A New Match Play System.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7, 14 August 1912, Page 10

A New Match Play System.

'the latest of the “discoveries and inventions” of the “Wandering Player.” published in the “Daily Mail,” is a system for match play, the whole object of which is to lead the man to concentrate more, keep steady, and prevent his being unduly influenced by the play of the opposing golfer. At the first glance, it seemed a little fantastic and .savoured of the peculiar mathematical arrangements by which men and women seek to harness fickle chance at Monte Carlo and make it serve to their profit. But a closer and more thoughtful inspection of this system of match play made it clear that it had certain definite advantages for special .circumstances. It is one ( he explains) of a schedule. In various sports which have something to do with endurance, schedules play a great part, and in the open championship of golf I know that some of the leading professionals make more or less definite .schedules for themselves at the outset (says a writer in “Golfing”). But a schedule for match play is quite another matter. The propagator of this system offers the advice that the plaver should disregard his opponent altogether, or as much as possible, according to temperament and circumstances, and play for a seort in his match according to a schedule prepared beforehand. And yet the < iqoiient is not ignored in this .schedule <ith. r: he influences it. Making a Schedule. I he first thing to do is to decide what ’vouid be a good round for you in the cirr um-tanceß, and such a round, as in the great majority of eases would give you just a comfortable victory, but not more than that.' Do not pick on a figure that you might do if you played your very -I and were very fortunate as well, not a fig ire that would stand for your record , r not more than a stroke or two beyond it. Having selected the figure, split up. it were, the eighteen hohs of the ioiiiml into six sections of three each, and allot to each group its own proportion of the totalled scheduled number of -, „k, -—not one-sixth of the total you will note, but its share relative to tlic p.ir or bogey value of the different holes, with a slight final adjustment to suit the player's own attitude towards those particular holes. The whole object of thts schedule is to make things easy for the man and stop him from pressing on the one lulled or being careless on the other, and to give him confidence and steadiness. To ensure this we nui.-t take account of the fact that there are bogey tours in the round that he always takes ute to, and feels that he always will, while there are other bogey fours that he -i.metimes docs, in three. The schedule lakes account of this by giving tlse nan in extra stroke to Iris unlucky holes and taking it off the lucky ones. Then tlm iiian’s handicap allowance, if any, is distributed through the schedule, and the thing Is ready.

Group! of Three. The grouping in threes is done with the obje- t of scoring in t luces, wlccli is n good idea. Mett in stroke competitions wlvo drop a sitroke at the first hole.simply viH not realise, tlespilc a thousand experiences, that they are quite likely to get it back very soon, and that if a man is playing reasonably well things have a happy way of averag'ng tip in good time. In three holes the scores often average up fairly well, and so, by considering only the total for three, the player is prevented from becoming depressed by a 'bad hole he has done. When the three holes 'have lieen played, if tite total is equal to schedule everything is well. But, says our adviser, if you have dropped a strake on the sehed'ule, having taken, say. fifteen to the first three instead of the fourteen that were allowed, •consider Gow you stand with the opposition. It you are square with him. or something up. never mind the lost stroke; it h:us done no Ira rm. If, however, you are down to your man, consider then how you may ehip a stroke off the schedule at the next three holes. Do not, however, try to get more than one stroke off. if the opponent is .more than one up he has probably done rather better than he is likely to do for a little while afterwards, and by playing to your schedule you should wait for him to come back’to you rather than jump out of the calculation •and try to catch him up by an impossible effort in excellence. This is just where the steadying influence of the schedule seems to come in. When six or nine holes Oiave been played, and It is then found that you are two or three up on the other man. the schedule for the remainder of the ma tell mav be eased a littkone or two strokes being added to the figures, so as to make the play a little, easier and more certain for the man who is winning. As it was described to me, this seems a very mathematical and cold-blooded business, this obliteration of the human opponent. It does not quite fit in with the ideas of match play that some of us have. But it might be a good th'ng to try as a steadying influence for a time, and it does seem that the idea is sound and that it might be very beneficial. That, after all. is the point that will count, for most in the mind of the average golfer.