Match Play Help Please!

[sbrl9014]

Hey Everyone,
Im playing a Match Tomorrow against a kid who is approximately 8 shots better than me on average. He is known to be a bit of a hot head and i really think that if i manage my game well i could have a chance to beat him. I was wondering if anyone had any tips or pointers on the match play format because i rarely play this format on a regular basis. Thanks for the help.

Steve

[tartanjack]

The trick, it would seem to me, is to never, ever be out of the hole. By that I mean, you want to give yourself a chance at bogie, or even double bogie, on every hole you play. Carefully think your strategy. Two five irons and a wedge might easily put you in position for a par or bogie. It would make the kid crazy to have such pressure put on him. Not know your game, it's tough to give specific advice. Thus what I've written so far. But think hard about it... think about not even using a wood or long iron. At a 36 handicap, if you bogie every hole you'll whip him but good. Go for straight, not far and play the percentages. Play your golf, not the golf you think you're "supposed" to.

[iacas]

Hey Everyone,

My match play tips, in no particular order:

1. Know the rules and don't be afraid to call them on the opponent. Be right when you do call something, but kids these days don't know the rules, and sometimes a rules infraction can set a hothead off. Again, if you're gonna call something, be right about it, and if you have the opportunity to prevent something, that's still your obligation, so prevent it.
2. Make a lot of putts.
3. Play your game. You're right: don't get suckered into playing something that doesn't work. Hitting fairways and greens annoys people.
4. One of the rules is that the person furthest away plays. ALWAYS. There is no continuous putting in match play. You can make someone replay a shot if they play out of turn.
5. If you get the lead, make it bigger. But don't worry about anything much until you get down or up by half the number of holes remaining (i.e. 4 down at the turn, 3 up with 6 to play, etc.). 3 down after 4 means very little.
6. Make sure you announce your intent clearly on things, like when you play a provisional, etc. Common golf sense, so you don't get rules things called on you.
7. Play conservative shots confidently.
8. Always expect that your opponent will make his next makeable shot, or that he'll hit a great shot. Then if he does, it doesn't surprise you. If he doesn't, it's like a gift.

There are various levels of gamesmanship as well, and you can choose for yourself what you want to do:

• Concede putts at random times. Sometimes do it while he's in his putting pre-shot routine, as if the thought just occurred to you or if you were mulling it over. Sometimes don't concede a tap-in (he may accidentally pick up the ball for loss of hole because he assumes it's good, etc.), and almost always concede a medium-range putt if it's meaningless (i.e. putt for birdie when you're in with a bogey).
• Check whether they're teeing up in front of tee markers on a lot of holes. A lot of people don't pay exact attention to that.
• Ask him to move his coin if it's even remotely close to your line. Then pay attention to see if he remembers to put it back. Even if he remembers every time and he doesn't break a rule (again, you're still honor-bound to prevent him from making a mistake), it'll annoy him.
• If he plays fast, occasionally take a long time to determine a club before he hits. Make him wait. If he plays slowly, play quickly. But don't vary your own natural pace too much or you're just hurting yourself.
• Talk gibberish about his golf swing. Say something like "I really like how you get so out of position at the top of your backswing, but then you re-route it back and hit that little cut shot."
• Pretend you have no idea what he got on a hole. Ignore any and all good shots he may hit. If he birdies a hole, after a pair of great shots, ask him on the next tee "what'd you make back there?" He'll be hurt that you didn't notice his great play.
• Talk about the course conditions. This is tricky, because you have to talk about them without convincing yourself of stuff. Say "man, I hate having to bump balls up into these greens because they bounce so much" (while, inside, you say "I love doing it" to yourself). Bitch and complain about the weather, the fact that you have to play this course, etc. Just make sure you don't convince yourself.
• There are a lot of others, and of this list, I can honestly say I've never really applied more than one at a time, and usually just as an experiment. If you get desperate, this list may come in handy, but ideally you won't need anything on it... but again, good knowledge to have, even if it's so that you can spot these tricks being used against you.

[iacas]

The trick, it would seem to me, is to never, ever be out of the hole. By that I mean, you want to give yourself a chance at bogie, or even double bogie, on every hole you play. Carefully think your strategy. Two five irons and a wedge might easily put you in position for a par or bogie. It would make the kid crazy to have such pressure put on him. Not know your game, it's tough to give specific advice. Thus what I've written so far. But think hard about it... think about not even using a wood or long iron. At a 36 handicap, if you bogie every hole you'll whip him but good. Go for straight, not far and play the percentages. Play your golf, not the golf you think you're "supposed" to.

Steve hasn't changed his profile. He's actually about a 12 handicap, and it's a non-handicap match play event. He's the 28 seed playing #5 seed.

But what Jack has said about always being "in" the hole is the same stuff I've always told you, Steve: if you get into trouble, pitch out, hit it on the green, and give yourself a chance at par. Think of the par I made on #8 when I shot 71 with you if you need any inspiration there.

[BigAl5150]

Steve, you are already one step ahead of the guy, he's a hot head! Play that to your advantage. No matter what happens, you must remain calm at all times (think Retief Goosen). Just play your normal game and wait for your opponent to make a mistake. Good luck!

[jeffgladchun]

Steve,

Ideally, don't let yourself get out of the match too early. However, if you find yourself 4 down after 6 holes or something like that, don't panic. You've got plenty of holes to chip away at that lead. Focus on making quality golf shots.

You're going to put yourself in trouble during the round, to be sure, everyone does. When you find yourself in trouble consider your options carefully. Sometimes the heroic hook around the tree and over the creek is the right play, depending on how the match is going, but other times, you might just pitch back into the fairway.

And if you can drain a few putts, all the better.

Good luck.

[NCGolfer]

Play for par (or conservatively) until you are down two or more holes. Usually the other person will make some mistakes you can capitalize on. If you make a birdie, great...but I usually don't take any unnecessary risks. Let the other guy do that.

Just remember that if you have a terrible hole, it only means you lost one hole. Pick yourself up and know that a triple or quad isn't going to haunt you for the rest of the round. Each hole is it's own 'match'.

[Guest]

As I tend to agree with everyone and there tips; match play is so much a one on one thing that it requires a different aspect for me. I play against the opponent more than I play the golf course. Think of every shot as a perfect opportunity to piss my opponant off. I love to tie or win a hole with a up and down, long putt, or sand shot. Every opportunity you can, put the ball in the hole before them, it helps reverse the pressure. Instead of waiting for the miss and make, make and wait for the miss. Be agressive with your game; if you take double bogey it is ony one hole, shake it off and take the next one. Screw the scorecard and win the match.

[sbrl9014]

Hey, thanks for the help everyone, unfortunately the kid still beat me 4 and 3 but i made a fairly good match out of it. I realize now why everyone else says he is a hot head, mostly because he tries to get in his opponents heads by carrying on and such. After i took the lead on the second hole he got all pissy and remained that way for a few holes. After he realized i was basically ignoring him completely he settled down and kept his anger inside and didnt really swear or throw any clubs. I played well and am happy with the way it went(losing 4 holes even though i made par sucked, lol) but match play is a great way of playing golf and i look forward to play again.

Thanks again,
Steve

[Mikee]

If he's young and doesn't have the experience, buy yourself an old fashioned wind type watch and everytime he gets up to tee off, start winding your watch and just before he starts to swing,,,,stop winding your watch.