Members,

As we move to trial another, but slightly different two-tee start (compared to the Thursday comp trial from 2017/18 where groups starting on the 1st and 4th tee), a question was asked regarding how a winner may be determined from tied scores.

This has not changed.

As per the GA & R&A guidance, the countback is determined using holes 10-18 (regardless of whether they were played first or last).

The Australian Countback Method (ACM) is the default countback method in Australia. The ACM is based on the R&A Countback Method. The ACM is designed to cater for all of the following:

• Competitions that are either net or gross.
• Stroke, Stableford, Par formats of play (and variations thereof). (Match-play is determined by play off.)
• Where the tying players have competed on the same course and from the same set of tees.
• Where the tying players have played on the same course but from different sets of tees with the same pars.
• Where the tying players have competed on the same course but from different sets of tees with different pars (eg which will sometimes happen when the pars are different between men and women).
• Where the tying players have competed on different courses (for example at a 36-hole facility), including where the pars are different.

When there is a tie for an 18-hole competition, the winner under this method is:

1. The tying player with the best result for the last nine holes.
2. However, if the tying players have the same result for the last nine, the winner is determined on the basis of the last six holes, then the last three holes if still a tie, and if still a tie then hole-by-hole from the 18th hole.

GA recommends that the results to be compared from the holes designated above should be:

• For Stableford competitions: Simply compare the Stableford points totals for the holes designated above.
• For Par competitions: Simply compare the Par result totals for the holes designated above.
• Stroke competitions:
  1. Firstly, use the above instructions to identify the holes to be used in the comparison.
  2. Secondly, for net competitions use the stroke index to determine how many handicap strokes each tying player receives on each of the holes involved in the comparison.
  3. Thirdly, for net competitions determine the total of how much over or under par each tying player’s net scores are across all of the holes involved in the comparison. [For gross competitions determine the total of how much over or under par each tying player’s gross scores are across all of the holes involved in the comparison.]
  4. Finally, the winner of the tie is the player with the best total result against par across all of the holes involved in the comparison.

When this method is used in a competition with a multiple-tee start, including a shotgun start, it is recommended that the “last nine holes, last six holes, etc” is considered to be holes 10-18, 13-18, etc. 

In a nutshell, there is no change from our current, and previous multi-tee, system.

Scores from the ‘back’ 9, being holes 10-18 (handicapped as necessary), are used to determine ties. If scores are level, then the following countback is used:- (last 6) 13 -18, (last 3) 16-18, then backwards hole by hole from hole 18.

 

 

 

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