Club Competition Formats.

thegen

Lads,

I know from my own club that most of our competitions are stableford with the exceptions being the majors and monthly medals.

What do you think is the best format?

I met with a couple of Scottish lads playing my club last year and they were facinated to hear how much we play stableford. They play one maybe two per year, the rest being strokeplay.

Trampas

S/Ford would/should be a lot faster than S/Play.

As people will (should) pick up when out of the hole where as in S/Play then need to finish out no matter how many strokes they play.

I say it is down to that why we play it a lot over here

PhilipMarlowe

Strokeplay all the way for me. Even though the scores will often amount to the same thing, particularly for a low handicapper, I concentrate better in Stroke.
Plus there are situations where you maybe have a putt for a point and you can afford to be aggressive but in Strokeplay you need to be conscious of missing too.
I always played stroke when younger and only played stableford once i joined a club and played in competition.

Mister Sifter

thegen wrote: »

Lads,

I know from my own club that most of our competitions are stableford with the exceptions being the majors and monthly medals.

What do you think is the best format?

I met with a couple of Scottish lads playing my club last year and they were facinated to hear how much we play stableford. They play one maybe two per year, the rest being strokeplay.

I'd have to agree with fellow Scotsmen on that one. Before i moved here i'd only ever played 2 stablefords in my life in 12 years playing. My club at home only plays one per year and it generally doesn't go down too well.

I can see why they do it here though. Medal rounds with fourballs can take an absolute age. At least a fourball stableford can be done in 4 hrs.

I'd still rather be playing strokeplay any day of the week though. Although i don't think it would go down well with most club members. I think people generally find it to be easier / less pressure?

Mr. Larson

Yeah too much Stableford i.m.o. I'm not a low handicap golfer but I think we would see more low men making speeches if we had more Strokeplay competitions, which would be fairer considering they usually play the best golf. Would give them more of a chance of winning rather than just going for lowest Gross the whole time!

No question Stableford suits the higher handicaps, for e.g. some lad off 19 can get an 8 on one hole and birdie the next and have 5 points for the 2 holes... If there is to be any bias in terms of particular formats favouring certain categories then it should be towards the lower handicap golfers.

Stroke is the true test of golf. I have to say I like V-Par format too for a change. Personally I would like to see about 70% stroke then 15% Stableford and 15% V-Par.

OilBeefHooked2

Jabberwocky wrote: »

Yeah too much Stableford i.m.o. I'm not a low handicap golfer but I think we would see more low men making speeches if we had more Strokeplay competitions, which would be fairer considering they usually play the best golf. Would give them more of a chance of winning rather than just going for lowest Gross the whole time!

No question Stableford suits the higher handicaps, for e.g. some lad off 19 can get an 8 on one hole and birdie the next and have 5 points for the 2 holes... If there is to be any bias in terms of particular formats favouring certain categories then it should be towards the lower handicap golfers.

Stroke is the true test of golf. I have to say I like V-Par format too for a change. Personally I would like to see about 70% stroke then 15% Stableford and 15% V-Par.

+1

george67

Jabberwocky wrote: »

Yeah too much Stableford i.m.o. I'm not a low handicap golfer but I think we would see more low men making speeches if we had more Strokeplay competitions, which would be fairer considering they usually play the best golf. Would give them more of a chance of winning rather than just going for lowest Gross the whole time!

No question Stableford suits the higher handicaps, for e.g. some lad off 19 can get an 8 on one hole and birdie the next and have 5 points for the 2 holes... If there is to be any bias in terms of particular formats favouring certain categories then it should be towards the lower handicap golfers.

Stroke is the true test of golf. I have to say I like V-Par format too for a change. Personally I would like to see about 70% stroke then 15% Stableford and 15% V-Par.

too much stroke play would be too biased in favour of the low men who would be in a minority . if you check the winners of the gross every week the same names keep popping up and they are also in for 3 prizes every week ,gross,class 1 and overall so the stableford helps to even out the kitty so to speak
cheers b

Mister Sifter

george67 wrote: »

too much stroke play would be too biased in favour of the low men who would be in a minority . if you check the winners of the gross every week the same names keep popping up and they are also in for 3 prizes every week ,gross,class 1 and overall so the stableford helps to even out the kitty so to speak
cheers b

Whatever about the merits of stableford, please don't ever let V Par become a popular format. It's awful. Played it for the first time recently, and never again.

Mr. Larson

Graeme1982 wrote: »

Whatever about the merits of stableford, please don't ever let V Par become a popular format. It's awful. Played it for the first time recently, and never again.

Can you elaborate? What is it about V-Par you don't enjoy or think is awful?

I must say, personally I enjoy it but only because it's a bit of a change from the old routine. I wouldn't be suggesting it becomes a regular format but its appeal to me is in the novelty of it.

One thing I don't like about it is that birdies can be wasted sometimes but as my Da says... "too much of anythin [stableford] is good for nathin."

Trampas

Vpar is an awful game and negative play can happen if you ask me.

People don't play their natural game and play inside themselves because that birdies can be useless

Mr. Larson

Trampas wrote: »

Vpar is an awful game and negative play can happen if you ask me.

People don't play their natural game and play inside themselves because that birdies can be useless

I dunno about that... Would you say the same about Matchplay then?

Boxing clever is a large part of golf for your average club golfer... no?

I mean Strokeplay is the same in that people alter their approach and natural game when playing that format [not suggesting they should but they seem to do]. Strokeplay you're more cautious, favour keeping the ball in play, Matchplay you keep the ball in play, do enough to win the hole. V-Par you can be a bit more aggressive, same as match play only you know what's needed to win the hole at all times... Stableford can favour aggression if you're chasing the game, 0 points can't turn into -2...

So my point is they all require you to assess the situation and alter your game plan to differing degrees. But for me a large part of golf and competition is in the head anyway, so I wouldn't dismiss a particular format because it requires a different mindset.

Hobart

Jabberwocky wrote: »

I dunno about that... Would you say the same about Matchplay then?

Boxing clever is a large part of golf for your average club golfer... no?

I mean Strokeplay is the same in that people alter their approach and natural game when playing that format [not suggesting they should but they seem to do]. Strokeplay you're more cautious, favour keeping the ball in play, Matchplay you keep the ball in play, do enough to win the hole. V-Par you can be a bit more aggressive, same as match play only you know what's needed to win the hole at all times... Stableford can favour aggression if you're chasing the game, 0 points can't turn into -2...

So my point is they all require you to assess the situation and alter your game plan to differing degrees. But for me a large part of golf and competition is in the head anyway, so I wouldn't dismiss a particular format because it requires a different mindset.

I totally agree, VPar is a super format for a challenge, and brings to the fore one of the most overlooked aspects of the game, course/shot management!! Unfortunately, it also favours the lower handicapper, but that's only an issue if you're interested in the actual prize. Personally, I find it a great challenge, and with a shot on only 9 of the holes, any score that is + after 18 is always a good round.

ShriekingSheet

Personally, almost regardless of the singles format of the day, I play strokes and add up the score as per the format after the round. I it helps me think consistently from week to week, especially when the majors roll around. Others might be slightly phased by the prospect of strokes from the back tees, given that they play 90% of their golf from the middle tees in s'ford comps. I find myself more looking forward to it.

Granted, you might say that in s'ford, a different type of approach might be required on certain shots - more aggressive or "sh*t-or-bust" type stuff. But for me, this doesn't lend itself to putting an overall good round together. I play well when I'm on an even keel, not when I'm doing the maths and thinking "I'll go for birdie here cos I've no shot, and play for par on the next where I have one..." or "this putt is for a point, make sure it's not short...".

That's all boll*x in my opinion. I'm not saying I'm overly conservative. I have a gameplan for my home course than includes some pretty attacking shots. In normal conditions I hit at all of the par fives in two and have holes on which I play agressively, regardless of score to that point or whatever. But other holes on the course have well defended greens and areas around them that you need either alot of talent or alot of luck to make par from. My approach shots to these greens will always be to the centre of the green, almost regardless of where the pin is and definitely regardless of what format the day is.

Anyway, my point is (pardon the pun ) that I think playing this way gives better scores over time but also makes you pretty much indifferent to the format. Because yeah I agree with the skirt-wearing-scots stableford is a fast-food version of golf. I don't wanna look for my ball or learn the rules that tell me what to do when I've lost one... can't I just not count this hole?. I'm not saying that's what all pro-s'ford guys are like - I'm just saying it's a likely origin of the format. Note that the inventors of the game hate the format - it's just not golf. Ok, I'm getting into a different argument here but I'll balance that by lauding stableford for making golf more accessible for the masses. That's an undenyably good thing but I'm glad the Medals and Majors are still golf (strokes).

Mister Sifter

Jabberwocky wrote: »

Can you elaborate? What is it about V-Par you don't enjoy or think is awful?

I must say, personally I enjoy it but only because it's a bit of a change from the old routine. I wouldn't be suggesting it becomes a regular format but its appeal to me is in the novelty of it.

One thing I don't like about it is that birdies can be wasted sometimes but as my Da says... "too much of anythin [stableford] is good for nathin."

I just didn't like the format. I played some reasonable stuff on the day and in strokeplay or stableford i'd have finished well under my handicap. I found it a pretty dull and un-interesting way of playing. On a couple of occassions i was putting for birdie, but as i had a stroke on the hole, it didn't actually matter if i holed them or not. I'm not a huge fan of practice rounds and i felt on the day like i was playing a prcatice round. I think that is what led to me getting bored, despite playing reasonably. It's strange too, because i'm a big fan of matchplay, but playing matchplay against the course just did nothing for me.

george67

hi it's probably an older form of golf than either strokes or stableford as matchplay is the original form maybe a way to play matchplay on your own , strokes didn't come in till a couple off hundred years ago

Mister Sifter

george67 wrote: »

hi it's probably an older form of golf than either strokes or stableford as matchplay is the original form a way to play matchplay on your own , strokes didn't come in till a couple off hundred years ago

Great, black and white telly paved the way for colour too, but i think i'll stick with colour.