Best format for Club Championships?

[sms316]

What does your club do? Do you like it? What do you think is the best format?

[markTHEblake]

72 Holes and a separate Matchplay Championship, yes, this one.

Some clubs have matchplay for the club championships or even alternate, however most of us never get to play any multi-round events so for me that is as 'elite' as I get to play in these days.

[sms316]

72 Holes

Sat/Sun/Sat/Sun?

Reason I ask is that CC's over 3 weeks seems to be becoming the norm. Shocking format.

[AndyP]

Wolston Park is 72 Hole Club Championships and separate matchplay championships also. That sounds like the right way to go to me.

[Moe Norman]

BGC is 36 hole qualifying and then last 16 matchplay format.

Best Gross in qualifying wins the the medal, and the matchplay champ is the Club Champion.

[Minor_Threat]

72 holes strokeplay is by far the best format.

We have 36 hole strokeplay, with top 8 qualifying for the 'club championship' which is a knockout matchplay format 36 holes each round.

I got knocked out in the 1st round of the matchplay, however won a separate 72 hole strokeplay event by 15 strokes. Go figure?

[BrisVegas]

We have 72 hole stroke for the Medal. Top 8 then play matchplay for Club Champion. (Oct/Nov)

Matchplay Championships is a separate event (Mar/Apr).

[PeteyD]

72 hole stroke over 4 weekends which is pretty spastic.

[Hawkers2008]

Club champs are mostly for relatively few players even with the other grades. Why put everyone through lots of torture.

I reckon 36 holes to clean most of field out. Then either 36 more for the contenders only or matchplay (no more than 8 qualifiers)

[markTHEblake]

Sat/Sun/Sat/Sun?

last few years have been Sat/Sun/Sat/Sat. I think this year we may be reducing it to 3xSat, because of lack of interest in the event. Basically our club people just like to play saturdays, so very few people would bother playing the sunday, and that may be happening elsewhere.

Last year my old mate (75) led D grade after round one, and he had no interest in playing the sunday regardless. I think it was house cleaning day.

That might sound pathetic but ultimately we cant build interest in an event that has no interest by force. By accommodating the demographic, more people would be involved, and therefore create more interest.

[sms316]

72 hole stroke over 4 weekends which is pretty spastic.

Highly spastic more like it. Do they run a bunch of social clubs on Sundays?

[Moe Norman]

I got knocked out in the 1st round of the matchplay, however won a separate 72 hole strokeplay event by 15 strokes. Go figure?

just means you crack under pressure, thus being undeserving of the title of 'Club Champion' - good system :)

[Minor_Threat]

72 holes over, 2 weekends is the ideal setup.

[Hawkers2008]

Oh yeah we have 3 Saturdays in row, they cut it to the contenders who play the last 18 holes on the Sunday.

Its a joke but they want the social club revenue on Sundays

[Minor_Threat]

just means you crack under pressure, thus being undeserving of the title of 'Club Champion' - good system :)
I won't bite mate, I know you are joking. I wonder why there are no majors played in the matchplay format anymore?

[AndyP]

4 Saturdays at Wally Park. I'd prefer it over two weekends, but I can see why they keep all major comps to Saturdays.

[markTHEblake]

I wonder why there are no majors played in the matchplay format anymore?

TV I reckon.

[sms316]

I wonder why there are no majors played in the matchplay format anymore?

So Sunday television coverage isn't Andrew Magee v Jeff Maggert.

[markTHEblake]

by the way there never has been a major in matchplay format. ;-)

[BrisVegas]

I'd prefer if they just made it 36 holes over a single weekend, rather than 72 over two weekends. Making the top 8 in A grade is a battle of attrition. I've missed out due to other commitments, including ozgolf champs. 36 holes is enough to sort out the top 8 for matchplay playoff.

[Moe Norman]

I won't bite mate, I know you are joking. I wonder why there are no majors played in the matchplay format anymore?

I was joking, but I do prefer the matchplay. The strokeplay has very little pressure, unless after 54 holes they group all the blokes in the hunt together and put up a leaderboard.

Usually you just put your name on the sheet 4 times and then they add up scores in the clubhouse, where is the pressure? How often does a bloke have a putt knowing its to win the club champs?

[BrisVegas]

I was joking, but I do prefer the matchplay. The strokeplay has very little pressure, unless after 54 holes they group all the blokes in the hunt together and put up a leaderboard.

Usually you just put your name on the sheet 4 times and then they add up scores in the clubhouse, where is the pressure? How often does a bloke have a putt knowing its to win the club champs?

I'd agree with that. Club champs is a bit meh for me. The same guys play in the same groups and there's no sense of occasion. I really enjoyed the matchplay this year because i got to play with different guys and put the wind up a couple of em! Had a nice gallery happening for the final too.

[AndyP]

Don't most club champs seed the top 8 for the final day's play?

[Minor_Threat]

TV I reckon.
Apparently that is why the US PGA was changed. IMO strokeplay finds the better players. You really need to be on your game for the entire 72 holes to win the thing.

Matchplay eliminates the best players competing against each other for the entire duration.

[Minor_Threat]

by the way there never has been a major in matchplay format. ;-)USPGA was changed in '57 i believe? Happy to be corrected!

[Minor_Threat]

I was joking, but I do prefer the matchplay. The strokeplay has very little pressure, unless after 54 holes they group all the blokes in the hunt together and put up a leaderboard.

Usually you just put your name on the sheet 4 times and then they add up scores in the clubhouse, where is the pressure? How often does a bloke have a putt knowing its to win the club champs?
The strokeplay champs I have played in over the years have always seeded the Top 8 in the final round.

Im not sure if you have contended in a Club Champs, but I reckon there is heaps of pressure during the early rounds if you are in amongst it.

[markTHEblake]

USPGA was changed in '57 i believe? Happy to be corrected!

You must have missed my rarely used winking smiley. Obviously my statement doesnt stand up to much scrutiny, but the point i was alluding too, was when did the PGA become a major?

[Minor_Threat]

You must have missed my rarely used winking smiley. Obviously my statement doesnt stand up to much scrutiny, but the point i was alluding too, was when did the PGA become a major?
No idea, but I know that anything before '57 has been counted as a 'major' win on a players record.

[Moe Norman]

The strokeplay champs I have played in over the years have always seeded the Top 8 in the final round.

Im not sure if you have contended in a Club Champs, but I reckon there is heaps of pressure during the early rounds if you are in amongst it.

I've never been at a club where the champion wasn't decided by matchplay.

I made the matchplay at Ipswich 3 times, Brisbane once (all knocked out in first round) and I was Club Champion at Rosewood Golf Club when I was 15.

[markTHEblake]

No idea

nobody knows.

[Minor_Threat]

nobody knows.
Ill accept your apology. Unless you can manage to take a few majors away from Hogan, Snead and company.

[markTHEblake]

Ill accept your apology. Unless you can manage to take a few majors away from Hogan, Snead and company.

Thats not what i mean!. Of course those guys have been accredited with Majors retrospectively. However There was never a time when some authority sat down and said 'lets call these majors', or 'lets change which ones they were' because no authority exists, even now. Its just a construct by the media that caught on 'sometime'

[Minor_Threat]

All good mate, the 'majors' as we know know them certainly had a higher prestige than regular events back in the day. Whether they were referred to as majors I dont know.

[Scottt]

Bonnie Doon had 72 stroke this year, played 36 Sat, 18 Sun, 18 the next Sat.

Usually it's 36 stroke, then 16 for match play in A and 8 for match in the other grades, but the course was about to be ripped up this year so they condensed it.

I am a fan of 36 stroke and then match play.

Problem is BD has about 10 blokes playing off between +3 and 1, so when I finally get my act together and get lower than 7, I got from A-Reserve to a no-man's land where I am unlikely to win a thing.

Maybe that's why I like match - the only outside chance that I could ever make a quarter or semi final in the A Grade champs, just by getting lucky!

[Minor_Threat]

The problem I have with matchplay is you can lose a match by having less strokes than your opponent. This in my opinion is not indicative of the best player. Obviously in strokeplay, the lowest score equates to the best player.

[mike]

Sat/Sun/Sat/Sun. Doesn't suit me so I rarely play in them.

I'd prefer Sat/Sat/Sat/Sun, that's how Cairns does it.

[Moe Norman]

Some people just crack.

A good friend of mine who I used to caddy for in amateur and then also professional events, never managed to win a club championship at Indooroopilly despite being the best golfer there for a long time.

He lost 3 consecutive matchplay finals (2 with me on the bag) and he was simply a gagger, no other way to put it. He got to +5 back in 2001 when + handicaps weren't as common and was a fantastic player. Would usually win the medal by 5, but couldn't get it done in the matchplay. I think he made the matchplay stage 9 consecutive years without winning it, and won the medal in 7 of those years before turning pro.

I'm quite comfortable that he never won it, because he couldn't get it done when it mattered - something the Club Champion should be able to do. To be fair, there were 5 other blokes around scratch or + marks and 3 of them are now on Euro Tour or PGA Tour and he's a bum, but he still should have won something.

[sms316]

Sat/Sun/Sat/Sun. Doesn't suit me so I rarely play in them.

I'd prefer Sat/Sat/Sat/Sun, that's how Cairns does it.

Funny you say that. We're amateurs and some of us have to work weekends. That's life.

That's why I prefer the two weekend version.

[3oneday]

We do Satdy, Satdy, Satdy Sundy.

Not sure why, but most things come down to income for our club. I prefer this to 4 Satdys though.

[PerryGroves]

I understand where Minor T is coming from, if you want to determine the best player in the Club then 72 holes of Stroke Play is the way to go. I like match play simply from a tradition standpoint.

At the two clubs I have been a member we have done 36 hole qualifying on Saturday / Monday of the October long weekend and then matchplay. Depends on how strong the club is whether you go best 8 or best 16. Many moons ago I shot 80, 80 or something to sneak into the 16. Played the first round of the matchplay and shot 77/78 in the morning to go to lunch 11 down against a guy who is now a pro. Should have been top 8 that year !! As I have always been a 6-10 marker its also good to have a plate or A reserve for us choppers that can't go with the really low A graders.

[mike]

Funny you say that. We're amateurs and some of us have to work weekends. That's life.

That's why I prefer the two weekend version.
I rarely if ever play twice on a weekend. Not much chance of it happening two weeks running.

[LeftyHoges]

If a club has a strokeplay championship and a matchplay championship and someone asks me who the club champion is I would say the stroke champion EVERY TIME. Couldn't agree more with Minor_threat here.

At our club this year the 1 and 2 qualifiers beat me (in 3rd) by 13 and 10 shots respectively over two stroke rounds. Then myself and the guy who qualified 4th only lost 2&1 in the semis. Can't say that that would have been fair if either of 1 or 2 got rolled, which could well have happened. Stroke play for true champion all the way.

For the record I've won 2 strokeplay and 1 matchplay championships, so I have won in both formats and have no "bias" for my opinion.

[Courty]

Cairns GC works like this:

Club Championships are 72 holes of stroke followed by Matchplay. Currently the strokeplay is Sat, Sat, Sat/ Sun. It hasn't always been this way. Not that long ago it was Sat/ Sun, Sat/ Sun. I preferred that but I understand the club changing it to encourage greater participation. The top 16 in each grade qualifies for the Matchplay. All matches are 18 hole except for the A Grade Final which is played over 36 holes. The Club Champion is the best gross over the 72 holes of strokeplay. I'm not sure if the Matchplay Winners go on the Honourboard (I should know, I won one :roll:), but they get their names on a perpetual trophy.


Don't most club champs seed the top 8 for the final day's play?

Cairns does in grades.