Par in Match play

[Dormie1360]

Whenever I have played in these "mixed" match play events the course handicaps are assigned to individual players for the tees they are playing.  Then the difference between the two player handicaps is used to determine where strokes are given/received.  E.G. if I am playing the members' tees and have a course handicap of 17 from the members' tees and the woman competitor is playing the forward tees with a course handicap of 20 then I play to scratch and she receives 3 strokes, one on the # 1, 2, & 3 handicap holes.  The par of the hole isn't relevant in match play. BTW this is the handicap system for anytime you play a match with anyone from different tees (or the same tees for that matter) regardless of the gender of the players.

As to how it is decided what the hole handicap is; well I know what the say, e.g. the #1 handicap hole isn't not necessarily the most difficult but rather the hole where the bogie golfer will need a stroke to match the net score of a scratch golfer.  I have played a lot of courses where I thought the fellow who did the assignments of hole handicap was smoking those funny cigarettes, but that just opinion.  They should have bogie golfers making the assignments.

Although the above is commonly done, it's wrong.  You must also adjust each players course handicap based on the difference in course rating.  See 9-3c Handicap Manual

(i) Different Tees: Men vs. Men; Women vs. Women; Women vs. Men

Different tees usually have different ratings. Since a USGA Course Rating reflects the probable scores of scratch golfers , the higher-rated course is more difficult, and the player playing from the set of tees with the higher USGA Course Rating receives additional stroke(s) equal to the difference between each USGA Course Rating , with the resulting figure rounded off to the nearest whole number (.5 or more is rounded upward). (See Decision 3-5/1 .)

Example 1 : If men playing from the middle tees, from which the men's USGA Course Rating is 70.3, compete against men playing from the back tees, from which the men's USGA Course Rating is 72.6, the men playing from the back tees will add two strokes
(72.6 - 70.3 = 2.3 rounded to 2) to Course Handicap .

Example 2: If women playing from the forward tees, from which the women's USGA Course Rating is 73.4, compete against men playing from the middle tees, from which the men's USGA Course Rating is 70.9, the women will add three strokes (73.4 - 70.9 = 2.5 rounded to 3) to Course Handicap .

And here are a couple of excerpts on Stroke Allocation.

The basic principle of allocating handicap strokes is to equalize the abilities of players at different handicap levels. A handicap stroke should be an equalizer rather than a winning stroke and should be available on a hole where it most likely will be need by the higher-handicapped player to obtain a half in singles or four-ball match play

A llocate the first stroke to the hole on the first nine on which the higher-handicapped player most needs a stroke as an equalizer and the second stroke to the hole on the second nine on which the higher-handicapped player most needs a stroke as an equalizer. Alternate in this manner for the full 18 holes

(ii) Importance of Low Strokes

The first handicap stroke should be allocated so that this stroke is most useful in matches between players of almost equal ability, such as matches involving players with a Course Handicap of 0 and 1, 10 and 11, or 29 and 30. In such matches, the first handicap stroke will be of the greatest importance as an equalizer to the player receiving the stroke

.

In allocating the second handicap stroke, matches between players having a slightly greater difference in Course Handicap should be given the most consideration, such as matches involving players with a Course Handicap of 0 and 2, 10 and 12, or 29 and 31. This process should be continued until the first six strokes have been assigned.

Without substantially deviating from the above principles, allocating low-numbered strokes to holes near the end of each nine should be avoided so that players receiving strokes will have the opportunity to use these strokes before either nine or 18-hole matches are decided. Lower-numbered strokes should not be allocated to the first and second holes of a course in the event that a hole-by-hole playoff is necessary.

[DrvFrShow]

This whole system has me totally confused. First I'm terrible at math. S

Second, say for example next summer I play my neighbor who is now shooting around 82 on this particular course. He doesn't carry a GHIN card so we'll have to negotiate how many strokes he spots me. The course for men is par 72, rated 69.6/129. For women is par 74, rated 72.5/128. This means there are two par 4s that are par 5s for women - one on each 9. He'll play his white tees at 6000 yds. I'll play the green tees at 5600 yds.

Let's just say for the sake of argument he would spot me 13 strokes on a normal par 72 course where the ratings were fairly even.

The two holes in question (4/5) are my #2 and #5 HC holes. They're his #2 and #1 HC holes.

If we were to play match play, how would we figure this out? Never mind that maybe I should get more strokes, that's not the question.

I guess I would add three strokes for the difference in rating thus ending up with 16 strokes total to start. And from what I've read I might as well concede the two holes from the get go because they're the exact same length except different par rating, and par doesn't matter in match play?

[Dormie1360]

Yes it can be confusing.  Negotiate what his handicap should be on the tees he's playing.  Don't try and figure out how many strokes he is going to give you.  The math takes care of that.

Let's say you and your friend decide he is a 9 handicap on those tees.  Look up your handicap on your tees.  Say it's a 20.  The difference is 11 strokes.  As you have already figured out, your tee has a 3 stroke higher rating.  So you get to add 3 more strokes.

So.....you would get 14 strokes.  Now look at the ladies handicap allocation on the course your are playing.  Give your self one stroke on handicap holes 1 thru 14. (You get to subtract 1 stroke from your actual score on these holes.)

You play your tees, he plays his....don't worry about what par is on a hole, doesn't matter.  Whoever finishes each hole in the least amount of strokes wins that hole.  Because you have strokes you will be comparing your net score to his gross score on each hole.

Hope this helps.

Edit:  I should add the above is for match play.  For stroke play, he gets to subtract 9 strokes from his total.  You would subtract 23.

[Brad Heath]

If they are playing off different tees I can't see how this will work.  Yes the course is rated 2.9 shots different, but what about the holes which are different pars?

For instance one hole that is a par 4 for the man - is a par 5 for the woman.  If this was say the womens 5th stroke and mans 2nd stroke hole.  They both get a respective par.  So him a 4 her a 5, she takes 1 stroke off her 5 strokes - giving her a 4 - so your saying this hole was halved?

[Dormie1360]

Hi Brad,

I'm trying to follow you and I'm not sure you understand how strokes work.....although you are correct in that Par has nothing to do with who wins or loses a hole, it's the total net strokes for each player that matters.

The low handicap player doesn't get any strokes.  The higher handicap player gets the difference in their handicaps.  Example:  Ladies handicap on the Red Tees is 7.  The guys handicap on his tees is 4.  The lady adds 3 strokes to her handicap due to the rating difference, so now she's a 10   10 minus 4 is 6.  So the lady gets 1 stroke on the handicapped holes 1 through 6 on HER hole allocations..

So if she is playing the 4th hole which is a par 5 for her and a par 4 for men, they both "par" the hole but she gets a stroke on that hole, the hole is halved.

You could also subtract the 3 stroke rating differential from the guy's handicap instead.  The lady would still get 6 shots.