MATCHPLAY RULES

General. Matchplay consists of 16 players playing a knockout competition over the course of the season. If players are irregular attendees or cannot play in the scheduled competition dates they should NOT enter. These players should inform the match committee prior to the draw that they do not wish to be considered for the draw. The reason for this is to avoid byes that undermine the competition.

Qualification. The competition is open to all financial members who have a current handicap. There are only 16 positions available so if there is more than that, a qualification process will take effect. Selection of the 16 players is as follows:

a. Players submit the total of their best 5 cards between the first game in Feb and the last game in Apr inclusive. (Note: Club Handicapper will administer this).

b. Stroke rounds will be converted to Stableford scores for ease of calculation. Team events are not able to be used for qualification; and

c. The top 16 players will be seeded in qualification order for the draw with 1 playing 16, 2 playing 15, 3 playing 14 etc.

Rules for Play. The rules for the competition are as follows:

a. Players are to play on the dates set in the fixtures where possible. The only exception to this is if both players agree to play the match before the date set. Note: The final is to be played on the date specified in the fixture. Change of date for the final must have match committee approval;

b. If a player fails to attend their match they will forfeit. If both players fail to attend the highest ranked qualifier advances to the next round. This rule also applies to the final;

a. The Matchplay index is to be used. Strokes received or given are calculated by subtracting the lower handicap from the higher. E.g. Player 1 has a handicap of 12; Player 2 has a handicap of 19. The difference is 7 so Player 1 has to give Player 2 a stroke on the holes indexed 1 to 7 inclusive. The rest of the holes are played “off the stick”;

b. In the event of the match still being square after 18 holes the match will continue until there is a sudden death winner. Note: Strokes given or received still apply to the applicable holes the second time around. In the event of bad light play is to stop and players are to report to the match committee in order to discuss when to continue the play off; and

c. If a match is suspended due to the course being unfit for play or for any other reason, the match will be played at a later date from the beginning.