posted May 16, 2008

I don't think you can beat matchplay, just has that competetive edge thats sometimes lacking in other formats. For me it's the best to play and almost certainly the best to watch

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posted May 16, 2008

afraid i cant agree it is the best to watch.
too often too little happening, until the final day of the Ryder cup and then there is too much.

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posted May 16, 2008

i agree its got to be matchplay whe you consider a situation where your opponent may have a 3 footer for birdie whereas you have a 25 footer. Your opponent is thinking ive got this to win the hole, then you hole his and all of a sudden he misses his, pricesless.
However, i do like straight medal, its a battle against yourself and the course rather than another person.

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posted May 16, 2008

I think the problem with strokeplay is that after the first hole of any comp you can effectivly be eliminated. With the other formats there is always hope.

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posted May 16, 2008

Matchplay is probably the most exciting. I played a 4BBB match last night. There were 11 birdies between us and no hole was lost to a bogey. We went to the 18th 1up with just enough light to see the flagstick. My partner missed the green so it was all on me. Fortunately I stuck my wedge to 6 feet to secure the par and the match.
The emotions that Matchplay produces throughout a game are totally different to strokeplay or stableford comps.

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posted May 16, 2008

Big Chiv.

I dissagree with your comments on strokeplay. Very often I have had a mare of a first hole or two and used up all my shots (all 6 of them).
The challenge is to par in from there or maybe get the odd birdie which I have done on many occasions.

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posted May 16, 2008

Thats the reason i think it's the best to watch. It has an emotional element to it that pulls you in and involves you in a way that medal tournaments don't. The way that things can change at the drop of a hat. In medal if someones on form then most pro's can keep it together, in the context of that single round not necessarily over the tournament, but in matchplay on little piece of luck or a good bounce and the player who is behind can get back in it and the pressure will start to tell on the leader. In the ryder cup this pressure is even more intense when playing for your team/country. I think thats what makes it the best golf spectacle to watch.

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posted May 16, 2008

I agree that its scratch foursomes. Have played in two knock out competitions this year with the format and it is the toughest but most enjoyable format I have found. There's a better team feeling in foursomes as opposed to 4bbb, I find

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posted May 17, 2008

I think the match play format is exciting more often but stroke play is much more exciting if it's a close one going to the last 4

I think that the matchplay format where the winner of a hole loses any club his playing partner chooses apart from the putter and driver is great, they should play that in the Rider Cup..then the Americans might get it a bit closer this year

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posted May 19, 2008

Just seen this thread...........
I am an ex-pat living in India. I play at the DLF course where this years Johnnie Walker Classic was held. We always play fourball betterball which in my view is the best format of golf ever! But we add a slight twist. More often than not in my experience a handicapped fourball match will end before the 17th / 18th which is not ideal weekend entertainment.
To juice things up we use what we we call the Armstrong method - (so named after a golfing colleague) - you play the first nine with all players off scratch. The difference in the score plus 50% determines the strokes on the back nine. I.e. if team A is 2 holes up both players in team b receive 3 strokes (i.e. 150% of 2) on the back 9. If it's one hole difference then the lower handicap in team b gets one stroke and the higher gets 2 strokes and so on. It gets a bit flakey when the difference gets above 4 holes (6 strokes each) - i.e. 5 holes difference is 7 strokes for the low handicap and 8 for the high handicap - but they are 5 holes down and by and large still seem sto work. You know what, we have been using this method for a year or so and almost always the game comes down to the 17th/18th hole which is really what you want for your weekend outing. It also cuts out the "genuine" handicap debates at the start. So has anyone else heard of or tried this? What do they think?

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