Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2016 - 10

RULES PRIMER
Match Play 101
An introduction to the style of golf you'll see at Ryder this fall.
A
nything can happen in match play-
the style of golf you'll see this fall when
the 41st Ryder Cup matches come to
Hazeltine National Golf Club-and it often
does. A match consists of one side versus another
side (as opposed to individual competitors
versus the field in stroke play). Sides can be
individuals or teams, and leads are built but can
disappear quicker than a downhill putt on Hazeltine
greens. Pressure rarely subsides with the
vagaries of match play (see Backspin, p. 40).
In match play, the game is played by holes.
A double bogey beating a triple earns the same
hole (tallying in a score based on holes up, down
or all square) as an eagle besting a birdie. Pars
and birdies aren't as important as simply being
one stroke better than your opponent. Blowup holes are rarely
finished, as players can concede holes and pick up a competitor's
ball in a show of sportsmanship (or gamesmanship).
There are six different forms of match play described in the
definitions of the Rules of Golf, but for the Ryder Cup matches,
6M >CG9D< C69F@9
three will be used: foursomes (also known as alternate
shot), four-ball and singles. The first two
days of match play feature rounds of foursomes
and four-ball (sometimes erroneously called
" best-ball " ). Foursomes are defined as " a match
in which two players play against two other players
and each side plays one ball, " while four-ball
is " a match in which two players play their better
ball against the better ball of two other players. "
Think of four-ball as four balls being in play.
The final day of competition includes 12
white-knuckle singles matches in which every
player from the European side plays a match
against a member of the U.S. team head-to-head.
The singles format has led to some dramatic
finishes, including in 2002 when American Paul
Azinger holed his bunker shot on 18 to halve his match with
Niclas Fasth, leveling the team competition and extending
the matches for the U.S. (who eventually lost). Or in 1999 at
Brookline when Justin Leonard sunk " the putt heard 'round the
world " -a 45-footer on 17 to (virtually) clinch the Cup.
Overheard . . . from a nearby table in a 19th-hole, post-round discussion:
" I don't give [a darn] what you say! There is no way a 13 earns a skin! "
Handicapping a Change
with the letter " L " for local
use only), but instead will
issue a temporary, modified
handicap index (denoted
by the letter " M " ).
" An increase in a
potential ability. In such
an instance, the committee
will no longer assign
a local handicap (denoted
8
MINNESOTAGOLFER Summer 2016
handicap index must not
be granted if the player's
game is 'off' or
going through
a slump, " MGA
handicapping
guru Stacy
Sazama says.
" This modification
is reserved for
A new change to the handicapping
system is a winwin
for the local Handicap
Committee and the players
involved.
It is designed to assist
individuals with temporary
disabilities. "
The change allows the
the Handicap Committee
when addressing a player
with a temporary disability
who has a USGA Handicap
Index that is no longer
reflective of their current
portability of a modified
( " M " ) handicap, so that it
can be used anywhere (as
opposed to formerly just at
the local level of a player's
home club). For
more information,
see Section 8-4c:
Handicap Index
Adjustment by
Handicap Committee).
RULES
QUIZ
MGA member David Lee of
Chisago Lakes GC asks:
Exactly where do the Rules of
Golf allow for an embedded
ball to be lifted and dropped
without penalty?
Find the answer on page 33.
www.mngolf.org
PHOTO BY PGA OF AMERICA
+
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2016
