Favorite playoff system?

[Alex B]

What is your favorite playoff system for the majors? I'm just curious if I'm the only one who still supports an 18-hole playoff for all the majors...

[iacas]

What is your favorite playoff system for the majors? I'm just curious if I'm the only one who still supports an 18-hole playoff for all the majors...

I like that we have three or four different styles, but I think the fairest is the 18-hole playoff. It's a major, and for it to come down to a quirky chip-in (sorry Larry Mize) just doesn't feel right.

[TheNextBen]

I prefer the sudden death. I'd like the 18-hole playoff more if it was match play.

[wengerlaw]

From a fan's perspective, I prefer the 3-4 hole playoff over a full 18 hole playoff. Nothing irks me more than investing my weekend in watching the U.S. Open and then having to go to work on Monday and being unable to watch the 18 hole playoff.

[easygrip]

I like the Open playoff. Four hole aggregate and then 18 over and over if tied, until a winner. I agree with wengerlaw. I hate wtachting all w/e and then having to miss 18 the next day.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

I think the fairest is the 18-hole playoff. It's a major, and for it to come down to a quirky chip-in (sorry Larry Mize) just doesn't feel right.

From a fan's perspective, I prefer the 3-4 hole playoff over a full 18 hole playoff. Nothing irks me more than investing my weekend in watching the U.S. Open and then having to go to work on Monday and being unable to watch the 18 hole playoff.

I agree with both of these comments. An 18 hole playoff makes the most sense considering it's a major. However, I also agree with wengerlaw, that would mean it would be a Monday finish and I work Mon-Fri (as do a lot of people). From a fan's perspective I think the sudden death format has the most drama and excitement, although that can be quickly squashed after their tee shots and hardly seems like a fair way to determine the winner of a major. So I guess, while trying to be as fair as possible while being viewer friendly as well the 3 or 4 hole playoff would be my pick. Got to pick one... I'll pick 4.

[GolfAddict]

I like the sudden death because it adds more suspense to each hole compared to an 18-hole playoff.

[Scratch-Hopeful]

I like the Open playoff. Four hole aggregate and then 18 over and over if tied, until a winner. I agree with wengerlaw. I hate wtachting all w/e and then having to miss 18 the next day.

Yeah, I'm all for the 3-4 hole playoff also. An 18 hole playoff is ridiculous in my mind as the viewing interest drops and it drags out the event too much.

[Alex B]

A quote from Ben Hogan; interviewed by Golf Magazine.

GOLF: What did you think of that [1987] Masters finish? More specifically, what went through your mind when you saw Greg Norman become a victim—twice in a row—of incredible hole-outs in major championships?

HOGAN: Well, it was unfortunate, but at that point it can't be helped. I always tried to avoid getting to that point where something uncontrollable could happen. I tried to get myself to the final hole with a couple of strokes to spare. What bothers me about that Masters is that it was settles at sudden death. I never though I'd see it at The Masters. No major championship should be settled that way. It turns into a crap shoot. In my day, every tournament went into an 18-hole playoff the next day. And if that didn't settle it, they'd go another 18 the day after that—just the way George Von Elm and Billy Burke did in the 1931 Open at Inverness. They went through two 36-hole playoffs before Burke beat Von Elm by one shot.

(By the way, it's an exellent interview, link here: http://www.golf.com/golf/advertisers...es/b_hogan.htm )

[lamebums]

What is your favorite playoff system for the majors? I'm just curious if I'm the only one who still supports an 18-hole playoff for all the majors...

I would prefer an 18 hole round. It's the most fair. If the sudden death, three, or four hole playoffs are played on holes that heavily favor one person's playing style but not the other...then it simply isn't fair. Playing the entire course again gives a fair chance for everyone involved.

[Alex B]

I would prefer an 18 hole round. It's the most fair. If the sudden death, three, or four hole playoffs are played on holes that heavily favor one person's playing style but not the other...then it simply isn't fair. Playing the entire course again gives a fair chance for everyone involved.

Exactly... in a three-hole playoff between Corey Pavin and Bubba Watson, if there were two 480-yard par 4s and a 635 yard par 5, my money's on Bubba. If there were a par 3 and two short, tight, dogleg par 4s, my money's on Corey.

If a championship has been contested over an 18-hole course for four days, why would one use only part of the course to determine the champion? It is much fairer to decide a playoff using the whole course; therefore, holes will not be skewed in favor of one player, and a lucky shot will not determine the champion. On a related subject, although I have no problems with an ordinary Tour events being decided by a sudden-death playoff, using the 18th hole as the determining hole can lead to the same problems as described above; on most courses, the 18th is a long par 4 or a par 5. To fix this problem in regular Tour events, the Tournament Committee could predetermine a playoff hole which they believe offers no large advantage to a particular playing style. (For example, if a regular tour event was held at Augusta National, I would propose the straightforward 14th hole.) A more interesting solution would be a random draw of the playoff hole just before the playoff begins; that way, Sergio could moan that "the golf gods drew the wrong hole for me."

[ericm]

The four hole playoff works for the Open Championship because it is held in a place and at a time of year where you can play golf until after 10pm local time. It would never work for the US based majors. There is no way the PGA is going to have its majors end at 4-5pm Eastern time.

I'm all for the 18 hole playoff the next day, someone mentioned match play and I'd say "absolutely" to that idea. It would be great theater. As for it being on Monday, that's what a DVR is for.

[Alex B]

I'm all for the 18 hole playoff the next day, someone mentioned match play and I'd say "absolutely" to that idea. It would be great theater. As for it being on Monday, that's what a DVR is for.

In the event of a playoff with more than two participants, match play is impossible. Besides, it makes no sense to contest a tournament with one format while the playoff is another.

And God Bless DVRs!

[ericm]

Agreed, but there just isn't enough match play in this world.

[Paladin]

I like the four hole playoff with the 18th play over and over if necessary until a winner is produced for ALL four majors. (and maybe the Players (the 5th Major) I wish the Masters would change.

Sudden death is fine for other events.

[Alex B]

In the US Open, if an 18-hole playoff were to tie, should they go to sudden death or play another 18?

I support another 18... for all the reasons I've described above.

[Alex B]

I like the four hole playoff with the 18th play over and over if necessary until a winner is produced for ALL four majors. (and maybe the Players (the 5th Major) I wish the Masters would change.

After what happened yesterday at The PLAYERS, I would have to agree with you.

Paul Goydos hit a solid PW that a gust of wind knocked down into the pond on 17... an unfortunate break for him that may have cost him the championship. Who wouldn't like to see a 3-hole playoff at the PLAYERS, 16, 17, and 18? (Or, as Deane Beman and Jimmy Roberts might say, "the gauntlet." )

[ChiChiIsMe]

I gotta go with 18.