Need help with matchplay, terrible success rate!!

[irishlad88]

Hey guys,

So my club's matchplay is being played soon and I would like some help on how to improve my chances of winning my matches. I'll be honest my matchplay success rate is not good!! I wonder why because I'm straight and long off the tee, my putting is good and so is my ball striking so I would regard myself as a solid player (I'm a 5 handicap) so how do i lose so many matches? I love matchplay, I see it as the purest form of golf and I'm very competitive. I think I try so hard to win that it affects my game and therefore hurts my chances. Any tips would be so appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Barry.

[LuciusWooding]

To win in match play, you either need to be able to get a lot of birdies, or be a sandbagger. Usually players that get a lot of pars don't do as well in a match. I don't condone handicap abuse, but believe me a lot of good match players, especially those who play for money, like to manipulate their 'caps.

Remember, in stroke play a quadruple bogey can cost you a tournament. In match play, it's a single hole at worst. You can get back that ground with one birdie in match play, while it takes 4 in stroke play. Get yourself a hot putter, and try to play off of your opponent a bit. If you can force him into an aggressive play it might win you a hole. And try to demoralize him through clutch play. This one time I played my friend in a match, who is a terrible player, he kept draining 30 footers all day to halve holes. Pissed me off when I'm on in regulation and he's on in 4, 30 feet away, but we both make bogey. There are people, including myself and many great players, who value ballstriking as the essence of great golf. If an opponent is a really good ballstriker but careless on the greens, you can stay alive with a good short game and really demoralize him or make him try to overplay. Don't fall into that trap yourself if you're a good hitter.

[Parker0065]

I have had some success in club match play with all different types of opponents. Some guy's I've had to give 25 strokes,,,are you kidding me,,,,, giving 25 strokes to grown men when I wasn't even giving my son 25 strokes per round when he was 12 years old,,lol!

Anyways, as Wooding mentioned there are plenty of handicap manipulators out there and as a 5 HCP your probably giving strokes to most your opponents. No need to worry about that, you don't have to go out there and start shooting lights out but you do have to be what I call "intelligently aggressive". Meaning work the ball from the center of the green into the flag. Let your opponent fire directly at flag sticks and shortside themselves while you have resonable 18-20 foot birdie putts all day. There will be flags you feel comfortable shooting at and you should because you still want to be aggressive. I like Johhny Miller's Red/Yellow/Green light system when hitting approach shots but the main thing is you still want to play a little more aggressively than in medal play because the magical thing about matchplay is I can take a 12 on one hole and still win the match.  One last thing is if you get down early do not panic at all. I know, easier said than done. You just have to keep applying pressure and hope your opponent crack's a bit. If they don't then as Vardon would say  "They were just better than you that day"!

Have Fun and Good Luck in your matches!

[Mordan]

Originally Posted by irishlad88

Hey guys,

So my club's matchplay is being played soon and I would like some help on how to improve my chances of winning my matches. I'll be honest my matchplay success rate is not good!! I wonder why because I'm straight and long off the tee, my putting is good and so is my ball striking so I would regard myself as a solid player (I'm a 5 handicap) so how do i lose so many matches? I love matchplay, I see it as the purest form of golf and I'm very competitive. I think I try so hard to win that it affects my game and therefore hurts my chances. Any tips would be so appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Barry.

Assuming it's handicapped and that your club is like most whereby your handicap will be lower than 90% of the rest of the club then your biggest obstacle to overcome is probably the feeling that you should win nearly all your matches because you're a better golfer. You talk about the good bits of your game, but remember that your handicap already takes them into account. Just like your opponents 19 handicap already takes into account the fact that he hits 25% of his shots fat.

So resign yourself to the fact that even though you're most likely a much better golfer than your opponent, you're still only 50/50 to win each match.

From that point being a good match player is about playing your own game, while putting your opponent off theirs. Making them feel like they need to go for more than they ususally do, work out their weaknesses and put pressure on them, things like that. You're in a 50/50 match, you need to find advantages outside of your abilities to play golf if you want to have the upper hand.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Play your own game, learn when to be aggresive, and have a short memory.  Those are what I focus on during match play.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

Play your own game, learn when to be aggresive, and have a short memory.  Those are what I focus on during match play.

While there are times that you need to change your strategy a bit in match play, I think many people over do this.  Most of the time you should be playing the hole the same way you would to get the best score regardless of what your opponent is doing.  Sure, if he just knocked one OB, you shouldn`t flirt with this, but most of the time, just play like you normally do.

Same for on the greens- if he just holed out for birdie, don`t leave your birdie putt short, but if he has a 8 footer for birdie and you have a 40 footer, don`t knock it 10 feet by just to make sure you get it to the hole.  Putt that one like you would in stroke play- a putt with proper speed that hopefully goes in or ends up a foot long.  I always laugh when I see guys knock a putt that they have to make 10 or 15 feet by the hole- many of these wouldn`t go in even if they caught part of the hole because they are going too fast.

From a mental standpoint, always assume he is going to knock it stiff or make a putt so that you are not surprised when he does.

Don`t change your strategy just because you are a couple up or down early in the match.

[ev780]

Great thread!  Can't wait to see how it develops.

I love match play much more than the grind of stroke play.  Get a 12, shake it off and move on. In sroke play the tournament is over.  I am also much better at it since I  like to think my way around.

One thing that jumps to mind is you state you are "long and straight" which probably means you are hitting last on most holes.  This may be giving motivation to your opponent.  "Wow," says your opponent, right after you nut one down the middle.  "I had better step up."  So they do and you are frustrated because they are setting in the middle of the green from 20 yards farther away.  Just a thought.  Maybe lay back with a three wood, especially where they get a pop.  This will force them into making a good shot out of the blue.  Some people can not play from the front and step on an opponents throat when they have a chance.  Others fold like a lawn chair with the slightest pressure.

Another thought.  As a 5 hcp you are about fairways and greens.  Sprinkle in a three putt and a bunker every nine and that is the only reason you are probably a five.  (just a guess) Remember that a 12 like me will wear down as the holes pass.  There WILL be a blow-up somewhere.  If you can fairway, green and two putt I will wear down trying to make something happen.

Now on the flipside, as a 12 hcp I love playing against lower handicap players.  Use those strokes to get into their head.  I can almost hear them think,"My God is he getting a stroke on this hole?!?!?"  If I can pull off the hole where I pop it serves to force the action on the lower handicap player to make it up.

Man I LOVE match play!!!!

[David in FL]

Be mean.  Be vicious.  Don't ease up, even for a second.  When he's down 1, your only goal should be to get him down 2.  Works the other way too......if you're down, don't give up, because he'll likely begin to relax.

Make him putt EVERYTHING.....  Even good golfers will miss the occasional 2 footer under tournament pressure, and someone who's used to raking in 3 footers can have a nuclear meltdown on the greens if he misses one or two.

In match play more than any other game, it ain't over until it's over!

Did I mention, be vicious?

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by ev780

One thing that jumps to mind is you state you are "long and straight" which probably means you are hitting last on most holes.  This may be giving motivation to your opponent.  "Wow," says your opponent, right after you nut one down the middle.  "I had better step up."  So they do and you are frustrated because they are setting in the middle of the green from 20 yards farther away.  Just a thought.  Maybe lay back with a three wood, especially where they get a pop.  This will force them into making a good shot out of the blue.  Some people can not play from the front and step on an opponents throat when they have a chance.  Others fold like a lawn chair with the slightest pressure.

I agree with this, you can use strategy to throw off your opponent's rhythm. Some people like to play quick while others prefer a bit of time between shots. You shouldn't take a long time to play a shot, but you can make him play 2 shots in a row if you outhit him off the tee or hit 2 shots in a row yourself if you don't. That can be a bit disruptive and force them to make a move where they'd prefer to react to your shot. Some players won't have much trouble with this, but others will be wrecked if they don't have a steady tempo to follow. Some players really like getting in and out of hitting mode and this can throw them off or at least require a lot of discipline on their part. If they are still away after their second, or otherwise have to make 3 shots in a row, many people will go into panic mode or get really frustrated. I know in stroke play there's nothing like hitting 3 shots in a row to piss me off. Makes me feel like I threw away 2 shots even if I didn't.

Alternating shots with your opponent is standard in match play, but it makes for a hectic atmosphere if disrupted. You can watch your opponent closely while he hits and it may make him try to speed up.