How does handicap work in match play

A Committee should make its best efforts to support players at these times and should use the following guidelines in doing so. Committee Procedures 6c If a Committee chooses to allow players to play a match while competing in a stroke-play competition, it is recommended that the players be advised that the Rules for Stroke Play apply throughout.

For example, no concessions are allowed and if one player plays out of turn, the other does not have the option of recalling the stroke. For example, if one player did not complete a hole for whatever reason then he or she is disqualified from the stroke-play competition for a breach of Rule 3.

Remember that if you do anything during the round that breaches the Stroke Play format, this could disqualify you from the singles competition. For example, you must putt out on every hole, respect the order of play, not give or receive any advice, or ignore a breach of Rule made by any player in the group.

During a round, the player and opponent must play each hole in the same group, Rule 5. The Rules of Golf do not require players to keep a score card in Match Play, because each hole is either won by one of the two sides, or halved between them.

The winner is the side who wins the most holes over the stipulated round, or an extension of that round if the match has to be played to a conclusion. For example, if a side is 3 holes up and there are only 2 holes of the stipulated round remaining, the match is over with a result of 3 and 2 to that side.

However, a minority of handicapping systems, including the USGA Handicap System, require players to record and return their Match Play scores, as these authorities consider them to be acceptable scores for the purposes of handicap review. At the moment, including these scores is not envisaged in the World Handicap System, due to be introduced in March , for the UK, but this requirement could change.

In Match Play see Rule 3. But the Terms of the Competition may say that the match will end in a tie rather than be extended.

See Committee Procedures, Section 5A 7 recommendations on how the result of a match becomes final. Whereas in Stroke Play the player must finish every hole by holing out, in Match Play a player may concede a stroke to their opponent so that they can pick-up without holing out.

Hole: This is allowed any time before the hole is completed see Rule 6. Match: This is allowed any time before the result of the match is decided see Rules 3. So, if you concede a short putt to your opponent, but they putt anyway and miss, it does not matter because they are still considered to have holed out with the conceded putt for the purposes of the match. Exception to Rule A breach of the Rules, that only incurs a one stroke penalty in Stroke Play, also incurs a one stroke penalty in Match Play.

If you are unsure of a Rule or a procedure in Match Play the Rules do not permit you to play a second ball, Rule You must try and resolve the issue with your opponent without undue delay. If you cannot agree, a claim must be made before teeing-off at the next hole.

You must notify your opponent that you are making a claim, agree the facts of the situation and make it clear that you will be asking the Committee for a ruling. In the absence of a referee, if players do not agree or have doubt about how the Rules apply, either player may request a ruling under Rule If a referee or the Committee is not available in a reasonable time, the player may make the request for a ruling by notifying the opponent that a later ruling will be sought when a referee or the Committee becomes available.

A ruling will be given only if the request is made in time, which depends on when the player becomes aware of the facts creating the Rules issue:. If the player requests a ruling about an earlier hole, a ruling will be given only if all three of these apply:.

That procedure applies only in stroke play see Rule Before starting a match, in which handicaps are to be considered, the players should tell each other their respective handicaps. If a player begins a match having declared a wrong handicap from that to which they are entitled and does not correct this mistake before the opponent makes his or her next stroke:.

If a tied match is extended, handicap strokes are allocated by hole in the same way as in the round, unless a committee sets a different way of doing so. Each player is responsible for knowing he holes where he or she gets or gives strokes, based on the stroke index allocation set by the Committee. If the players mistakenly apply handicap strokes on a hole, the agreed result stands, unless it is corrected before either player makes a stroke to begin another hole or for the final hole, before the result of the match is final see Rule 3.

If however a player has requested a ruling in time Rule Unlike in Stroke Play competitions, on any day of a Match Play competition, a player may practice on the competition course before their round or between rounds. However, occasionally a Committee may prohibit practice on the day in the Conditions of Competition, so it is wise to check first. Some players often think that the start time for a match is not as important as it is for a Stroke Play competition.

This is not the case. If a player arrives at the first teeing area late, but within five minutes of their start time, they lose the hole at the same time if they tee-off before their start-time, but no more than five minutes earlier they get the General Penalty of loss-of-hole, applied to his or her first hole. If both players or teams arrive on the first teeing area late, but within five minutes of their start time, each player would incur a penalty of loss of the 1st hole and the result of the first hole is a tie Interpretation 5.

Note that if exceptional circumstances prevent a player or players to start on time and it is up to a committee to determine what acceptable exceptional circumstances are, a Committee may, with the concurrence of the opponent, waive a starting penalty or postpone the match for a reasonable period.

Interpretation 5. In Stroke Play players may not suspend play for bad weather, unless they consider there is danger from lightning. If they do, the Committee would be justified in disqualifying them.

However, in Match Play, players may discontinue their match by agreement, unless by so doing the competition is delayed. However, when either player decides that they want to resume play, the other player must also resume, otherwise there is no longer agreement between them and that player is disqualified. If a match is discontinued by agreement, e. As with Stroke Play, except when playing together as partners on a side, a player must not ask for advice or give advice to a member of his or her team playing on the course.

This applies whether the team member is playing in the same group as a player or in another group on the course. In team Match Play, it is important that team captains familiarise themselves with the conditions of the competition.

It is common for there to be a condition stipulating that only the team captain, or someone else that has been agreed by the captains prior to the start of the match, may give advice.

A team captain who is also playing in the competition may not give advice to a team member other than their four-ball or foursome playing partner Interpretation If you incur a penalty that has not been observed by your opponent, you must inform them as soon as reasonably possible.

If you fail to do so before your opponent makes their next stroke you get the General Penalty of loss of hole. You do not, however, receive a penalty if your opponent knew that you had received a penalty but failed to tell your opponent about it. This penalty also applies if you give incorrect information during play of a hole regarding the number of strokes taken and you do not correct that mistake before your opponent makes their next stroke.

You are always entitled to ascertain from your opponent the number of strokes they have taken on the hole. In Match Play the order of play is fundamental, if a player plays out of turn, the opponent may cancel that stroke and make the player play again.

Below that is a summary of their findings. We often wondered why the better player wins more often in match play. Was this just our perception? To explore these questions, we undertook a study of how handicaps affect match play outcomes, with the help of University of Toronto computer science student, David Madras. This data included handicaps and hole-by-hole scores for player rounds. The effect of awarding Dave a stroke was that if Tim and Dave tied a hole, Dave won and if Tim beat Dave by one stroke, they halved the hole.

In Course hole handicaps corresponded neither to difficulty nor to the order in which holes differentiated scores of high- and low- handicappers. Recommended Golf Books. Jones, Jr. Blog: The Scratch Pad. Each month we will try to bring to you straightforward examples of popular - and not so popular - games on the course; games that will make your rounds more challenging and fun to play.

In this first installment of Game of the Month, we'll tackle two of the basic games people play on the golf course: 'Match' and 'Medal' Play. Medal Play : Sometimes terms in golf hide simple explanations.

In a Medal game, the players simply add up their scores and compare. You shot a 97? I shot an I win. So where does your handicap come into play? Well imagine that I usually shoot in the 80's, and you usually shoot in the 's.

I should win most of the time. How many handicap strokes does each golfer get? The answer is that Golfer B gets zero strokes and Golfer A gets four strokes. Remember: Subtract the better golfer's course handicap from the weaker golfer's.

The higher handicapper gets the difference and the lower handicapper plays off scratch zero. It's really pretty simple once you know the formula.

Why is it done that way - the subtracting of one golfer's handicap from the other, then one golfer getting zero strokes? In our first example above, one golfer had a 14 course handicap and the other Why not just let them both use that number of handicap strokes during the match? So we'll quote that answer:. So the gist of it is this: If the golfers both use their full course handicaps, then there will be holes on which they are both applying handicap strokes reducing their scores by a stroke.

And that doesn't help the weaker player - it keeps an advantage with the stronger player. So knocking the stronger golfer down to zero strokes ensures the weaker player of getting the advantage of using handicap strokes on holes where he or she most needs the help for an equitable match. Once you and your opponent have determined who plays off scratch and how many strokes the other golfer gets, how do you know which holes those strokes are used on?