Friday Golf Association

The Friday Golf Association annual match play tournament normally begins in late September or early October.  It runs in parallel with our regular weekly tournaments.  There is no entry fee, and it is optional to play in it.  A signup sheet will be distributed a few weeks before the start of the tournament.

​

Because the normal weekly tournament is played at the same time as the match play tournament, some standard match play conventions do not apply.  For example, a hole cannot be conceded or a putt cannot be conceded.  All holes should be completely played out.  Also, we encourage "ready golf" to be played even though match play tournaments usually involve playing in turn.

 

It is a single elimination tournament.  The initial bracket is based on a random allocation of players, usually with the lower handicap players placed in the first group and the higher handicap players placed in the second group.  The final match will then have a player from the lower handicap group and the higher handicap group.

 

It is possible that a player will have a bye in the first round.  It will be randomly determined who is given a bye.  There will be no byes in subsequent rounds.

​

For every match, the difference between the playing handicaps on that day for the two players will be used to determine how many strokes, if any, a player receives on a hole.  The holes that a player receives strokes on is based on hole difficulty (i.e., lower hole handicap number).  At most, one player will receive strokes.  For example, if a match is between a player with a 15 playing handicap and a player with a 21 playing handicap, the player with the 21 handicap will be given one stroke on each of the 6 hardest holes.

 

It is possible that the hole handicap numbers for a course may vary depending on gender and/or tee position.  When allocating strokes to a player, it should be based on the handicap holes applicable to that player.  For tie resolution, if both players are in the same gender and tee position category, the hole handicap numbers for that category should be used.  If the match is between players with different genders, use the men's handicap hole values.  If it is a same gender but mixed tee match, use the longer tee handicap hole values.

​

If a match (other than the final match) is tied, the winner will be determined based on a comparison of each player's net scores for a subset of holes, according to the hole handicap.  Tie-breaker order is as follows:

​

1.  Winner of the holes with handicaps 1, 2, 17, and 18.

​

2.  Winner of the holes with handicaps 3, 4, 15, and 16.

​

3.  Winner of the holes with handicaps 5, 6, 13, and 14.

​

4.  Winner of the holes with handicaps 7, 8, 11, and 12.

​

5.  Winner of the holes with handicaps 9 and 10.

 

If it is still tied after applying these rules, net scores on the first hole of the course will be compared, followed by the second hole, etc., until a different net score has been found.  If still tied, gross scores on the first hole of the course will be compared, followed by the second hole, etc., until a different gross score has been found.  A coin flip will be the last tie-breaker.

​

If the final tournament match is tied, the match will continue onto the next scheduled game.  The winner will be based on the first three holes of that game.  If there is still a tie, it will be sudden death for the remaining holes.  In the unlikely event that is is still tied after the completion of the round, the tie-breaker rules above will be applied.

 

In the past, players were allowed to miss their scheduled matches, with the game then rescheduled for a subsequent week.  In order to complete the tournament in a timely manner,  the new policy is that a player can only miss one scheduled match throughout the entire tournament.  Otherwise, that player will forfeit the match.  It is possible that both players of a match could be simultaneously disqualified, with nobody advancing to the next round (resulting in an automatic win by the player that was to have played one of those two players).  The club Board of Directors could decide to relax that rule under special circumstances (e.g.,  the final match round could be delayed so that it is not determined by forfeit).

​

We often provide special match play scorecards to the players of a match that have dots indicating which holes a player receives strokes.  If not provided, the players can generate one themselves after determining from the coordinator the playing handicaps for each player.  This allows the players to monitor the status of the match as it is being played.  However, that card is not actually used by the club in determining the winner of the match.  Instead, the normal scorecard with all scores from everybody in the playing group will be used to determine the winner of the match.  Of course, the scores in the match play scorecard and the normal scorecard should be the same, but if there are differences, the normal scorecard will take precedence.