Mid-Handicap Matchplay

[Skytot]

Another round. Another opponent who can only play on 2 or 3 days. This time they are going away for 3 weeks.

Was contacted yesterday and they can only do this Saturday or the last weekend before the deadline in 4 week time. I have plans already for those dates but made slight changes so we can play on the deadline. Then get an off hand response that the time isn’t ideal but he’ll agree to it

So far this season I’ve played 7 knockout matches across various competitions. Half have been with opponents under 50(ish) and have been easy to arrange a mutual time. The others and next two games have been against…….

Anyway. Rant over.

Played last night and won 7&6. Made a silly double on the second, then without striking the ball even remotely well I was level par through to the 11th. And now I wait nearly a month to play the next round.

In the other knockout I have to play a chap who needs watching carefully and could be fun and games.

In the other knockout I have to play a chap who needs watching carefully and could be fun and games..
You’ve got my interest, would you care to explain?

 

[Bdill93]

Aww. What an anti-climax.

Imagine how I’m feeling wasn’t even a match

 

[Bdill93]

Do you realise the shame you’ve brought to the forum with that defeat

The self shame hurts bad enough. Never felt such a lack of confidence if I’m honest.

 

[BrianM]

The self shame hurts bad enough. Never felt such a lack of confidence if I’m honest.

The confidence will come back, just one good round and it will fall back into place

 

[3offTheTee]

Round summary - got the shanks and the match was over after 13. Never felt so bad about my golf game in years.

Till next year

Not good enough. I have been awake since 4 a.m. waiting for the report.

Please go through the 12 holes in your inimitable way.

Which holes did you shank? How many putts, weather conditions plus excuses!!

 

[Bdill93]

Not good enough. I have been awake since 4 a.m. waiting for the report.

Please go through the 12 holes in your inimitable way.

Which holes did you shank? How many putts, weather conditions plus excuses!!

Every hole. Can’t remember and weather was superb

No excuses - no player with the shanks is winning though

 

[Orikoru]

Every hole. Can’t remember and weather was superb

No excuses - no player with the shanks is winning though

Last time I had it in a match I just pulled the hybrid out and started trying to hit half and 3-quarter swing punches with it instead of hitting an iron.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Played the 4th round of one of the 2 knockouts I’m still in yesterday. In beautiful conditions.

Started ok finding myself 4 up after 4. Then after my best drive of the day, I shanked a 9 iron out of nowhere. Made bogey but lost the hole as I was giving a shot.

Lost the next hole having found the back lip of a greenside bunker giving me no way of getting up and down.

Halved 7

I won 8 and 9 with comfortable pars to be 4 up at the turn.

Won 10 to take a nice 5 up lead.

Halved 11 and 12 so was feeling nicely confident of a win at this point

Then lost 13 to a birdie and 14 as I was giving a shot to back to 3.

Hit a great tee shot on 14. And despite nearly shanking another 9 iron I found the green, albeit I was a 50ft away. I lagged my put to 12” to win the hole and the match 4&3 to move on to the quarter final.

 

[TigerBear]

Not that mid handicappers are immune to them but you just need to have less disaster holes than your opponent.

He will likely have at least 3 or 4 holes where he double bogeys or worse.

The right decision making and course management when he is hacking it out if the boondai is essential.

Good luck.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Not that mid handicappers are immune to them but you just need to have less disaster holes than your opponent.

He will likely have at least 3 or 4 holes where he double bogeys or worse.

The right decision making and course management when he is hacking it out if the boondai is essential.

Good luck.

I just play my normal game. I try to shoot the lowest gross score I can.

Playing safe, or more aggressively based on your your opponent’s position will often backfire.

 

[Orikoru]

Mixed foursomes match for me today! My partner G is the new (female) club captain, she's off 15 while I'm 14. Our opponents were J, off 15 (male) and Y, off 40-something (female) so were giving 15 shots. I wasn't too worried about giving that many shots as I expected the high handicapper to have a few disaster holes.

1st. Par 3. The ladies tee off. I'm chipping from the right and leave it short. J has a two-footer to put them one up but misses it so we start with a half.

2nd. Par 4. We made a bogey but J played a worldy from the fairway to about 2.5 feet so they make par and go one up! Didn't even need their shot.

3rd. Par 3 - first no shot hole. They have some bunker trouble but then Y holes honestly one of the best putts I've ever seen in my life, a good 30 feet from the bottom of the slope, sweeping right to left and creeps in the back door to save a 5. We're off the back and a bit timid coming down the slope but stick it in for a 4 to get us back to all square.

4th. Par 4. Pretty simple bogey for us, I can't remember what they did but it was too many and we go 1 up.

5th. Par 4. I played a beauty of a wedge onto the green for our second, but unfortunately we three stab and they managed to make par for another hole win without using their shot - back to AS.

6th. Par 3 (no shot hole). Should have been cameras for this one. I another beauty with the wedge off the tee, about 4 foot from the pin. J hooks his tee shot, Y knifes it through the green but J holes a ridiculous chip for another par! Luckily G sinks the four-footer for birdie for us and we're back in front.

7th. Long par 4. Nobody covered theirself in glory here really, 6 for us and 7 for them for a half.

8th. Par 5. I hit a good drive but hook our third shot left of the green. J slices (he's a leftie) his team's third as well though even further left. Unexpectedly we couldn't find his ball anywhere so unfortunately for them they concede the hole to us. Touch of luck for us and we go 2 up. (Possibly say this was the turning point as they had done well up until this point.)

9th. Par 5. We keep the pressure on with a par here while they can only manage a double, putting us 3 up at the turn.

10th. Par 3. Longish par 3 but both me and J put our tee shots through the back. Both teams make a 4 so we lose to their shot. Back to 2 up.

11th. Par 4. Both the ladies hit pretty poor drives here, but I hit a good 7 wood down to about 60 yards short of the green. Sadly G duffs her pitch, and it's a comedy of errors as I do exactly the same! To be fair it's a fierce downhill and we were both a bit scared of running it off the back I think. G leaves the putt well short but I holed it superbly from about 12 feet, instigating my only fist pump of the day. Thankfully our opponents had even more of a mare than us and didn't manage to make their 8 footer for half, so we're 3 up.

12th. Long par 4. We played it as a nice and sensible three-shotter, the third was a lovely half swing 9 iron from 90 yards that I put to about five feet. J had duffed his fairway wood for their third, so they only got it down in 7 and it's 4 up to us.

13th. Par 4. I found the back of the green with our second, but the pin is right down the front. We three-putt for a bogey, they made double for the half.

14th. Par 3 (no shot hole). This is the new hole so I'm not sure of my yardage on it yet. It's 160 ish but downhill - I hit a 7 iron but it's too much club and I've also opened the face a little so we're long and well right of it. Left my partner a difficult shot over the bunker and she thins it over the other side. The grass over there hasn't really recovered so I bugger up that chip as well. We make a double and lose the hole. Back 3 up with 4 to play - lifeline for J & Y?

15. Long par 3. G hit a cracking tee shot for us which left me about 50 yards in. My pitch is on the green but it's rolled a long distance past the hole. They've not played it well and look like making a 6 so I say to G just roll it up near the hole and we've won. "Yeah - dustbin lid" she says, before leaving it about 6 feet short. 'Big dustbins round your way?' I say. Thankfully my putter was on form today and I rolled in the 6 footer to take the win 4 & 3.


I never used to like foursomes but I do enjoy it now. It's definitely a different challenge - after 4 holes I'd only hit drives, chips and putts. My partner is a solid player though and we played very well I think. One birdie, only one par, three doubles (but only one of them lost us a hole) and a lot of steady bogeys. They gave us a fright early on with three pars in the first six holes, but we just had to stay patient and sensible and wait for the errors to start happening really. Always delighted not to go out in the first round so very happy with today.

 

[TigerBear]

I just play my normal game. I try to shoot the lowest gross score I can.

Playing safe, or more aggressively based on your your opponent’s position will often backfire.

maybe's aye, maybes naw, but at the same time, taking advantage in match play and making the right decisions at the key moments is absolutely essential at all times.

 

[oleinone]

My course has the 3 most difficult holes consecutively. A long par 3 downhill to a two tier raised green, a long par 5 with water threatening the 2nd shot and another long par 5 with water challenging the drive and the 2nd. If I'm giving shots it's on these holes, I play conservatively aiming for a solid bogey. If I succeed I almost always win them - takes the wind out of the opponents sails when they lose their shot holes.

 

[Depreston]

Fourball betterball matchplay is my favourite golf! had an excellent match last night looked like we had a chance to go dormie on 15 with me about 5 feet from the hole while they’re best ball was 30 feet away … he canned it and mine lipped out

16 - 190 par 3 one of them puts it to 10 feet (with a shot) and we both miss the green they win the hole To get it back to 1

17th - both partners out the hole and me and a lad miss the green short and it’s a chip off. I put it to 5 feet but a tricky slider of a putt he’s got about 20 feet left after duffing the chip , driving seat again he cans it ffs … I just catch a piece of the hole and it drops

18 - everyone blasts it down the fairway I pull a wedge and I’ve got a chip just off left hand side of the green .. one of them follows me and is about a foot away from my ball . My partner goes to the back of the green and has a monster putt his partner short right and chipping. Opponent at front right shaves the hole and his partner lips out … I put my chip to a foot for the win

Was a thrilling finish and the other 14 holes were great quality golf for our handicap levels

 

[HeftyHacker]

We had a handicap team match the other night so 4BBB matchplay. My mate was the low man so off scratch with the other having shots off him.

The other team had a 13 handicapper.

Guess which one was 1 over after 14 holes?

My mate text me halfway round saying this lad had gross parred every shot hole and had just stuck it to 3 foot with his 2nd on the par 5 9th he said he was trying to work out how long a walk in it would be from the 13th or 14th where they would inevitably lose.

 

[oleinone]

Matchplay against local club yesterday. Evenly matched on hcap 18ish giving one shot. Played fairly conservatively aiming to play bogey golf. Worked a treat. The opponent began to play aggressively - " I need a par to win" which only led to errors and doubles. By the 9th helped by a couple of pars, 4 up. High wedge to 9 feet on 10 for a par seemed to knock the fight out of him and went on to win comfortably as did our team. They are fired up for the rematch at their place.
Matchplay for me is a different game - I'm playing my opponent.

 

[Orikoru]

I've got two matches coming up this weekend.

Saturday - singles against a very good player who just finished second in our Club Champs gross. I'm getting 6 shots, which really doesn't feel like enough - I know he used to be off 6-ish whereas he's now on 8.6. He's obviously playing well at the moment whereas I've been playing very poorly for the best part of a month. Not wild about my chances in this one, but maybe he's overdue a bad day and I'm due a good one.

Sunday - Fourball betterball. My partner is a shade lower than me on 13.9, our opponents are off 10.6 and 25.5. Supposedly the 10.6 is a big hitter but can be wild off the tee so his scores vary a lot - he just had two poor rounds in the Club Champs. The high handicapper I know nothing about. My partner has been playing a lot better than me just lately, so this one could genuinely go either way.

 

[Slab]

Had a pairs matchplay last weekend, we're 4 up after 6 and still 4 up after 13... yup you guessed it we're just 1 up standing on last teebox and I'm suffering a terrible back 9 after a solid start to the day
One from each side effectively out of it before reaching the green, so just me and the other fella left to 'putt-off' for us to win or them to take it to extra hole/s

My ropey first long putt stopped well short & he putts up to an easy gimmie leaving me a 4footer for the win since I have a stroke... I've just picked up on previous 4 holes as my partner kept our nose just in front, so I haven't really putted for about 40 minutes...



Looking forward to the 1/4 finals now

 

[Bdill93]

I've got two matches coming up this weekend.

Saturday - singles against a very good player who just finished second in our Club Champs gross. I'm getting 6 shots, which really doesn't feel like enough - I know he used to be off 6-ish whereas he's now on 8.6. He's obviously playing well at the moment whereas I've been playing very poorly for the best part of a month. Not wild about my chances in this one, but maybe he's overdue a bad day and I'm due a good one.

Sunday - Fourball betterball. My partner is a shade lower than me on 13.9, our opponents are off 10.6 and 25.5. Supposedly the 10.6 is a big hitter but can be wild off the tee so his scores vary a lot - he just had two poor rounds in the Club Champs. The high handicapper I know nothing about. My partner has been playing a lot better than me just lately, so this one could genuinely go either way.

I always think that a high and a low guy are a strong partnership. A 15ish shot disparity covers them for a lot of holes (so long as the high guy plays well)

What you don't want is the high guy being a bandit.. has he got plenty of recent scores on his EG record?

 

[Orikoru]

I always think that a high and a low guy are a strong partnership. A 15ish shot disparity covers them for a lot of holes (so long as the high guy plays well)

What you don't want is the high guy being a bandit.. has he got plenty of recent scores on his EG record?

Yeah he has. He broke 90 once last year (87) but his other counting rounds are all in the 90s. Bad rounds in the low-mid 100s. When faced with a high handicapper in a match I just tell myself he's unlikely to make steady bogeys unless he plays very well so we'll just have to wait and see. Me and my mate can make pars alright, we just need to try and make them on different holes rather than the same ones.