Written by: Darin Green, Senior Director of Rules & Competitions (referencing the Committee Procedures in the Rules of Golf)
A common question asked is “How should ties be broken?”
The first question that should be asked is “Should the ties be broken?” The Committee (the person or group of people) in charge of a competition have a lot of responsibilities. The most important part of running a competition is setting the Terms of the Competition.
The Terms of the Competition include:
- Who is eligible - gender, age, professional/amateur, handicap limits, residence, and membership status
- Entry Requirements and Dates – method of entry, entry fees, how to submit entries, and field determination
- Format, Including Handicap Allowances – dates, form of play, number of holes in a round, number of rounds, will there be a cut and if so how many make the cut, teeing areas to be used, handicap stroke index allocation, flights or divisions, and what prizes will be awarded.
- When Scorecard Has Been Returned (Stoke Play) – Where scorecards are returned and when the scorecard is considered “returned”
- Finally – How Ties Will Be Decided…
Deciding Ties in Match Play
If a match is tied after the final hole, Rule 3.2a(4) states that the match is extended one hole at a time until there is a winner, unless the Terms of Competition state otherwise.
If the Committee would like to alter how ties are handled in match play they must state in the Terms of Competition. Options include:
- The match ends in a tie (commonly seen in Cup matches where each teams receives a ½ point
- The match will be extended starting at a specific hole other the first hole, or
- There will be a playoff over a fixed number of holes.
In a handicap match, the stroke index allocation as set by the Committee should be used to determine where handicap strokes should be received.
Deciding Ties in Stroke Play
The Terms of the Competition should specify whether a competition may end in a tie, or if there will be a playoff or matching of scorecards to determine the winner and other finishing positions.
When a playoff is to be held to break a tie, the Committee and Terms of the Competition should state the following:
- When the playoff will be held
- Which holes, and which order will be used
- The number of holes over which the playoff will be played (hole-by-hole, 2 holes, 3 holes, 18 holes, etc.)
If a playoff is not feasible or desired, the Committee may specify that any specific ties, or all ties, are decided by matching scorecards.
In FSGA competitions a tie for first place is normally broken by a hole-by-hole playoff. Ties for positions other than first are normally left as ties; however, sometimes ties for positions other than first are broken by the FSGA Method (last 18 score, last 9 score, last 6 score, last 3 score, last hole, lot).
For the complete text on how ties will be decided click here.
