Shoreline Seniors Golf Club

Stroke Play Tournament Formats

(Prizes are normally awarded to one-third of players in each handicap division)

Section 9 (Handicap Competitions) of The USGA Handicap System specifies competitions and handicap allowances that are aimed at producing fair and equitable competition. The formats for stroke play are set forth in Section 9-b and relate to 18-hole competitions.

A.  GAMES FOR SINGLE PLAYERS (1 SCORE CARD PER PLAYER)

(i) Individual Stroke Play (Low Net):  The winners are competitors who play the round (or rounds in the case of 36- or 54-hole competitions)  in the fewest net strokes with each player receiving full course handicaps.

(viii) Stableford Competition (Net Point Par): The scoring in Stableford competitions awards point in relation to net par with full course handicaps; strokes taken as they are allocated on the stroke allocation table (on the score card) and winners determined as players who scores the highest number of points in accordance with the following:  More than one over net par or no score returned – 0 points: One over net par – 1 point; Net par – 2 points: One under net par – 3 points;  Two under net par – 4 points; Three under net par – 5 points; and Four under net par – 6 points.

Section 9-3 (to adjust course handicaps) is applied to course handicaps when play is from different tees.

B.  GAMES FOR TWOSOMES (1 SCORE CARD FOR TWO PLAYERS AS A TEAM) 

(ii) Four-ball Stroke Play (Better Ball Twosome): In four-ball stroke play, two competitors play as partners, each playing their own ball, with the lower of the partners’ scores as the score for each hole. Players (men) receive 90 percent of course handicap, with .4 rounded down and .5 rounded up.

(iii) Total Score of Partners Stroke Play (Aggregate Twosome):  Two players form a side, and each plays their own ball, with the combined total of the partners’ scores s the score for the side. Partners receive full combined course handicap.

C.  GAMES FOR FOURSOMES (1 SCORE CARD FOR FOUR PLAYERS AS A TEAM)

(iv) Best-Ball-of-Four Stroke Play (Best Ball Foursome):  Four players play as a side, with each playing their own ball, and the lowest net score of the side as the score for the hole.  Players (men) receive 80 percent of course handicap, with .4 rounded down and .5 rounded up.

(v)  Two-Best-Balls-of-Four Stroke Play (Best Two Balls Foursome):  Four players each play their own ball, and the two best balls on each hole is the score for the hole with players (men) receiving 90 percent of course handicap, with .4 rounded down and .5 rounded up.

D. ALTERNATE SHOT GAMES (ONE SCORE CARD FOR TWO PLAYERS AS A TEAM

(vi) Foursome Stroke Play (Alternate Shot/Alternate Tees):  Two players form a side, and the partners play one ball. The partners play alternately from the teeing grounds (one partner on the odd-numbered tees and the other on the even-numbered tees). The partners play alternately on each hole . The handicap allowance for the side is 50 percent of the partners’ combined course handicaps.  (When the variant of this format is played which permits selected drives (both players hit from the teeing grounds), the allowance is 40 percent.

(vii) Chapman or Pinehurst Stroke Play (Alternate Shot Play After Selected Second Shots):   Two players play as partners, with each partner playing from the teeing ground and playing the partner’s ball for the second shot. After the second shot, partners select the ball with which they want to score and play that ball alternately to complete the hole. The player with the lower course handicap is allowed 60 percent of course handicap and the player with the higher course handicap is allowed 40 percent of course handicap, with .4 rounded down and .5 rounded up.

(This completes USGA-recognized formats).

In the past, the club has played several formats which are not USGA-recognized and/or do not relate to an 18-hole round.  Among these are the following:

Best Three Balls Foursome (Low net total for three lowest net scores per hole for four players)

Scramble Foursome (Each player hits a tee shot; all players play a stroke from a selected tee shot location, but each player must contribute (and team must record) a minimum of three such tee shots; all players hit consecutive shots from selected best location until holing out; play from locations through the green shall be under “mark, lift, clean and place” local rule within two club-lengths not nearer the hole; low gross score for team’s play is recorded; course handicaps are not used, although special additional rules may be used to allow for deductions of a percentage of total course handicaps of players in a net scramble foursome format.

Better Nine of 18 (Low net for lower net score for either front or back nine play; this format has a minor inequity in that odd-numbered course handicaps receive an “extra” stroke on the back nine)

Nine Best of 18           (Low net total for lowest net scores on nine of eighteen hole played; this format is unrelated to the 18-hole basis on which handicaps are computed; it also suffers from the very high likelihood that par-five holes will not figure in the lowest nine net scores)

Other Formats: Turkey Shoot (prizes to one-half of participants instead of one-third); Christmas Surprise

(prizes to all participants instead of one-third); Peer (low net with flights based on age);  Eclectic (36 holes; total low net for each of 18 holes as better low net score per hole on each of two rounds, a format which also is unrelated to the 18-hole basis on which handicaps are computed); Red Tees (all players play a low net stroke play round from the red tees and use respective course handicaps for such tees); Red-White-Blue (play from different sets of tees, with net scores based on handicap stroke allocations for the white tees or any other temporary rating that would be approved by the NCGA)

August 24, 2009