Why Match Play Is The Everyman’s Game
- Updated: March 21, 2022
Twitter/@golfweek
As amateurs, there may be nothing more relatable at the Tour level than match play.
We most definitely can’t relate to the weekly birdie fests and 24 under-par winning scores. But when we look at our TV screen and see Rory is 4 down through 10 instead of 4 under, we can’t help but think “Hey, I’ve done that before!”
Here are a few more reasons why match play is awesome and relatable to us amateurs.
As amateurs, there is a reason we set up matches every time we play.
Because we all suck. If we play a match against someone else who sucks, it’s less damaging to the ego than playing against the golf course which will win a thousand times out of a thousand.
Two guys can play like absolute garbage this week and still have not only a tight match, but also a chance to ultimately win the event. Just like in your Sunday fourball where you all shoot in the 90s and it comes down to the 18th green to win the $10.
A few extra zeros are the only difference between you and the pros this week.
At least once per round we all take a shot we have little business even thinking about.
Attempting to punch through 9 trees onto the green or taking driver off the deck from 290 out on a par 4 is part of the amateur lifestyle.
It often leads to a big number and the wheels falling off your round. This is why we seldom see these risks from the pros.
But match play is a format that lends itself to risk-taking and we can expect to see more of the low percentage plays we all know and love, just executed better.
On an extremely rare occasion during a stroke play event, we may see a pro miss a two-footer (coughSERGIOcough).
You think to yourself, “How did he miss that? I’ve never missed a two-footer!” Well Judge Smails, that’s probably because you scoop it up with the backside of your putter blade every time you lag it within 5 feet.
But this week you’re going to see a lot of conceded putts. Be on the lookout for guys picking up their opponent’s mark or telling them it’s good while they line up their putt to win the hole.
Unlike you, they may not smack the ball back to them with their putter only to see it zip off the green and into the bunker, but a gimmie is a gimmie.
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