FOURBALL MATTCH PLAY??

HI TO ALL

CAN ANYONE PLEASE GIVE ME FEEDBACK?  I AM TRYING TO ARRANGE A FOURBALL COMPETITION FOR TWO TEAMS OF TWELVE MEMBERS FROM MTWO GOLF SOCIETIES!  WE WOULD LIKE TO PLAY IN A DOUBLES MATCHPLAY FORMAT OR ALIKE.  THE TEAM WE ARE FACING ARE MOSTLY ALOT LOWER HADICAPPERS THAN OURSELVES SO IM LOOKING FOR A 'LEGAL' FORMAT WHICH WOULD HELP IT BE A MORE LEVEL PLAYING FIELD. THEY WHIPPED US 5 - 1 LAST YEAR!  YOUR SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE MOST WELCOME.  THE COMPETITION IS ARRANGED FOR THE 12TH APRIL SO NEED TO SORT THIS OUT PRONTO.  THANK YOU.

DAVID PRESTON

CAPTAIN

David,

The format we follow in our club for our freindley fixtures is as follows ;-

Player 1 - Hcap 5

Player 2 - Hcap 9

Player 3 - Hcap 17

Player 4 - Hcap 15

Since player 1 is the lowest handicap player he then plays off scratch. The remaining players take 3/4 of the difference between the handicaps

ie Player 2 has a hcap of 3 (3/4 of 4 = 9-5 ) and so on.

Normall fourball betterball format is then followed. So in answer to you question the lower handicap players receive little or no shots wheras the higher handicappers still receive good amounts of shots.

This works really well for our club matches so have a try and see what you think 

A fourball better ball will always favour the lower handicaps, as they are more likely to combine better than the higher handicaps.

With three quarters of the difference and the low man playing from scratch, the higher handicaps are not getting shots on holes where they would normally get them and are less likely to combine that well, as on the holes that are difficult and with not getting shots, they will struggle to match the consistency of the better players.

In your scenario the most shots on offer is 8, which leaves ten holes without strokes against better players. I know where my money would be.

I have a cunning plan for that event, David.

hi again!

i have also looked at the four ball aggregate sytem where two handicapps are added and halved if this is inside the rules then just meens trying to keep everyone close handicap wise etc.  any other formats, we just dont want to get hammered again!

Hi David

I'm also involved in a similar sized team format competition that we've played a number of times now and with a wide variety of handicaps (11-36).  We have found that using the full handicap difference rather than the official 3/4 helps to level the playing field.  But even then, in most cases the lower handicappers still tend to prevail.

In our next outing over a weekend we are also proposing to play a round of foursomes, singles match play, and also a form of 'scramble' where two pairs compete against each other again in a match play format.  In this last case we intend to use the half the full aggregate handicaps.

under the rules of golf etc does it have to be strictly to the rules?  i have heard that as long as both teams are in agreement you can nominate any format as long as the rules of golf are still adhered to? this is a bit of a pain as so many different possibilities!  thank you.

dave