Golf
Formats
These notes are only intended to assist in the general concept of how various competitions are played. They must be read in conjunction with the Rules of Golf, in particular the Committee shall lay down the conditions under which a competition is played (rule 33)
Ambrose Competition
Team stroke event, usually played by a group of four, but can be any number. Each player plays a tee shot at each hole. The captain then selects the best drive, which is then played by its owner. The other members retrieve their balls and in turn drop within one club length of the selected position and play their second shots. This procedure of selecting the best position continues until a ball is holed. When on the green, balls are placed on the selected spot. This event can be played as a gross event, with each group having a spread of handicaps, or as a handicap event where a fraction of the aggregate handicaps is used. For groups of four for e.g. all handicaps divide by eight.
American Foursomes
Both players play tee shots at each hole then play a second stroke with their partners ball. One ball is then selected and play proceeds as in foursomes with the owner of the ball selected playing the third stroke. Handicap allowance is half of aggregate stroke handicap for stroke competitions. This event is sometimes called “Pinehurst Foursomes”.
Canadian Foursomes
Usually played on half combined (or sometimes 60/40 combined SEE NOTE BELOW) handicaps, this is similar to Foursomes, hence the name. The difference is that players tee off on every hole and then select the best-positioned ball to play alternatively from there.
NOTE: Canadian Foursomes is not specifically printed in the USGA Manual, however the Manual does state that in both Foursome Match Play vs Par or Bogey and Foursome Stroke Play that the allowance is 50 percent of the partners' combined Course Handicap, however, when selected drives are permitted, the allowance is 40 percent.
Flag Competition
In this case, a player or side is allocated a set number of shots based on the total of their handicap and par for the course. For example, a player on a handicap of 22 would have 94 shots if the course is par 72. The object for the game is to play every shot until you run out. The winner is the player who gets furthest around the course or furthest past the first tee if they have shots left after 18 holes. A flag or market may be used to designate the finishing point.
Four-Ball Best-Ball v Par
Two players play as partners each taking strokes at holes as in a Par competition. If one of the partners wins a hole and the other halves it only the win is counted. If one halves a hole with a par and the other loses it only the half is counted and so on. Plus, half and minus signs are added at the end of the round and recorded as in ordinary par competition.
In a Four-Ball handicap event care must be taken to mark the scores of each player in separate columns headed by the initials of the player. If the scores are mixed and it is impossible for the Committee to check the card the players will be disqualified.
Four-Ball Aggregate Stableford
A team version of Single Stableford where all scores count on every hole. Unlike the four-ball best-ball version where players pick up their ball if they cannot beat their partner's points score, each player here must have an allocated score on each hole. When marking the card, the stroke score and points or each player is marked on the card for every hole on which they score points. The total points score reached by adding the Stableford points for the two partners are also recorded for each hole. The result for the round is then calculated and recorded by adding the total points scores for each hole. The highest points score wins the competition.Don't forget to sign your card.
Four-Ball Best-Ball Stableford
This is the team version of Single Stableford.
As with Single Stableford, the shots are allocated via the stroke index. Only one player can score for each team on a hole, so the points calculated on the hole are based on the best results from the two partners in the team. Where the partners score the same points on a hole, the result is marked down for the player who “holes” out first. If a player cannot beat the points score of their partner, they usually pick up to help the speed of the game. The end result is calculated by adding the Stableford points. Only one marker and one player from each team need sign the card. The highest points score wins the competition.
Four-Ball Handicap Matchplay
The rules are the same as with single matchplay, but the handicap difference are based on the lowest handicapped player in the two pairs. The lowest marker "goes back to scratch". Then the other players have their handicaps lowered by subtracting the handicap of the low marker. For example, four players with the following handicaps would be treated thus.
- 16 Hcp
- 12 Hcp
- 5 Hcp
- 22
Hcp 'c' is the low marker and would have a new handicap of scratch. The other new matchplay handicaps would then be:
- 16 – 5 = 11
- 12 – 5 = 7
- 0
- 22 – 5 = 17
The side which wins a hole is then the side with the best nett score on a hole after comparing the adjusted matchplay handicaps to the matchplay index on the holes (see individual matchplay above). Scoring a card is once again up to the individuals or the committee if they wish to have the scores kept as a record.
Foursomes
Foursomes are often called “The Gruesomes” because you seem to spend all day apologising to your partner for the position you've just left them in. This team game is played in pairs with only one ball in play. Player's alternate between shots after teeing off. The tee shots also are taken alternatively so that one player tees off on all the even numbered holes and the other player the odd ones. In mixed competition, ladies tee off from their own tee. Most mistakes are made on the putting green when players hole out instead of allowing their partner to play the next putt. It is an unusual game in that many clubs tend to send groups off in sixes rather than fours because of the speed of the game, since only three balls will be in play. Played and recorded as if a single stroke event, the handicaps of both players are added and half the totals is the team handicap for the day. Halves count in a nett event so be careful when completing the card. The order of play is not changed if a player incurs a penalty.
Medley Competition
Played as Four-Ball – either Par or Stableford – but two men or two women play on ¾ of their stroke handicap using their own card or full handicap using the men's card.
Mixed Four-Ball Best-Ball v Par or Stableford
These games are played as described previously except that the woman plays from her own tees, uses her own score card, local rules etc. The results are only transferred to her partner's card when her score for the hole is better than his. Care must be taken when checking the card to refer to the woman's card when dealing with holes halved or won by her. There are some variations to this depending on the club. In some instances, the woman plays on her full handicap using a woman's card as described above. In other cases, on 7/8 handicap using a woman's card. Again she may be on full handicap and using the men's card. There are also exceptional instances where a woman may play from a ¾ handicap and the men's card is used. These last two methods are the least satisfactory.
Mixed Foursomes
Mixed Foursomes are played in the same manner as Foursomes except that the women use their own tees and observe their own local rules when it is their turn to play. The Committee should lay down as a condition of play whether the man or the woman is required to play from the first tee, and in competitions played under stroke conditions, and consisting of more than one stipulated round, whether this order is to be preserved.
Par Format
In Par play the score is entered on the card in the same way as in stroke play with the exception that where the score exceeds par for the hole, after allowing for handicap stroke (if the player is in receipt of one), the score need not be written in. It is the custom that when a player is beaten by par, the ball shall be picked up. This helps speed up play.
After entering the stroke score on the card, the result is marked in the column provided with a '+' sign for a win, an 'o' for a half and '-' for a loss. At the end of the round the plus and minus signs are added and the nett result written in as so may 'up' and 'down' or 'all square'.
A player is allowed his full stroke handicap and the strokes are taken at holes as indicated on the card.
Where the handicap is more than 18, two strokes will be allowed on the number of holes that the handicap exceeds 19. These strokes will be taken in the same order as followed for the first 18 holes unless the index goes beyond 18.
Scratch or Pennants Matchplay
Although rarely played at a social level, this is one of the oldest forms of golf. In matchplay, players play to win a hole and thus, by winning more holes than their competitor, win the match. Holes are either won halved, or lost, based on the stroke score on each hole. In this event, handicaps are not considered and the player with the lowest score wins the hole. If two players have the same score, it is a halved hole and does not figure in the final result. Each loss negates a win. When a player is ahead on wins more than there are holes left to play, that player is declared a winner. Rules regarding ties vary, but in most occasions the following is the case: If two players finish the 18 holes and the result is a tie, i.e. they have both won the same number of holes, they proceed to the first tee again. The first player to win a hole is declared the winner of the match. Matchplay is a game where it is more important to thing your way around a golf course than in any other event. It is no use shooting for a birdie if your opponent is in trouble and a par will win the hole. It is important to remember in matchplay that the player furthest from the hole always plays first. This is especially true on the putting green. You must not putt out if your opponent’s ball is still “live” and further away from the cup. You may pick up your ball if your opponent is heard to “give you the putt”.
Single Stableford
Stablefords are popular in club competitions because they help to speed up play. Since a player can pick up his/her ball when they can no longer score on a hole, it assists players having a “bad hole”. The worst they can score on a hole is zero points, which can be made up on other holes during their round. Each player is able to score “Stableford points” on a hole based on their handicap and the stroke index for the hole.
During the round, each player and marker has to calculate the points allocated to each score on a hole based on the stroke index. A player on 12 handicap receives shots on holes marked index 1 – 12, i.e. the 12 hardest holes. A player on 36 handicap receives two shots on each hole. On 35 handicap, you receive two shots on each hole but only one on the easiest hole (index 18).
You then mark the stroke score and points on the card as shown where points are scored.
The points scoring system:
Thus the worst score that is accredited points is: six on a par-3 where the player has two shots; seven on a par-4 where the player has two shots; eight on a par-5 where the player has two shots i.e. no more 9s, 10s etc.
At the end of the round, only the Stableford points are totalled and the results are shown. The highest point score wins the competition.
Single Stroke
Single Stroke or Medal play is the simplest of all the games of golf. The game is played in most professional tournaments requires all strokes to be counted. The player with the lowest score wins. Because all strokes are counted and players cannot pick up as in other forms, this is considered to be the toughest type of golf game.
In handicap competitions within clubs, the players are usually divided into grades and the lowest nett score in each grade wins. The club often awards a special trophy to the best gross score on the day (Gross score – Playing Handicap = Nett Score).
South African Stableford Pairs
Played the same as Single Stableford, except at the completion of each hole, you multiply your Stableford points with your partners, i.e. player-one gets two points, his partner gets three points which equals six points. The opponent player-three gets two points, partner gets none which equals zero points. The winner is the player with the most points at the end.
Split Sixes
Played by three players on Stableford points. Winner of each hole gets four points, second place two points. If two players get the same, three points each. If one player wins four points the other two players the same then they get one point each. End of the round should have 108 points shared.
