Alas - Official Golf Season Has Ended

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By Darius V

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  1. Darius V

    Darius V
    Barrie, ON

    So here we are in November and the official golf season for Ontario has ended. By that I mean that any scores posted on the GAO for handicapping will not be used as the official season here ends on October 31st.

    My question goes out to other members who play what is now considered "post season" rounds. When you are playing rounds that cannot be used for handicapping, do you take advantage of the post season to try things that you would not do when the score counts? Do you play nine holes with two balls to get in 18 while only playing nine? Do you play some different games with the gang that would not be counted in a normal round (such as alternating tee blocks on different holes)? or - Do you stick to your normal play and just go out and get in as many holes as you can until the snow flies ?

    I am fortunate this year that my club is offering some post season golf so I am looking forward to going out while the weather is still nice enough. We had a good dump of snow last week which has all melted away now, but it had the course closed for three days for it to melt. Every round from here on in is a pure bonus :)

    Darius

  2. Wendy H

    Wendy H

    Good question Darius. Myself, if the course has a lot of players on it, I will stick to the one ball game. However if there is no one behind me I will play two balls. I think it's fun to play two and see how I score with each. It's also interesting to use a different club for each shot with different balls...ie driver off tee with one and 3-5 wood with the second. It's good to see how different scenarios play out.

    I played my last round yesterday. Our club is closing on Thursday and I have no time after work for golf until then. I hope some of you get in a few more games.
  3. Dino J

    Dino J
    Burnaby, BC

    Hi Darius! Out here in BC - on the coast, we have another 2 weeks of "active golf" for the purpose of GHIN. But, your point and questions about what we during the "off season" is great! We can play all year in the lower mainland/greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island regions - provided that there is no heavy frost or a snowfall.

    So, often times, I will do just as you suggested -- treat some rounds like a practice round, trying different shots, different course management options, etc. The one challenge though is that fairways tend to be damp and greens softer than normal so it can and often does influence outcomes.

    Unfortunately, most of the guys that I play with still stick to the traditional medal/stroke play format and it is hard to get them to try different games, etc. or things like playing a match play format. :(. All the best for the off season!
  4. Darius V

    Darius V
    Barrie, ON

    Dino - Too bad your gang do not like match play format. It can be a lot of fun and provides a lot of variety options as you play. There were three of us the other day and we have varying handicaps ranging 14, 11, and 6. We do not like giving strokes so we did something different. Our course is set up with 4 tee blocks with #1 most forward and #4 furthest back. We all teed off on the first hole from the #3 tees. If someone wins the hole outright he moved back one set of tees and the other two moved ahead one set of tees. So - after a win, there would be one playing from the #4 tee blocks and the other two played from the #2 tees. This adjustment to tee blocks continues to the end of the match. It becomes interesting because moving ahead when you lose a hole makes the next hole easier which seemed to even up the odds in the match play with no need to give strokes (which is something many people dislike).
    The total holes won ended up 3, 4, and 3. We play ( two tie all tie ) which gives you a reason to cheer on one of your opponents when you are out of the hole :)

    A lot of fun and a great way to see the course from a different perspective.

    Darius
  5. Dino J

    Dino J
    Burnaby, BC

    Hi Darius! Your game sounds interesting - and adds a different layer onto it. I do have some friends that I play with occasionally, and we did play a team format of best ball and match play. This way we could still keep our own scores and yet, have another "competitive" but fun dimension added to it.

    One of the players was a bit new to golf so she was given strokes ...1 stroke per par 3's and 2 strokes per par 4's. We played an "executive length" course that day so that it would not be too long for her. All in all, it was a fun afternoon and we won both formats -- 2 up on the best ball format and 1 up on the match play (cumulative team score). Everyone had fun and I think it will encourage her to keep playing golf!

  6. Darius V

    Darius V
    Barrie, ON

    You hit the nail on the head...
    "Everyone had fun and I think it will encourage her to keep playing golf!"
    That is ultimately what it is all about isn't it ???

    I am a little confused about your reference to best ball and match play in the team format. Is one not the same as the other when in team format or is that only when you track the low for the team ? When we do the two person team format, we score low in the hole to win for the team, and if there is a tie then we do an aggregate team score for the hole to break the tie. Is that what you were referring to ? Pardon my confusion - some of the games out there are tough to track. I often find myself listening to guys try to explain their game to me at the beginning of the round and I have to simply tell them to let me know who and how much I have to pay at the end :)
  7. Dino J

    Dino J
    Burnaby, BC

    Darius V said:

    You hit the nail on the head...
    "Everyone had fun and I think it will encourage her to keep playing golf!"
    That is ultimately what it is all about isn't it ???

    I am a little confused about your reference to best ball and match play in the team format. Is one not the same as the other when in team format or is that only when you track the low for the team ? When we do the two person team format, we score low in the hole to win for the team, and if there is a tie then we do an aggregate team score for the hole to break the tie. Is that what you were referring to ? Pardon my confusion - some of the games out there are tough to track. I often find myself listening to guys try to explain their game to me at the beginning of the round and I have to simply tell them to let me know who and how much I have to pay at the end :)

    Hi Darius, The best ball format is just the regular best ball. The best score per hole for each team is the ones used to determine the hole winner. My playing partner, as noted above, received 1 stroke per hole on the par 3's and 2 strokes per hole on the par 4's. So her score was net, the rest of us all played straight up with no strokes.

    Eg: For a given hole, I score a 3 and my partner scores a net 4. The best ball for scoring is my 3. The other team scores a 3 (par) and a birdie 2. Therefore, the other teams best ball ( birdie 2) is better than our 3 and they would win the hole.

    The "match play" was a cumulative team score per hole ... again, my playing partner got to use her net score added to my score for the cumulative team score and then it was compared to the cumulative score for the other team to determine the winner of each hole.

    Eg: Our team scored a 3 and a net 4 for a cumulative team score of "7" ... the other team scores a 3 and a 3 for a cumulative score of "6" so they would win that particular hole in match play.

    I hope that makes sense!

  8. Darius V

    Darius V
    Barrie, ON

    Thanks for the clarification Dino... Both your games are match play in the end given that in both cases you have a winner on each hole (or a tie). Our foursome pairs match play is the same except that we only use the total team score to break a tie in your "best ball" match. I think it is great that your less experienced player gets the strokes to even things up. Of course, if your team keeps winning, I am sure there will be some talk about the number of strokes given :)
  9. Dino J

    Dino J
    Burnaby, BC

    Darius V said:

    Thanks for the clarification Dino... Both your games are match play in the end given that in both cases you have a winner on each hole (or a tie). Our foursome pairs match play is the same except that we only use the total team score to break a tie in your "best ball" match. I think it is great that your less experienced player gets the strokes to even things up. Of course, if your team keeps winning, I am sure there will be some talk about the number of strokes given :)

    Hi Darius ... yes, they are both a Match Play" format. I used two different terms of "best ball" and "match play" to describe the scoring differences to the group that I was playing with. They are relatively new to the game (all of them less than 5 years playing) ... so that is how we distinguished the differences for them as they were only familiar with stroke play for scoring.

    Now there is a group of long time Korean ladies that I play with from time to time and they are very skilled and knowledgeable ... and when I play with them, we usually play some format with the loser(s) paying for the pitcher of beer at the end of the round. I inevitably pay for the pitcher of beer afterwards! :)
  10. BMaddigan

    BMaddigan

    Hi Darius, we were fortunate in Kitchener. Our course Rebel Creek was still in great condition right up its closing. Some of the sand traps were unable as the rakes were removed a couple weeks previous, but I don't go in many, anyway. Armed with my new Scotty and new Vokey wedge, my short game managed to offset any late season challenges with the course. It was a great Fall season. Can't wait for Spring. Santa Claus is supposed to be getting me a 56 degree to match my 60degree for Christmas.

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