How would you set the Olympics format for golf

[mdl]

Originally Posted by zipazoid

Same tournament for both individual & team competition -

Four-person teams, 72 holes stroke play. Lowest 3 scores get Gold/Silver/Bronze.

For the team portion, throw out the worst of the four scores. Lowest aggregate team score for the 3 remaining players wins the Gold.

An alternative would be two-person teams like the World Cup, both scores count.

Don't like the idea of match play. If it's to determine the 'best' golfer it should be stroke play over multiple days, not someone who gets hot or catches an opponent on an off day. In other words, to 'get the Gold' you should have to beat everyone, not 5 or 6 opponents.

When reading the post title, I was initially attracted by some sort of match play format.  But reading this suggestion I think actually I prefer something like this.

Maybe to make it different from a standard PGA or Euro Tour event, make it something like Q school.  108 holes, cut half the field after the first 2 days. Maybe also switch it up from a normal tourney by resetting everyone's score after the cut, so you've got to essentially Monday qualify then get to play the real tourney.  That would also make the first two days a bit more exciting cause at least 3 players from your team have to make the cut in order to contend for the team medal?

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by mdl

When reading the post title, I was initially attracted by some sort of match play format.  But reading this suggestion I think actually I prefer something like this.

Maybe to make it different from a standard PGA or Euro Tour event, make it something like Q school.  108 holes, cut half the field after the first 2 days. Maybe also switch it up from a normal tourney by resetting everyone's score after the cut, so you've got to essentially Monday qualify then get to play the real tourney.  That would also make the first two days a bit more exciting cause at least 3 players from your team have to make the cut in order to contend for the team medal?

I kinda like that. Much like other Olympic sports, like soccer, where you have to advance in your pool or you're out. Then reset.

I can see the logistics being kinda difficult. You could have like 60 countries represented, each with their 4-person teams, and what about women? Will they have their competition too? At any rate, you could have like 240 or more golfers to start. Have to cut it down at some point.

Or, just use World Cup format. Two-person teams.

[miami8miami]

I think it should be just like the NCAA championships. 72 hole stroke play, top four scores out of five on each team count. Top 3 get the hardware, playoff for ties in each position. Top 16, or 8 teams, depending on how many teams there actually are, go to match play, then you let them duke it out for the team gold. Caddies are allowed.

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by miami8miami

I think it should be just like the NCAA championships. 72 hole stroke play, top four scores out of five on each team count. Top 3 get the hardware, playoff for ties in each position. Top 16, or 8 teams, depending on how many teams there actually are, go to match play, then you let them duke it out for the team gold. Caddies are allowed.

I like it!

[clubchamp]

Originally Posted by Chilli Dipper

I do not like the IGF's proposed format; I think an individual stroke-play event defeats the purpose of golf being an Olympic sport in the first place. The Olympic golf tournament must include at team element to have any relevance, or else it is merely a quadrennial WGC event.

MY PROPOSAL

I propose the Olympic Golf Tournament as an event of six rounds over the course of five days, with medals to be awarded for both team and individual competitions. Nations will field teams of two golfers. The qualification criteria for the Olympic tournament should be as follows:

Nations with citizens who are ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking (men) or Rolex Rankings (women) at the end of the year prior to the Olympiad may field ONE team;

Nations with multiple citizens who are ranked in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking (men) or Rolex Rankings (women) at the end of the year prior to the Olympiad may field TWO teams;

Five continental qualifying tournaments (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia/Pacific) will be held in the spring before the Olympiad, open to golfers from nations not exempt above; the nation of the medalist, and the nation of the low golfer representing a nation other than the medalist's, may field ONE team;

The host nation may field TWO teams.

The method used to select the members of a nation's team is left to the discretion of each nation's Olympic committee.

The theoretical 2012 Olympic Men's Golf Tournament, then, would have fielded 72 players on 36 teams representing the following nations: Great Britain    (x2)   , Ireland     (x2?)  , Germany, United  States   (x2)   , Australia  (x2) , South Afr ica  (x2) , Sout h Korea (x2), Spain  (x2), Sweden   (x2), Denmark (x2), Italy, Japan, Fiji, Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, France, (2 x each continent). The women's tournament would have fielded 62 players on 31 teams representing the following nations: Great Britain (x2), Chinese Taipei, United States (x2), China, Japan (x2), Norway, Spain, Australia, Sweden (x2), Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France, Thailand, South Africa, Paraguay, Ireland, (2 x each continent).

THE FORMAT

The Olympic Golf Tournament will be staged according to the following schedule:

Wednesday and Thursday: two rounds of four-ball (best ball) team modified Stableford, concurrent with individual stroke play (i.e. all players must hole out on every hole). After 36 holes of play, a cut will determine the top 15 team scores (plus ties) for the team competition, and the top 30 individual scores (plus ties) for the individual competition.

Friday: the third round of the team competition; 18 holes of foursomes (alternate shot) team modified Stableford.

Saturday morning: the third round of the individual competition; 18 holes of stroke play.

Saturday afternoon: the final round of the team competition; 18 holes of foursomes (alternate shot) team modified Stableford.

Sunday: the final round of the individual competition; 18 holes of stroke play.

The men's and women's tournaments will be held on opposite weekends. One tournament will end on day 9 of the Olympiad, while the other will end on day 16.

This idea is great but it doesn't work for the Olympics it's just flat out too much golf between the men's and women's. It would be difficult to televise and to attend plus you have 2 different formats happening at the same time which will confuse a lot of spectators. It wouldn't be a big deal for people that love golf but for a lot of Olympics spectators it would be hard to follow. I think it needs to be either individual match play or 4 rounds of team play. Again I like the idea but I'm guessing it would be too much

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by miami8miami

I think it should be just like the NCAA championships. 72 hole stroke play, top four scores out of five on each team count. Top 3 get the hardware, playoff for ties in each position. Top 16, or 8 teams, depending on how many teams there actually are, go to match play, then you let them duke it out for the team gold. Caddies are allowed.

I like this idea also, but think you might need to modify it a bit to make it work for the Olympics.  How about 54 holes with the top 4 teams (of 4, count 3) going to match play.

To qualify, maybe take the top 50 or 75 in the world and then have the field completed with qualifying countries adding players to get a team of 4 (with the top golf countries getting a second team of 4 if they have 5+ players in the top 50 or 75.  A total of something like 128 to 144 players instead of the 60 proposed.

[miami8miami]

well each country can have their own type of olympic qualifying tournaments, just so they can throw some amateurs in there. I think getting preoccupied with world rankings isn't necessary because if the best players in the world (including amateurs) want to prove they are the best, they'd play in the olympics simply because it would be the most international and deep field every four years.

[Chilli Dipper]

Originally Posted by clubchamp

This idea is great but it doesn't work for the Olympics it's just flat out too much golf between the men's and women's. It would be difficult to televise and to attend plus you have 2 different formats happening at the same time which will confuse a lot of spectators. It wouldn't be a big deal for people that love golf but for a lot of Olympics spectators it would be hard to follow. I think it needs to be either individual match play or 4 rounds of team play. Again I like the idea but I'm guessing it would be too much

I would disagree on those points. The point about the format being "too hard to follow" for casual fans can be said about most of the competitions in the Olympic curriculum, but it doesn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm for sports whose only moments to shine come during the Games. The fact that there are individual and team competitions going on at the same time doesn't hurt gymnastics' popularity, to use a popular example. The event would be no more difficult to televise than any other golf tournament; as is the case with tennis this year on Bravo (in regards to television coverage), the early rounds would have extensive coverage on cable (most likely on Golf Channel itself, seeing that it is a member of the NBC family), with the finals airing on the main NBC network. I don't think six rounds in five days is "too much golf" for a tournament held once every four years, especially since the WGC-Match Play Championship is a tournament held every year which requires the same workload from its finalists. My primary concern would be keeping the size of the field manageable: the IGF Is right in wanting the men's and women's tournament field consisting of around 60 players each (though I think 60 is the floor of the range rather than the ceiling) to limit the damage done to the course during two tournaments in the span of two weeks.

Originally Posted by miami8miami

well each country can have their own type of olympic qualifying tournaments, just so they can throw some amateurs in there. I think getting preoccupied with world rankings isn't necessary because if the best players in the world (including amateurs) want to prove they are the best, they'd play in the olympics simply because it would be the most international and deep field every four years.

I don't think the world ranking should be used to determine the field itself; however, I would use the world ranking as a method to allocate how many entries into the Olympic tournament will be awarded to which nations. I would defer to those nations the way they would fill those entries. Some would hold trials, some would select by committee, and some would use a combination of both. I would also hold continental qualifiers for the nations not represented at the top of the rankings; I would find it better if a player or nation qualify in a competition of its peers, rather than because the player is ranked 219th in the world and is from a nation with no strong golf presence.

[kathybhylton]

Originally Posted by Chas

+1

.... and very nicely put.   My own interest in the Olympics is in sports that still have an "amateur" flavor to them, e.g. rowing, badminton, fencing, volleyball .....  The sporting world doesn't need another venue for top tennis players or golfers, especially when coupled with hyper-nationalism.  GMAB.

yeah. that's what I thought too.

[clubchamp]

Originally Posted by Chilli Dipper

I would disagree on those points. The point about the format being "too hard to follow" for casual fans can be said about most of the competitions in the Olympic curriculum, but it doesn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm for sports whose only moments to shine come during the Games. The fact that there are individual and team competitions going on at the same time doesn't hurt gymnastics' popularity, to use a popular example. The event would be no more difficult to televise than any other golf tournament; as is the case with tennis this year on Bravo (in regards to television coverage), the early rounds would have extensive coverage on cable (most likely on Golf Channel itself, seeing that it is a member of the NBC family), with the finals airing on the main NBC network. I don't think six rounds in five days is "too much golf" for a tournament held once every four years, especially since the WGC-Match Play Championship is a tournament held every year which requires the same workload from its finalists. My primary concern would be keeping the size of the field manageable: the IGF Is right in wanting the men's and women's tournament field consisting of around 60 players each (though I think 60 is the floor of the range rather than the ceiling) to limit the damage done to the course during two tournaments in the span of two weeks.

I don't think the world ranking should be used to determine the field itself; however, I would use the world ranking as a method to allocate how many entries into the Olympic tournament will be awarded to which nations. I would defer to those nations the way they would fill those entries. Some would hold trials, some would select by committee, and some would use a combination of both. I would also hold continental qualifiers for the nations not represented at the top of the rankings; I would find it better if a player or nation qualify in a competition of its peers, rather than because the player is ranked 219th in the world and is from a nation with no strong golf presence.

My television point was based on the fact that you'd have 10 days worth of golf between men's and women's. Plus you will still have regular PGA events going on so it's not as easy as golf channel can cover all the early rounds because come thursday and friday they may already be contracted to cover the PGA. The other difference between golf and gymnastics is strategy in gymnastics you're always out to the best score possible whether it's team or individual. Team golf usually has some strategy based on what your partner is doing so it could come down to are you playing for yourself or the team. Also you would essentially be putting teammates against each other in one of the rounds. Thus why gymnastics has a separated individual and team competition for medals but don't take this as I don't like your idea it's just not as simple as you're making it. If you could separate the team and individual while some how getting all of the men and women done in a week than it works.

[ThominOH]

In my opinion..

NO caddies.. This is mono o' mono..  The players should carry their own clubs (carry the big staff bag if you want).. The only time you get coaching is between rounds.. From what I heard so far is that the field will be 60 players in a 72 hole stroke play.. Men and Women seperately.. There is no announcement of "team" play.. As one person implied, NCAA format.. it works for me :)  I will be very very disappointed if they operate this like normal pro events..  I would like to see a team option, but my gut tells me it would be too demanding of the course unless they use multiple courses..

Here you go for the official news.. http://golf.about.com/od/tourmajorevents/f/olympicformatfield.htm

Because of this.. is why I don't think there will be a team option.. because as they already said.. some countries may only have 1 golfer, some 2 and some ALOT more .. It's an individual event I'm afraid...

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by clubchamp

My television point was based on the fact that you'd have 10 days worth of golf between men's and women's. Plus you will still have regular PGA events going on so it's not as easy as golf channel can cover all the early rounds because come thursday and friday they may already be contracted to cover the PGA. The other difference between golf and gymnastics is strategy in gymnastics you're always out to the best score possible whether it's team or individual. Team golf usually has some strategy based on what your partner is doing so it could come down to are you playing for yourself or the team. Also you would essentially be putting teammates against each other in one of the rounds. Thus why gymnastics has a separated individual and team competition for medals but don't take this as I don't like your idea it's just not as simple as you're making it. If you could separate the team and individual while some how getting all of the men and women done in a week than it works.

I liked certain aspects of Chillidippers post, but agree that there was an issue with individual and team competitions going on at the same time.  i.e. you have a 15 footer downhill to tie a hole- do you give it a go or lag to not post a big number for the individual comp.  That`s why I liked the NCAA type proposal better- sure you might get an issue on the last hole about going for something to help the team or playing safe for the indi title, but most of the time this would not be an issue.