I'm a tournament director of a unique event and need help with a contingency plan.

[madeinguam81]

The tournament:  32 players, consisting of four, 8-person TEAMS competing in a mixed format tournament inspired by The Ryder Cup.  Players sign up as singles and based on their handicaps, are paired up with a comparable partner and go head to head against a comparable twosome.  Once pairings and matchups are determined, each pairing is randomly assigned to one of four teams.   Each matchup will consist of three separate matches:   6 holes of scramble, 6 holes of best ball, and 6 holes of alternate shot. Each format is worth 1 point.  If a tie, each team gets 1/2 point.  The team at the end with the most points wins the cash prize pool.   

 

I've had this event for 7 years and we've never had an issue - until yesterday.  Even though everyone has confirmed and paid, we had one player no-call/no-show.  On the fly, we made the call that that particular matchup will play three separate matches but all as "scramble."  The twosome who is there will play scramble as normal and the single who was by himself would get two mulligans per hole (one per par 3), while still being able to choose the better of the two shots.  If the first match was too lopsided, I gave them the flexibility to adjust as necessary.  I was also playing so I couldn't make the call.  Unfortunately, the single was too proud to take those extra shots and thought he could beat them straight up.  He lost 0-3.  This huge loss greatly affected the outcome on the overall team results.  

 

My questions to you WRXers, what would be a good contingency moving forward?  It's not like the single who showed picked his partner so he can't be penalized.  If we do decide to do the mulligans for the single, we'll emphasize that they don't have a choice and remind them how it could affect the entire event.  

 

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

 

 

 

 

[2bGood]

4 minutes ago, madeinguam81 said:

The tournament:  32 players, consisting of four, 8-person TEAMS competing in a mixed format tournament inspired by The Ryder Cup.  Players sign up as singles and based on their handicaps, are paired up with a comparable partner and go head to head against a comparable twosome.  Once pairings and matchups are determined, each pairing is randomly assigned to one of four teams.   Each matchup will consist of three separate matches:   6 holes of scramble, 6 holes of best ball, and 6 holes of alternate shot. Each format is worth 1 point.  If a tie, each team gets 1/2 point.  The team at the end with the most points wins the cash prize pool.   

 

I've had this event for 7 years and we've never had an issue - until yesterday.  Even though everyone has confirmed and paid, we had one player no-call/no-show.  On the fly, we made the call that that particular matchup will play three separate matches but all as "scramble."  The twosome who is there will play scramble as normal and the single who was by himself would get two mulligans per hole (one per par 3), while still being able to choose the better of the two shots.  If the first match was too lopsided, I gave them the flexibility to adjust as necessary.  I was also playing so I couldn't make the call.  Unfortunately, the single was too proud to take those extra shots and thought he could beat them straight up.  He lost 0-3.  This huge loss greatly affected the outcome on the overall team results.  

 

My questions to you WRXers, what would be a good contingency moving forward?  It's not like the single who showed picked his partner so he can't be penalized.  If we do decide to do the mulligans for the single, we'll emphasize that they don't have a choice and remind them how it could affect the entire event.  

 

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

 

 

 

 

Easy is I would have stand by golfers ready to go. In larger events I run I  know we are going to have some no shows so I have a guys that are mellow about not playing but willing to step in last minute.

 

If they don't play we buy them lunch and drinks and the marshal a bit. 

[madeinguam81]

1 minute ago, 2bGood said:

Easy is I would have stand by golfers ready to go. In larger events I run I  know we are going to have some no shows so I have a guys that are mellow about not playing but willing to step in last minute.

 

If they don't play we buy them lunch and drinks and the marshal a bit. 

 

In this event, we keep it pretty small because of the uniqueness but also so I can try and manage/confirm each and every player.  I like to think I do a good job with that, but it obviously wasn't enough yesterday.  If the missing player were to at least text me saying he couldn't make it, I could have easily found a replacement in as little as an hour.  

 

I really like your idea about the standby player.  We get comp rounds that we can use as CTTP prizes and those could easily be used as a thank you as well.  

 

[cutchemist42]

I just posted something similar without even noticing your similar problem! 

 

We are doing a Ryders Cup buddies trip but trying to consider the contingency of if a group of 4 multiple becomes ruined. 

 

If we have 2 leftover than we will just do a single matchplay. However we are trying to figure out options if the multiples of 4 is out by 3 or 5 people.

 

I was thinking of just turning a 3 person group into a Fourball matchplay with the single person getting a "ghost" partner?

 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by cutchemist42