People entering a club knockout competition then faffing about claiming limited availability when it comes to arranging matches.

[3offTheTee]

I stopped playing in club knockouts about 20 years ago because I got fed up trying to arrange dates.

Matters cam to a head on year.

One guy never once returned about 5 phone messages on his answer phone and he won the toss of the coin.

I then drew a guy in another comp who when contacted said he could only play after 3 pm on a Saturday and no other days and blow me when I drew the same guy in a third comp later in the year.

As the competitions organiser for the club the drop off of the number entering club knockouts has been very noticeable in recent years.

Did anybody tell you that you had no chance of winning!!

Sorry about that Jim, bit below the belt.

 

[brfcfan]

This seems to be a problem everywhere- does anyone have any good solutions?! What does your club do that helps alleviate the issue?

Would it be a good idea to have one Saturday and one Sunday per month set aside to play matches? That way when the draw comes out you could just say “how’s knockout Saturday the 15th for you?” and if it doesn’t suit the ball would be rolling immediately on figuring out another date?

It’s a perennial problem at mine, plus people only out their home phone in the diary and are never there! Surely a mobile and or email is better and proof you’ve made contact? It’s rubbish ringing someone at home late when they might have kids etc, and I can count on one finger the number of times my opponent has rung me first

We have had exactly the same issue and this year we cam up with a list of rules.

1. The person on the top of the draw has 1 week to offer 3 dates (2 must be a weekend)
2. If these dates are not accepted the other team must reply within a week with 3 more dates.
3. If still no date agreed team 1 then offers 3 more dates within a week

If no date is still agreed then whoever has fallen foul of the above procedure is kicked out. If procedure has been followed the adjudicator will specify a date to play and they have to either play on this day or one of the previous 9 offered.

We have specified that dates cannot be rejected for playing in stablefords and medals, the KO takes precedent.

So far so good.

 

[Jamesbrown]

I stopped bothering those.
Last time i entered, the day of the draw, I gave a months worth of dates, including weekends which I don’t like to play KO’s on.
He got back to me 3 days before 1st round deadline. Gave him the match. I’ll enter no more.
That’s the third year I’ve had no communication.

I work full time, I can give a month in advance dates to play. Weekdays and weekends. Yet most can’t promptly reply to a message with a date.
I wonder why people enter at all.

 

[louise_a]

We have had exactly the same issue and this year we cam up with a list of rules.

1. The person on the top of the draw has 1 week to offer 3 dates (2 must be a weekend)
2. If these dates are not accepted the other team must reply within a week with 3 more dates.
3. If still no date agreed team 1 then offers 3 more dates within a week

If no date is still agreed then whoever has fallen foul of the above procedure is kicked out. If procedure has been followed the adjudicator will specify a date to play and they have to either play on this day or one of the previous 9 offered.

We have specified that dates cannot be rejected for playing in stablefords and medals, the KO takes precedent.

So far so good.

How long do you allow between rounds as the above procedure could take a least 3 weeks.

 

[Orikoru]

We have a clear cut off date. No extensions! For any reason if you put your name down you should be avaliable on the last date to play.
Usually Sunday if you can’t agree a date?
Example ( Sunday 11th March for first round ,at 11am )
If you turn up and op dosnt you put name through and vice versa.
If both turn up you play.
No body turns up both are out.
There are no exceptions for anybody.

How does that affect the next round though? Potentially means someone else could win their quarter final, then get a bye through the semis straight to the final as both potential opponents were kicked out?

 

[clubchamp98]

How does that affect the next round though? Potentially means someone else could win their quarter final, then get a bye through the semis straight to the final as both potential opponents were kicked out?

Yes but if nobody turns up what can you do?
You can’t make them play, and it’s just the same as getting a bye earlier in the draw.
I have seen guys who are quite friendly completely ignore each other because they are drawn against each other.
It seems very common looking at the comments here, very strange.

 

[need_my_wedge]

Stopped playing in any pairs comps this year for the same reason, even harder to get 4 players together on the same date(s). Just too much of a pain.

 

[jpjeffery]

Hello!

I'm a competitions secretary for my golf club.

Unfortunately, I'm not here to offer any pearls of wisdom because, frankly, the reason I searched for a discussion like this was to find some!

We have similar problems as many of you describe here. Members want to play in all sorts of competitions (why else join a club?) and so enter in to plenty of them, but they repeatedly seem to take in to account their own (let alone their opponents') availability or lack thereof.

Case in point: In the Winter Pairs competition the semis are meant to be completed by today, but we're still waiting on a quarter final to be played (overdue from 14 April). One of the other QFs was played yesterday, which probably, for at least one of the players, doubled up as their monthly medal round. There was an unwillingness from one of the participants to play the KO round at the same time as their medal round (I can sympathise with that. I've never understood why anyone would want to combine two competition rounds in to one single round) until the knock-on effects of such further delay was pointed out which would mean the match could be delayed - due to future tee closures, lack of player availability (including that of the unwilling player), the next monthly medal, and so on - until 16th June!

As we can see, it's all too easy for matches, and therefore the whole competition, to be delayed.

I'm glad, at least, that these issues are not unique to us!

 

[chellie]

I can't understand why if deadlines have been set matches are not played by that date. Should be no extensions.

 

[Doh]

We have deadlines and if the tie is not played by then both teams drop out. That may seem unfair to a team who are flexible and have offered dates but it appears to work for most people.

 

[clubchamp98]

Hello!

I'm a competitions secretary for my golf club.

Unfortunately, I'm not here to offer any pearls of wisdom because, frankly, the reason I searched for a discussion like this was to find some!

We have similar problems as many of you describe here. Members want to play in all sorts of competitions (why else join a club?) and so enter in to plenty of them, but they repeatedly seem to take in to account their own (let alone their opponents') availability or lack thereof.

Case in point: In the Winter Pairs competition the semis are meant to be completed by today, but we're still waiting on a quarter final to be played (overdue from 14 April). One of the other QFs was played yesterday, which probably, for at least one of the players, doubled up as their monthly medal round. There was an unwillingness from one of the participants to play the KO round at the same time as their medal round (I can sympathise with that. I've never understood why anyone would want to combine two competition rounds in to one single round) until the knock-on effects of such further delay was pointed out which would mean the match could be delayed - due to future tee closures, lack of player availability (including that of the unwilling player), the next monthly medal, and so on - until 16th June!

As we can see, it's all too easy for matches, and therefore the whole competition, to be delayed.

I'm glad, at least, that these issues are not unique to us!

I thought it was against the rules to play a matchplay and a medal at the same time?
Do you allow this to happen.
We set a cut off date usually a Sunday if it’s not played by then and at least one player is on the tee at 11am on the day both are out

 

[Orikoru]

We just got our fixtures and deadlines for the pairs comp we've entered, and on discussion with my partner there's only two dates between now and the deadline (June 17th) that we can actually make, so if our opponents can't then we're stuffed. Starting to realise how difficult this might be!

 

[patricks148]

a few years ago a guy got to the final of one of the singles MP comps without playing a single game, got £150 for it too

 

[jpjeffery]

I should add, that we've found using WhatsApp groups has helped a bit.

So, in addition to having a Men's group, a Ladies group, a Committee Group, and a Competitions Committee group, we also set up a group for each Knockout comp, inviting every participant that we can (we still have some Luddites without smartphones!), plus the captains to keep an eye on form for the inter-club competitions, plus the competitions committee members.

Finally, we also add in an 'Enforcer'. He's a member who volunteered to continuously nudge people to get their matches played. It was he who pointed out that if the pair didn't play this weekend just gone they'd not get another opportunity until June. As a result, the match was played on Saturday.

I'd be interested to see if anyone else uses WhatsApp groups in this way (or if any of you give it a go).

 

[njc1973]

We just got our fixtures and deadlines for the pairs comp we've entered, and on discussion with my partner there's only two dates between now and the deadline (June 17th) that we can actually make, so if our opponents can't then we're stuffed. Starting to realise how difficult this might be!

I think this is a big part of the problem, would it not make more sense to find out what dates you are both available before entering, then when you work out that you have very limited availability you can either not enter or have different partners.

 

[Orikoru]

I think this is a big part of the problem, would it not make more sense to find out what dates you are both available before entering, then when you work out that you have very limited availability you can either not enter or have different partners.

Firstly, when we entered we had no idea when the deadlines would be for each round. Secondly, there was a delay in the first round being drawn as they delayed the entry deadline to get more people entered. So between now and the deadline, my partner has a one week holiday booked (takes out a weekend plus a bank hol Monday), and the weekend after he's back is Club Champs when we play Saturday and Sunday so can't so it then either.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I should add, that we've found using WhatsApp groups has helped a bit.

So, in addition to having a Men's group, a Ladies group, a Committee Group, and a Competitions Committee group, we also set up a group for each Knockout comp, inviting every participant that we can (we still have some Luddites without smartphones!), plus the captains to keep an eye on form for the inter-club competitions, plus the competitions committee members.

Finally, we also add in an 'Enforcer'. He's a member who volunteered to continuously nudge people to get their matches played. It was he who pointed out that if the pair didn't play this weekend just gone they'd not get another opportunity until June. As a result, the match was played on Saturday.

I'd be interested to see if anyone else uses WhatsApp groups in this way (or if any of you give it a go).

Not thought of that idea and it sounds good except I know our senior members in particular are reticent with technology and not sure all of them are even signed up to receive club emails. Not sure how the sign up would be as a result but if you're at a club where members are open to new technology it seems a good step forward

 

[njc1973]

Firstly, when we entered we had no idea when the deadlines would be for each round. Secondly, there was a delay in the first round being drawn as they delayed the entry deadline to get more people entered. So between now and the deadline, my partner has a one week holiday booked (takes out a weekend plus a bank hol Monday), and the weekend after he's back is Club Champs when we play Saturday and Sunday so can't so it then either.

Apologies, it seems in this instance there were factors out of your control.
Every knockout I've entered has people claiming that they can only play a couple of days within the deadline (normally the deadline is a month) and expect you to work round them, if I had limited availability I wouldn't enter.
The most annoying are the retired people who can "only" play certain days during the week before 5, essentially when the rest of us are at work and won't entertain the idea of playing after 5 or on a weekend.

 

[clubchamp98]

Apologies, it seems in this instance there were factors out of your control.
Every knockout I've entered has people claiming that they can only play a couple of days within the deadline (normally the deadline is a month) and expect you to work round them, if I had limited availability I wouldn't enter.
The most annoying are the retired people who can "only" play certain days during the week before 5, essentially when the rest of us are at work and won't entertain the idea of playing after 5 or on a weekend.

Isn’t that a lot of retired people are looking after the working people’s kids?
There’s a misconception that retired people have nothing to do
I have retired and don’t know how I found time to go to work.
You will always get awkward ones retired or not.
People just like being awkward but some do it on purpose so you will concede.
I just don’t enter now .

 

[TheJezster]

I should add, that we've found using WhatsApp groups has helped a bit.

So, in addition to having a Men's group, a Ladies group, a Committee Group, and a Competitions Committee group, we also set up a group for each Knockout comp, inviting every participant that we can (we still have some Luddites without smartphones!), plus the captains to keep an eye on form for the inter-club competitions, plus the competitions committee members.

Finally, we also add in an 'Enforcer'. He's a member who volunteered to continuously nudge people to get their matches played. It was he who pointed out that if the pair didn't play this weekend just gone they'd not get another opportunity until June. As a result, the match was played on Saturday.

I'd be interested to see if anyone else uses WhatsApp groups in this way (or if any of you give it a go).

Since last year when I started picking the teams I created WhatsApp Groups for the teams I was involved in. It's greatly helped me choose dates for matches quickly because people are always on the other end of their phones. I don't have to contact 4 other people for the 'Surrey 5's' for example, I just write one message and wait for the responses.

Same for the Gordon Forster bowl, I put both our teams in there and when the first team got knocked out, took them out of the chat.

I'm not convinced it could work for club knockouts, but if it is for you, that's great. It's certainly helped from a team point of view though.

We've got other groups too which someone will always send across a copy of the draw for the knockouts and share info on peoples numbers if they don't have it etc

If anyone hasn't started using it for these purposes, maybe give it a try. It will make choosing dates easier, and more importantly, quicker!