Match Play Madness

[GHIN0011458]

Anyone here ever play in a match play event. I have played in 3 now.. and every time I have played and won the match, the other guy has acted like a complete a$$. Twice now the guy has refused to shake hands and has taken off in a cart and the third guy smashed his Oakley's after a birdie on the 18 hole won the match. I am a slow starter in match play and typically go 2 to 3 down to start, so maybe they think they have it in the bag and that is what causes this, but I feel like they are mad at me for trying to play my best. The last guy I had to give a stroke on 12 holes, forgot my putter, shot 74 and he was a local guy with his own cart just drove away and didn't even shake hands or come into the club house afterwords. Oh well.. just seeing if this is the norm.

[hilmar2k]

So what did you putt with?

[GHIN0011458]

So what did you putt with?

Lob wedge.. its actually pretty easy.. just open it up and blade it.. has decent feel. I missed a few short ones but made about 3 good ones and got up and down for birdie on 4 of the par 5's. being two feet away you can typically put it in with any club in the bag.

[cipher]

Anyone here ever play in a match play event. I have played in 3 now.. and every time I have played and won the match, the other guy has acted like a complete a$$. Twice now the guy has refused to shake hands and has taken off in a cart and the third guy smashed his Oakley's after a birdie on the 18 hole won the match. I am a slow starter in match play and typically go 2 to 3 down to start, so maybe they think they have it in the bag and that is what causes this, but I feel like they are mad at me for trying to play my best. The last guy I had to give a stroke on 12 holes, forgot my putter, shot 74 and he was a local guy with his own cart just drove away and didn't even shake hands or come into the club house afterwords. Oh well.. just seeing if this is the norm.

I have not but I am playing in some match play events this year.  So what is your secret to getting these guys this flustered?  Haha.

[David in FL]

I LOVE match play.  Even amongst my buddies, that's what we play 90% of the time.  Nothing better than a one and done match play tournament!

[hilmar2k]

Lob wedge.. its actually pretty easy.. just open it up and blade it.. has decent feel. I missed a few short ones but made about 3 good ones and got up and down for birdie on 4 of the par 5's. being two feet away you can typically put it in with any club in the bag.

I think I would have used a hybrid.

[GHIN0011458]

I have not but I am playing in some match play events this year.  So what is your secret to getting these guys this flustered?  Haha.

okay well there is always a game within a game in match play. I feel like being a slow starter is actually a good thing. It always makes me grind a little harder and typically, if they don't have a killer instinct, they will ease up as if they have it in the bag. Also, you will have guys try and get in your head, so you have to get in theirs as well. I will say things like oh I missed a few putts I should have made and they will think well so did I, that is not why I am beating you. Or if you come up short you can always blame the wind that might not be there..I say it under my breath, just loud enough to hear but quiet enough that it sounds like I am talking to myself. Making the smart play is always key.. if they are in trouble, you play it safe. If they are safe, you have to try and pull off a good shot. match play is fun because it is a grind the whole day. Triple bogey is the same as a bogey if the other guy makes a par, so you have to look at each hole as a new game. I know it sounds cruel but I can promise you they are doing the same thing. They are hoping you miss your putt or hit one in the water.. if you are first on the tee, I like to play it to the safe side, hit the middle of the green, and force them to make birdies to come back. no point in firing at pins if you are a couple up. I was 3 down through 9 and won 3 up (3 and 1). Most amateurs will self destruct.

[David in FL]

I think I would have used a hybrid.

No way.  The head is way too hot.  Very difficult to get the speed.  Blading a wedge is quite easy.

[GHIN0011458]

No way.  The head is way too hot.  Very difficult to get the speed.  Blading a wedge is quite easy.

I agree.. jumps off the face and rolls out way too much. Blading a wedge is consistent and once you get used to how it comes off the face, you can get it on line much easier.

[hilmar2k]

No way.  The head is way too hot.  Very difficult to get the speed.  Blading a wedge is quite easy.

Well now I have to try it. I have putted with my 60* before (when I chipped to <2' and was too lazy to grab my putter). I did worry a bit about the hybrid being a bit hot, but figured it would be easy enough to compensate.

[Dave2512]

I've played 9 holes putting with only a wedge lately. My go to shot close to the green is blading a wedge too if I just have a few feet of grass to get through.

[GHIN0011458]

Well now I have to try it. I have putted with my 60* before (when I chipped to <2' and was too lazy to grab my putter). I did worry a bit about the hybrid being a bit hot, but figured it would be easy enough to compensate.

The way I do it, is I open the blade all the way up as if I am going to hit a huge lob shot.. then back and through. Some will just lift the club off the ground and go back and through with a normal setup.. but I am guaranteed to blade it with it all the way open. I sometimes hit the turn and pop it up about 6 inches and it doesn't roll out.

[GHIN0011458]

I've played 9 holes putting with only a wedge lately. My go to shot close to the green is blading a wedge too if I just have a few feet of grass to get through.

I do this all the time at courses who have crappy fringe with some hard pan around them.. gives it a nice little pop and roll out of them vs trying to perfectly hit it out of a hole.

[MEfree]

Last summer, I had a guy break a pair of glasses about the time I closed him out (and he insisted on taking his own cart before the match), but we shook hands afterwards and I bought him a beer at the clubhouse.  Later we teamed up to win a 4 person scramble event together.

I do think it is a harder pill to swallow when you lose from ahead, but I can't recall anyone failing to shake my hand at the end of a match.  I haven't played many formal matches recently, but played at least half a dozen a year as a junior.  I would say the most negative match play experience came in trying to play in the Men's events as a teenager- some years they wouldn't let us play even if we had the handicap to quality, and other years I recall guys forfeiting matches to me and other JRs, likely because they didn't want to risk losing to a kid.

The funniest match play experience I recall was when a buddy of mine got carried away doing a version of a "hex" that a few of the guys at our course would discretely do when an opponent had an important putt.  It was on the 9th green and my friend's opponent, who later became a club pro, had a putt to shoot 32.  Instead of just simply placing his putter between his legs (the standard version of the "hex"), my friend starts dancing around and flamboyantly moving his putter between his legs.  I am standing there in disbelieve as the guy who is over the ball eventually sees my friend's shadow moving out of the corner of his eye, backs off and asks my friend what the F he is doing.  This was an inter-club match, so he wasn't the least bit familiar with the putter between the legs "hex" so my friend had to embarrassingly explain it to him and apologize.

[cipher]

okay well there is always a game within a game in match play. I feel like being a slow starter is actually a good thing. It always makes me grind a little harder and typically, if they don't have a killer instinct, they will ease up as if they have it in the bag. Also, you will have guys try and get in your head, so you have to get in theirs as well. I will say things like oh I missed a few putts I should have made and they will think well so did I, that is not why I am beating you. Or if you come up short you can always blame the wind that might not be there..I say it under my breath, just loud enough to hear but quiet enough that it sounds like I am talking to myself. Making the smart play is always key.. if they are in trouble, you play it safe. If they are safe, you have to try and pull off a good shot. match play is fun because it is a grind the whole day. Triple bogey is the same as a bogey if the other guy makes a par, so you have to look at each hole as a new game. I know it sounds cruel but I can promise you they are doing the same thing. They are hoping you miss your putt or hit one in the water.. if you are first on the tee, I like to play it to the safe side, hit the middle of the green, and force them to make birdies to come back. no point in firing at pins if you are a couple up. I was 3 down through 9 and won 3 up (3 and 1). Most amateurs will self destruct.

Nice, thanks!

[Ho Chi Chi Vinh]

I've played in numerous match play events over the years and have never once encountered the kind of sore losing that is described here but I'm sure it exists. Match play truly is a game within a game and there are many styles of 'gamemanship'. I think the best style (for me) is to hit fairways and greens and steadily apply pressure forcing one's opponent to take some risks that maybe he ordinarily wouldn't, that consequently might force an error.

Many styles of gamemanship flirt with being unethical and not a part of traditional golf etiquette. Coughing at the right time ala Seve...moving within one's field of vision...the hexing bullshit referred to earlier...some use the rules as a strategy (checking to make sure one is within the marker area after teeing off...even challenging the legality of the tee shot...this can throw an opponent way off) Many rules based weapons to use (questioning ones opponents fixing of ball marks etc) In short anything to get your opponent out of their game. Another common strategy is to compliment an opponent's swing, pointing out certain swing mechanics you admire (get the man thinking about his swing and not playing his game)

In match play events I am less social but always polite and let my shots and game do the talking...just my way (Oh and I never listen to my opponent)

[GHIN0011458]

I've played in numerous match play events over the years and have never once encountered the kind of sore losing that is described here but I'm sure it exists. Match play truly is a game within a game and there are many styles of 'gamemanship'. I think the best style (for me) is to hit fairways and greens and steadily apply pressure forcing one's opponent to take some risks that maybe he ordinarily wouldn't, that consequently might force an error.

Many styles of gamemanship flirt with being unethical and not a part of traditional golf etiquette. Coughing at the right time ala Seve...moving within one's field of vision...the hexing bullshit referred to earlier...some use the rules as a strategy (checking to make sure one is within the marker area after teeing off...even challenging the legality of the tee shot...this can throw an opponent way off) Many rules based weapons to use (questioning ones opponents fixing of ball marks etc) In short anything to get your opponent out of their game. Another common strategy is to compliment an opponent's swing, pointing out certain swing mechanics you admire (get the man thinking about his swing and not playing his game)

In match play events I am less social but always polite and let my shots and game do the talking...just my way (Oh and I never listen to my opponent)

I +1 this as well. Especially the rules. In match play, the person who is away MUST play their ball first. If the guy is closer and he hits the ball, the other competitor can ask the person to replay the shot. Calling people out on stuff like this will throw them way off and they will get upset quick. I would never make a noise in someones backswing, but I will try to mindF**k them if I can. In college, we had a kid who was 5 down in an Alumni outing and asked his opponent if he breathes out in his downswing to get such good contact.. ended up winning the match.