New scratch comps

SwingsitlikeHogan

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Club is looking to have more scratch summer comps...currently have a scratch singles k/o and club championship but that’s it. Any thoughts. Me? I really enjoy scratch foursomes - my experience is that a good and experienced mid-high s/f pair can compete well with much lower h/cap pairs. So maybe a scratch foursomes k/o or some other format for scratch foursomes. I can’t imagine a scratch 4BBB being other than the domain of a pair of really low guys...

Any suggestions?
 

MendieGK

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Club is looking to have more scratch summer comps...currently have a scratch singles k/o and club championship but that’s it. Any thoughts. Me? I really enjoy scratch foursomes - my experience is that a good and experienced mid-high s/f pair can compete well with much lower h/cap pairs. So maybe a scratch foursomes k/o or some other format for scratch foursomes. I can’t imagine a scratch 4BBB being other than the domain of a pair of really low guys...

Any suggestions?
A scratch Order of merit for all your big events?
An event off the tips with toughest pins?
 
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We’ve talked about having one blue tee comp per month, with and order of merit
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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All our comps have a scratch prize and a couple of the Silvers the main comp is scratch
All our medals do also but only two recognised board comps and we are looking to increase that. We don’t have a load of very low; scratch and better, players and I think (no idea if this is the club is thinking this) that if we had more high ‘value’ comps aimed specifically at the lower handicappers (I.e. scratch comps) we might attract a few more.

In Surrey-Hants borders area with Berkshire just up the road, we are surrounded by a lot of attractive and championship standard, as well as actual championship, courses that are honeypots for the better player and we can’t change that - but we can make ourselves more attractive both through work on the course and practice facilities - which we are doing - but also through what we offer the better player in respect of comps aimed at their standard...Handicap golf is very well served ?

Liking idea of an order of merit - we don’t do that at the moment other for the juniors. Closet to an OoM is our medal Eclectic - often won my a low h/capper but not the same.

Not feeling many sharing my love of scratch foursomes as a playing format for a K/O comp.
 
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patricks148

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All our medals do also but only two recognised board comps and we are looking to increase that. We don’t have a load of very low; scratch and better, players and I think (no idea if this is the club is thinking this) that if we had more high ‘value’ comps aimed specifically at the lower handicappers (I.e. scratch comps) we might attract a few more.

In Surrey-Hants borders area with Berkshire just up the road, we are surrounded by a lot of attractive and championship standard, as well as actual championship, courses that are honeypots for the better player and we can’t change that - but we can make ourselves more attractive both through work on the course and practice facilities - which we are doing - but also through what we offer the better player in respect of comps aimed at their standard...Handicap golf is very well served ?

Liking idea of an order of merit - we don’t do that at the moment other for the juniors. Closet to an OoM is our medal Eclectic - often won my a low h/capper but not the same.

Not feeling many sharing my love of scratch foursomes as a playing format for a K/O comp.
we 've quite a lot, in fact, of the 10 silver comps (which would be our eq of your board comps) 9 were won by scratch players last year.
 

MendieGK

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Set the course up fairly and the best golf will win....as opposed to whoever can get round the best. 18 tucked pins is so boring to play......
I repeat.
he’s asked for suggestions, why make slag it off?
Given im in the exact group of players these comps are designed for I know a lot is us would enjoy it

our event at the club off the back tees with tucked pins (used to be 7700yds) is one of the most played events at the club

but hey what do I know Sammebee says it’s a stupid idea
 

Curls

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I’d love a go at scratch foursomes. There’s definitely a challenge in arranging it though, you need to get on with your partner imo. So maybe rather than random partnering you could seed players in groups and have a round robin to decide who progresses. That way people pick their own partners and, for example, if you had 4 groups (9-6, 5 - 2, 1/0 and plus) the semi final would be competitive between the two higher groups and two lower. Ok the final is likely to be the pluses beating whoever else but foursomes is a format that can throw up surprises. Would be good craic I’d say.
 

Curls

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scratch foursomes with drawn partners, i really struggle to think of a worse possible experience on a golf course! rather play mixed greensomes lol

Yeah, see above. You have to choose your partner, especially for guys off scratch and plus, I’d feel like an albatross around their necks. Better to seed into groups and let fate decide the KO, anything can happen on finals day!
 

Doon frae Troon

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Yeah, see above. You have to choose your partner, especially for guys off scratch and plus, I’d feel like an albatross around their necks. Better to seed into groups and let fate decide the KO, anything can happen on finals day!
Depends on your partner.
My one of my old county scratch league partners played off 6/7 in a team of 1-4 handicaps.
He won more than his fair share of games. He was a real steady Eddie with bags of experience.
Playing Scratch with a steady higher handicap partner can be better than playing with a wild lower handicapper.

Re. Difficult pin positions for a scratch competition, generally not a good thing.
Easy pins suit the better players, difficult pins can level out the playing field.
Watch the Open, generally difficult pins for the first 36 holes and easier for the last 36.
How many times do you see an 'unknown' lead after 36 holes.
 

Curls

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Depends on your partner.
My one of my old county scratch league partners played off 6/7 in a team of 1-4 handicaps.
He won more than his fair share of games. He was a real steady Eddie with bags of experience.
Playing Scratch with a steady higher handicap partner can be better than playing with a wild lower handicapper.

Re. Difficult pin positions for a scratch competition, generally not a good thing.
Easy pins suit the better players, difficult pins can level out the playing field.
Watch the Open, generally difficult pins for the first 36 holes and easier for the last 36.
How many times do you see an 'unknown' lead after 36 holes.

Fair enough, I can see how a guy like that holds his own. I was just thinking about the plus guys at my place, they’re on a different level to me and as much as I’d love to play scratch foursomes with them I’m not sure they’d feel the same! You need to get on with your partner, and while handicap foursomes makes some allowances for a difference in skill level , scratch is what it is. Some low guys can be pretty grumpy about their golf at the best of times, pairing one of them with a nervous 9 is no fun for anyone. Well, maybe the opposition ?
 

Doon frae Troon

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Fair enough, I can see how a guy like that holds his own. I was just thinking about the plus guys at my place, they’re on a different level to me and as much as I’d love to play scratch foursomes with them I’m not sure they’d feel the same! You need to get on with your partner, and while handicap foursomes makes some allowances for a difference in skill level , scratch is what it is. Some low guys can be pretty grumpy about their golf at the best of times, pairing one of them with a nervous 9 is no fun for anyone. Well, maybe the opposition ?
That is taken as a given.
Scratch foursomes is all about the dynamics of the pairing.
If your scratch guy and you were drawn against two four handicaperrs who do you think would be favourites......my money would be on the Scr/9 pairing as the two 4 handicappers might be watching for the scratch guy to stiff or hole every shot.
Another example being that one of my other scratch partners was off 4 but due to limited wrist movement was a very short hitter.
We were in a tight game and he had the honour at a shortish par three. He was struggling to club himself and I advised a wee cut up 5 Wood. he knew exactly what I meant and played a great shot which finished about a couple of yards from the pin.. Our opponents nearly wet themselves when they saw him taking a wood. Both were young long hitters and the tee shot was a 9 iron in my estimation. The guy selected a wedge and forced it, drawing into a bad lie in a bunker 20yards wide of the pin. They then started arguing with each other and we knew at that point they had lost the game.
 
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