Unlucky first Delc, matchplay can be frustrating sometimes.
I played a guy last week who was off 22 and played to something like 12, luckily I played out of my skin and was holing everything.

It can be annoying though playing solid but now winning holes due to giving shots etc.

 

[ScienceBoy]

I don't think there are any problems with matchplay, it's you vs the other person, the better person on the day wins.

Not going to discuss the handicapping system here however but that is a seperate issue from matchplay itself.

 

[virtuocity]

Isn't that the problem with Matchplay? You can play well (which I did) and lose, or play badly and win, if your opponent plays even worse! 😕

Nope, that's the beauty of it.

You can play out of your skin in a medal, record a Net 65 and win the prize pot. No one complains (unless they are a 23+ handicapper, which is apparently not allowed). But you complain in a matchplay situation?

Essentially, you didn't play well enough old boy.

Although summer is approaching, it seems to me that the grapes remain a little sour.

 

[Capella]

Is that matchplay specific, though? I mean, you can play well in strokeplay or a nett Stabelford and still lose if someone else is better. Or you can get lucky in that you play what feels like a pretty scrappy round, but win because the others had a bad day as well. If you don't want that, you have to play computer games or solitaire. As soon as you are comparing your performance with others, there is always a chance to get beaten, even if you give your best and do well.

 

[virtuocity]

Is that matchplay specific, though? I mean, you can play well in strokeplay or a nett Stabelford and still lose if someone else is better. Or you can get lucky in that you play what feels like a pretty scrappy round, but win because the others had a bad day as well. If you don't want that, you have to play computer games or solitaire. As soon as you are comparing your performance with others, there is always a chance to get beaten, even if you give your best and do well.

Genau.

 

[delc]

Nope, that's the beauty of it.

You can play out of your skin in a medal, record a Net 65 and win the prize pot. No one complains (unless they are a 23+ handicapper, which is apparently not allowed). But you complain in a matchplay situation?

Essentially, you didn't play well enough old boy.

Although summer is approaching, it seems to me that the grapes remain a little sour.

Not really complaining, as I won a singles matchplay knockout comp a couple of years ago! It's just that I got knocked out in the 1st round of one comp and the 2nd round of the other one this year. With a partner I am still in a pairs knockout comp. 😀

 

[jamielaing]

Surely that's what competition golf is all about? That's like saying I should have won the medal with my net 64 but someone else shot 63.

Ultimately I think matchplay is a much better format in golf. Your bad holes don't kill you and you can play a guy head to head.

Generally I never seem to win matches by playing to my handicap likewise I don't expect the person who beats me to. You just have to hope that, on the day, your good is good enough, I've played plenty times when it isn't and plenty times when it is.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Shooting 39 pts isn't really playing great though is it, off 20 he could easily have played much better than that.

It is for a low handicapper though! I would have to shoot 1 over par to beat someone who shot 39pts yet we have to give 100% difference.

Is it any wonder that lower handicappers aren't bothering with handicap matchplay events.

 

[NWJocko]

Handicap matchplay (and all handicap comps really) is exactly that, play better than your opponent relative to handicap and you win, if you don't you lose.

I got knocked out in the first round of ours giving 21 shots and was playing to my handicap when I lost, my opponent simply played better than I did relative to our respective handicaps so best of luck to them.

Don't have a scratch knockout at my place which is a shame. I would probably lose in the first round of that aswell right enough but would be fun to play in.

 

[patricks148]

ours our usually seeded to start with so you should have to give too many shots to start with. but last year after getting though a couple of rounds i played a guy i had to give 22 shots to:rofl::rofl:

 

[Vardon11LDN]

I have a matchplay match this evening. Definetely my favourite form of golf. I just seem to play better directly against an opponent.

 

[delc]

It is for a low handicapper though! I would have to shoot 1 over par to beat someone who shot 39pts yet we have to give 100% difference.

Is it any wonder that lower handicappers aren't bothering with handicap matchplay events.

To be fair, the match where I had to give a few shots to my opponent was a lot closer than the one where I didn't. 😀

 

[woody69]

It is for a low handicapper though! I would have to shoot 1 over par to beat someone who shot 39pts yet we have to give 100% difference.

And...?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

And...?

And the chances of me shooting 1 over par are a LOT lower than a 20+hcp shooting 39pts. I would have to play over 50% lower than my handicap whereas the higher would guy only have to play just over 10% better than his handicap.

 

[delc]

Just out of interest, I have worked out the Stableford points for my afternoon match which went to the 18th hole. My opponent scored 39 and I scored 34, so as a stroke play match it wouldn't have been nearly as close!

 

[Hosel Fade]

It is for a low handicapper though! I would have to shoot 1 over par to beat someone who shot 39pts yet we have to give 100% difference.

Is it any wonder that lower handicappers aren't bothering with handicap matchplay events.

Somewhere on the CONGU site there is a study where in the 3/4 difference days 30+% of matchplay comps were won by Cat 1 players and they made up less than 10% of the entries

 

[woody69]

And the chances of me shooting 1 over par are a LOT lower than a 20+hcp shooting 39pts. I would have to play over 50% lower than my handicap whereas the higher would guy only have to play just over 10% better than his handicap.

I am not sure why you are introducing percentages in this other than perhaps try and exaggerate your point. The difference is still the same for both of you, i.e. 3 shots better than your handicap. Is the margin for error greater for you, yes of course, but then you're the better, more consistent player. Play the 20+ hcapper 10 times and more often than not, you'll win the match.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Somewhere on the CONGU site there is a study where in the 3/4 difference days 30+% of matchplay comps were won by Cat 1 players and they made up less than 10% of the entries

Oh dear, we can't have a sport where the better player wins most of the time.