The objective of MATCH PLAY is to “win” more holes than your opponent. The beauty of playing this way is that your final golf score does not determine the winner, so a player has the ability to recover from a “disaster” hole. Each hole is its own game.
SCORE CARDS: Cards will be stroked with appropriate handicaps, but players do not have to worry about calculating the match play points. We will figure it out once all the cards have been handed in, regardless. Players should simply write down their scores, as usual.
HOW SCORES ARE CALCULATED: The winner of a hole receives 2 points; the loser gets 0. If the resulting score of the hole is a tie, then each player receives 1 point. Maximum potential player score = 18 points for the round. Handicaps are taken into consideration when scoring.
TEAM SCORING: If a player wins 5 (or more) of the holes, she wins the round. Winning 5 holes provides a total of 10 points. The opponent will then have 8 points. As a result, the winner earns 2 points for their respective team that week; the loser receives 0 points for their team. A tie occurs when both players end up with 9 points at the end of the round. If that happens, both players will earn 1 point for their team. As an example, if all four teammates (the A, B, C and D players) win their respective rounds, then the team will obtain the maximum 8 points for that week.
PACE OF PLAY & DOUBLE PAR: “Pace of play” is particularly important in an evening league, especially when the sun starts to set earlier because everyone wants to finish the round before it gets dark. Please be considerate of the teams behind you. USGA rules limit searching for lost balls to 3 minutes.
If you reach double par while still in the fairway, please pick up your ball to keep a reasonable pace of play. Write "P" on your scorecard to indicate that you did not complete the hole. Double Par is the maximum score that you can achieve in our league's Match Play. Therefore, if a player writes 10 on the scorecard for a par 4 hole, it will automatically be converted to a “P” which is considered the numerical equivalent of double par. However, if a player scores a legitimate 8 on a par 4, and the opponent has a “P”, the 8 will be considered the winner. If both players exceed double par, regardless of whether the scores written on the card are different, it will be considered a tie. NOTE: Just to complicate things, since handicaps are taken into consideration, a 9 on a par 4 with one a one stroke handicap (one dot), will be considered a legitimate 8, and not converted to a "P". Please keep all of this in mind when choosing to pick up your ball.
MAKE-UP ROUNDS: It is strongly encouraged that every effort is made to face your opponent during our 11 competitive match days, but if you are unable to play your scheduled match, you may submit scorecards using the following guidelines:
DECLARE a score in advance of the missed round (i.e. good for future absences like vacations).
For unintended absences due to illness, family issues, work obligations, etc., then… WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF THE MISSED ROUND:
Give your opponent the right of first refusal to play a match in Groton with you (preferred).
Play with any league member in Groton and have that member sign-off and attest your score, making sure to note the date of the missed round.
DECLARE the next available competitive match score, as long as it is within two weeks of the missed date.
*** DECLARED rounds must be made IN ADVANCE OF TEEING OFF. A fellow league member MUST sign and date (ATTEST) the score card, affirming that the score is legitimate and the round was played according to league rules. Missed round scorecards will be made available to an opponent, upon request. NOTE: We are no longer accepting scorecards as make-ups if played with non-league members.
FORFEITS: If we cannot obtain a score for a missed round within two weeks, for whatever reason, the player will receive a Forfeit (F).
P.S. Please familiarize yourself with the basic rules of golf, as they pertain to our league, located on the RULES page.