MATCH PLAY MADNESS(TM), An Adventure of the Spirit

Held in honor of Charles Blair Macdonald

Those of you who have attended RSG-OHIO or have read about it, know
that one part of it held each year is called Match Play Madness(TM).

We have played it every year since 1996.  We even played it in Scotland
in the RSG-USG matches and it is on the website of the R&A.  

Those who have not attended or are attending for the first time might be
interested to know the format and the history and my thoughts behind
this very unique event.

The current labyrinth of rules and decisions of the game of golf are
quite complicated, lead to lengthy discussions, require a huge volume
that is the decisions book, and are a source of confusion for many
golfers.  Each time a rule is added, the code becomes more intricate
and intertwined.

When I became really interested in golf, I became interested some in
its history, and began to read... one thing I read was that it was not
always this way, that in fact the game had been played for hundreds of
years without written rules at all.

The greatest attraction in golf for me is the unfairness within the
game... good shot, bad result... bad shot, good result.  This is
what makes the game truly great.  I imagine that it was moreso in
days past, before the rules became what they are today.

Robert Browning wrote in _A History of Golf_:
  "we have been so anxious, in the sacred name of fair play, to take
   all the element of luck out of the game, that we have to a
   proportionate extent destroyed its value as a test of each man's
   ability to stand up to bad luck.  Modern golf is a stiffer test
   of a player's skill, but it has robbed the game of its charm
   as an adventure of the spirit"

I thought it might have been interesting to play before this change
occurred.  I also thought that pure match play was rarely played in
my circles, as all were anxious (obsessed?) about their total stroke
play score.

When I read about Charles Blair Macdonald and the early years of golf
in the United States, the most fascinating part of that history to
me is the vastly different approaches to the game.  The game had
been played for so long in Scotland that it was part of the culture,
and the spirit of the game was the rule.  In America, without the
benefit or history of having played the game for long at all, the
new players instantly started trying to change it, and to
"Americanize" it.  "We find in America", says Mr. Macdonald, "that
it is necessary to have rules more clearly defined, as people are
inclined to play more by the letter than the spirit".

J. A. T. Bramston, of the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society,
wrote that neither the English nor Americans took the "same joy
out of golf that the Scotch do, for the English play with pleasure
that is almost pain, and Americans play with pain that is almost
pleasure."

C.B. also wrote of the code of honor in the early days, and that
"One rule alone governed the play... the player must play the ball
as it lay and not interfere with his opponent's ball.  The ball
was not to be touched with anything but a club until it was
holed out"....  And regarding his time at St Andrews, "It instilled
the true spirit of the game.  So strong was the influence of my
associations... that for many years touching the ball in play
without penalty was anathema to me, a kind of sacrilegious profanity".

Those words, to my Mind of a Child, defined a game, a game of simple
rules (one rule), and perhaps the way the game was first played.
They became the rule as you shall read (one rule) for Match Play
Madness(TM).

Now, C.B. stood against the tide of "Americanization" of golf, and
tried to encourage the learning of the traditions and the spirit of
the game instead.  As he saw the matches turn into contests, with
winning being valued over the Camaraderie and the total experience,
he decided to hold a team invitational match to demonstrate the spirit
of the game.  He did, and it was a great demonstration in my mind
of the true value of golf to humankind.

I think that one can really only decide about something if it is
experienced fully, though so many seem to reject without thought
anything that is different.  I wanted to experience this pure form of
golf.  I wanted to play by one rule, and to play in a match that
was competitive by its very nature, but the total experience and the
Camaraderie and the spirit and the sportsmanship and the pure joy of
golfing was of far greater import.

And so I hold Match Play Madness(TM) each year.  Most, I think, enjoy
it.  In any case it is an opportunity to experience something truly
different in the game of golf, and, well, I think it is about the most
fun thing I have ever done.

We play Ohio vs The World, though we usually have an imbalance and one
side has to loan players to the other... lending itself to the
deemphasis on winning, I imagine.  There is no trophy.  There is no
cup.  There will be no cup.

There is a lot of fun to be had and I relish it.  As always, I
really look forward to this "Adventure of the Spirit".

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So, What is Match Play Madness????

Well, each year at RSG-OHIO we play an event steeped in tradition
and respect, called Ohio vs The World.

We play a little invention of mine called Match Play Madness (TM).

The way it is played is similar to regular match play - but it is
modified to try to get the golfers completely away from the scorecard,
and away from the myriad technicalities and rules and back to the
basic - you hit the ball without touching it until it is in the hole.
And you accept to the extreme the philosophy of playing the ball as it
lies, accepting the exact situation your ball is in.

So, There is only that one rule:
  Rule 1.  You hit the ball without touching it until it is in the hole.

Decisions on Rule 1:
  Can I...??   No.  You cannot.  The only thing you can do is
  hit the ball without touching it until it is in the hole.
  If you can't do that you are out of the hole.  Hit it or you
  are out.  No drops.  No moving of obstructions.  Play it as you
  find it at all times.  No cleaning your ball, no touching your
  ball ever except to tee it up or pick it out of the hole.  Hit it
  OB, or in a water hazard, or lose your ball - you cannot win the
  hole.  You can concede the hole or hope your opponent also cannot
  complete the hole under Rule 1.

  No this penalty cannot be waived!  You must concede the hole if
  you forget and mark your ball or move a twig or leaf.  Your 
  opponent cannot 'forgive' a transgression!

Now - what about on the green?  With the above rule, there is no
such thing as a green.  It is the same as everywhere else.  So you
can be stymied.  Of course if you do something that puts your opponent
in a significantly worse position after you hit the ball (sending his
ball by accident into a bunker for instance), you concede.  No different
than elsewhere on the course.

Some, however, worry about angering greenskeepers and don't wish to
play stymies (especially beginners) , thus Rule 1A [OPTIONAL].
  Rule 1A.  You touch your ball if and only if asked to because it
  is in somebody's line on the green.  AND NO YOU CANNOT CLEAN
  that lump of mud off - hold it carefully in two fingers.

Also, there is a philosophical rule so that the true joys of
Match Play Madness can be experienced:
  Rule P-1.  A golfer should not refer to their total stroke play
  score or what it might have been if they were keeping track
  of it, or actually does keep track of it on paper.  Golfers
  should not finish the hole after it has been decided.

I even used to enforce the above rule with penalty being loss of
match.  Now it is just a suggestion.

Things that have happened in Match Play Madness that would rarely
if ever happen playing other formats:
  - A player had to hit his ball through a rake.  The ball was
    lying against the rake, with the rake in the way of the flight
    of the ball.  Excellent shot Bill S!
  - Balls played out of casual water.
  - Balls played off of cart paths.
  - Player losing a hole for cleaning his ball after being asked to
    lift it.
  - Balls played out of 'unplayable' lies, taking three or 4 whacks
    to get out and still winning the hole when your opponent goes
    in the creek.
  - Balls chipped over a golf cart that was in the way (awesome
    shot Pete!!!).  No, you can't have the cart moved if it was
    there when your ball landed.

Bring your 'old' set of clubs for this one, guys.  It is a blast!