Tips/Tricks of Gamesmanship in Match Play

I have one trick - it is play better than them. If you play better than them not much they can do.
 
I don't really have any other than how/when I may give a putt.

This would be me. Giving/not giving putts is part of the deal.
 
Tips/Tricks of Gamesmanship in Match Play

None here. I treat match play like stroke play.


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No minds games, I just wait until they make a mistake and try to take advantage of it. Has worked so far.
 
the trick is to play better than the other guy. start playing mind games and in my opinion you're not playing in the gentlemanly spirit of the game. people do it, but i think it's petty. you and i have a match? i'm going to compliment your good shots, i'm going to give you putts i know you're going to make, and i'm going to do my best to have fun. i lack the desire to beat you to a pulp, it's just not in my nature.

Mind games are best used in big money matches and kept very subtle. Pissing someone off to the point they focus harder isn't good.
 
I dont think I ever attempt to get in someones head during matchplay.

There are strategies involved in Match Play that I use, but it typically revolves around my game not my opponents. For example, if the opponent puts one in the water and has to take a stroke, I play wise and go conservative in order to prevent a blow up or something.

I will say this in terms of matchplay, you get what you give.
 
Good putting and a strong short game. It's not really a trick, but I've definitely gotten into the heads of some competitors with my ability to get up and down from about anywhere within 30 yards greater than 50% of the time.

~Rock
 
Only when I'm playing with my closest golf buddies that'll you'll hear things like 'Ok, it's exactly the same putt that you missed 2 holes ago'

Should be noted, I believe that is a penalty on your part. If things got real serious, that would lose you a hole.

Good thing you aren't playing against me then. I'd call you on it, claim the win on the hole, and probably set you off for the next hole too. That's the only mind game I'd be likely to play. Bragging rights is as good a reason as any to play by the rules.

What's the rule related to that type of comment?
 
I don't think I do anything really. If someone shows some gamesmanship towards me, it gets me pumped up. Not angry, just "Ok, lets go" and I play my game. In my gambling groups it's all fun and games until the back 9 when the carryovers get to be pretty big. It gets a little quiet down the stretch, but I love the competition.
 
I'm not interested in playing head games in match play, especially against THPers. I stick to my game and do my own thing.
 
Only when I'm playing with my closest golf buddies that'll you'll hear things like 'Ok, it's exactly the same putt that you missed 2 holes ago'

Should be noted, I believe that is a penalty on your part. If things got real serious, that would lose you a hole.

Agree. Head games don't work unless a player already lacks confidence. I've never tried to mess with anyone that way - I have more respect for the game and for my opponent that to try any bush league tricks. I'd rather let my play do the talking.



Good thing you aren't playing against me then. I'd call you on it, claim the win on the hole, and probably set you off for the next hole too. That's the only mind game I'd be likely to play. Bragging rights is as good a reason as any to play by the rules.

When I play with friends (which is most of the time), we don't throw the rule book out just because it isn't a tournament. I've too often seen those bad habits from casual rounds accidentally sneak into a round that counts, so I make a habit of playing by the rules all the time. That way I don't have to change gears depending on the type of round I'm playing. Since 99% of my rounds are returned for handicap I want them to reflect how I really played.



Thanks. Although, I do not believe that comment would be considered "giving advice". But, FOURPUTT probably knows better than most of us how that determination is made.
 
Other than giving marginally short putts early and then not giving them late, I don't really play games. I root on my opponent no matter the situation and compliment good shots at every opportunity. Matchplay is fun and if you can't simply lean on your game, you should probably lose that match.
 
Thanks. Although, I do not believe that comment would be considered "giving advice". But, FOURPUTT probably knows better than most of us how that determination is made.
It would be considered "giving instruction." While not specifically not stated, is in the decisions.
 
My strategy is to spray it all over the course and then 1 putt for par. That will really piss off your opponent. Now if I could just hit fairways and greens and make birdie I'd be even better off.

Right now I'm the middle of my SCGA match play season. Other than giving putts there's not much you can do. I will give lots of putts early, especially if they don't mean anything. Then make them hit the 2-3 footers near the end of the match when the pressures on.

Last week my opponent missed his birdie putt by about 3 ft and i made him mark it instead of giving him the par. I sunk about an 8 foot for bogey. He than proceeded to miss the par putt and we halved the hole. Now if I miss my bogey putt, I just reach down and pick up his mark. But the fact that I made mine and he's still ticked he didn't make his birdie gets under his skin. Always know the situation of your opponent and what you need to do to win or tie the hole. I think that's the greatest key to match play.
 
It depends upon my opponent. If my opponent isn't playing games, I won't play games. If my opponent is playing games, all bets are off. I may be in my 60s but I can get pretty childish.
 
Wow! I didn't expect that reaction to some games between golf buddies. We even do it playing TGC. Oh well.
 
Do not cross the tee box line in a match :beat-up: I had to call a hole on an opponent in a HS match for grounding their club in a hazard.

Bob (Diveguy)
 
Do not cross the tee box line in a match :beat-up: I had to call a hole on an opponent in a HS match for grounding their club in a hazard.

Bob (Diveguy)
If the player did not intend to make a stroke, the ball is accidently bumped off the tee and moves past the tee markers, I do not believe it is a problem to pick up the ball and retee
 
I don't do anything to intentionally get into anyone's head...but a few big putts and some up and downs when they thought you were out of the hole tends to do it.
 
only one time did I get in the head of my opponent, club championship semi's, this guy was known as a blow hard at my home course at the time, I had known him all my life, we played on the same little league team (I never really liked him much). we both won our earlier matches quite easily. we were playing pretty even all day, (six4three5 was my caddie that day), he was one up going into the last 2 holes, both par 3's, I had not talked to him during the match except to concede 2 putts, on the 17th tee, as he was walking up to the tee box, I said "Joe, you better close me out here, if you don't, well I have never lost a playoff going all the way back to high school golf". he just looked at me, then hit his tee shot right and caught the trap, I knocked it on and made par, he made bogie. we went to 18, I walked to the tee box, I looked at him and did not say a word, hit it to 20', he knocked his over the green, I made par, he needed a 4 footer to halve the hole and go to a playoff, he missed and proceeded to throw his putter helicopter style no less than 35 yards, six4three5 can attest to the distance, it was impressive...lol...not to mention we had a crowd of about 20 people watching on the club house deck..

sometimes I play mind games with six4three5, as some here have seen, but that is all in fun...lol...nothing serious
 
i keep coming back to the only strategy i think is appropriate: play better than your opponent. i just think life is too short and this game deserves too much respect to do anything underhanded or manipulative, even if it's not cheating.

i've posted this somewhere else, but someone who played college golf in an ivy league school was telling me that his coach told him in match play he was only allowed to concede a hole by saying, "pick it up." he was never allowed to say, "that's good." the reasoning was that you never wanted to put a positive thought like the word "good" in your opponent's head. that's stupid, and i wouldn't want to play for somebody like that.

you hear about the pros conceding 2-4' putts to start the match, then make someone putt it out when maybe they're not expecting to. i guess i'm ok with that, but i still think that's pushing it. i think most people can agree that jack conceding the putt to tony jacklin in the 1969 ryder cup is one of the shining moments of the sportsmanship and respect that the game of golf is (or at least should be) known for. we need more of that, not less of it.
 
Am I playing in my usual foursome of myself and my three long time buddies? If so, then the head games flow like wine. If it's someone I am not very familiar with, I will play it pretty straight.

To be honest, I was hoping for some good ideas to do to my friends from the title of the thread.
 
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Thanks. Although, I do not believe that comment would be considered "giving advice". But, FOURPUTT probably knows better than most of us how that determination is made.

It's a borderline sort of comment that might or might not be taken as a rule breach. It's the sort of thing you might say in a relaxed match with your buddy and nobody thinks anything of it. The same comment in a competition match with a random golfer (even if you know each other) could be construed as "advice" under Rule 8-1, and breach of that rule in match play is loss of hole - in stroke play it's 2 strokes. If you say anything like that to influence your opponent's play, it is a breach.
 
Besides giving/not giving putts, I'll point out the hazards, a simple hey watch out for that pond/bunker over there.
Like everyone said, I pull for my friends. I want to win with a 59 to 60, or vice versa. As long as we all play well.

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