9 guys in a Partner Weekend...

[Maroon_19]

Headed to Myrtle on Monday for our 16th annual guys trip.  This year, for reasons unknown to me, our numbers have fallen from 24 down to 10.  Well, 9 as of this morning.  Had another guy drop due to a family emergency.

 

Our normal weekend consists of three competition rounds for teams of two golfers.  Every player has a GHIN handicap and we play off of 90% caps.

Round 1 - Modified Stableford scoring (each players ball is scored and team total is team score)

Round 2 - 2 man scramble (must use each players tee shot at least 6 times) 

Round 3 - 2 man best ball

At the end of each round, teams are scored based on place.  1st place gets 1 point, 2nd place gets 2, and so on.  You want to have the lowest total team score.  Winners win Maroon.

 

So... Do any of you guys and gals have any good ideas about how we can maintain our normal competition with an odd number of players?  

 

If we can't come up with anything, we will probably just form three teams of three golfers and no Maroon will be awarded this year...

Edited May 11, 2023 by Maroon_19

[Abh159]

I don't really see anyway you could do two man teams with an odd number of players. I think the best thing would be to (as you said) have three teams of three players.

 

You could keep the same format more or less...

 

Round 1 - Stableford 

Round 2 - Scramble - Perhaps instead of the scramble you could do a shamble (take the best drive and everyone plays their own ball from there), and take the low score on each hole

Round 3 - Best ball (just take the low 2 scores on each hole)

[Augster]

So the teams stay the same the entire time? Ish and yikes. 
 

Time to buy another “maroon” and go 3 teams of 3. 
 

If the teams stay the same every round, one dude will always be by himself. It’s doable, but the single will clean up in the scramble. 
 

R1: Stableford is dude’s score plus the average of the high 4 A’s or low 4 B’s of the other 8 players depending if the single was supposed to be an A or B player based on cap. 
 

R2: Single gets to play 2 balls. You can make it a little more difficult where he only gets 1 putt. 
 

R3: Best ball. Dude’s score plus the card of a randomly assigned A or B player based on cap. Or random draw of all 8 players. It’s a capped event. Random draw AFTER the round so there isn’t any tanking on the course. Well, less of it anyway. Because there will be tanking. 
 

In a best ball, knowing there will be a random draw afterward, say the A player is 3 feet for birdie with a shot. The B player is 40 feet with a shot. The “right” play is for the B player to 4 or 5-putt his ball in case he’s chosen as the other players partner. Only pride stops this from happening, but I’ve seen it from guys that really want to win. 
 

An alternative to stop these shenanigans, if you think they might happen, is for the single to draw each hole from the pool of A’s or B’s depending which one he is missing. The odds of 4 A’s or B’s all tanking on the same hole is pretty small. MOST of the time both players are in the hole working toward the team score. 
 

 

[bladehunter]

I’d say reasons for numbers dropping isn’t hard to guess. Money isn’t growing on trees in todays world.  Most don’t want to say it. They’ll just bow out quietly.  

[ArtMBgolf]

Did dynamic pricing increase your cost enough for some to drop?   
That might hurt the package business in MB.  
  
The bigger the group, the more likely some will drop out for various reasons.  
Then there are often some guys who hold their spot as long as possible, 
trying to be able to go.   
 
You can adjust your competition to be individual that one day, then 
3 man teams afterwards.