your voice
Why have a
countback?
In my opinion the countback system to
determine a winner in golf is very strange
and most unfair.
Why? Because it is the only sport in the
world that determines a winner by the
equivalent of tossing a coin.
Two, three or more golfers finish on 36
stableford points but the winner is decided
by who gets the most points on the back
nine. Why? They played equally good golf
and thus should be equally rewarded.
Imagine if Tiger Woods returns home
and his wife/girlfriend asks “Darling, how
did you go in the Masters today?” ... “Oh,
I played great,” he says, “but I lost on a
countback. But hey, that’s golf.”
What if two horses are in a dead heat to
win the Melbourne Cup, and the trainers
are called together by the stewards and
told that the winner was the horse that
ran the fastest second half of the race? Or
what if two teams are tied when the siren
sounds in the AFL Grand Final, and the
AFL decides that the team that kicked the
highest score in the second half wins the
flag?
These scenarios are the equivalent of
determining a golf comp by the countback
process.
Letter
of the
Month
I am unaware of any other sport that
decides a result on the equivalent of a
coin toss. Cricket, Soccer, Rugby, Baseball,
Gridiron (and on and on) all either play off
to determine a winner, or declare a draw
(and thus split the prize/points).
I believe that most members play for
the self satisfaction and kudos that
result in triumphing over their foes and
mates rather than the small cash amount
allocated for winning. I would personally
like to see a club get on the front foot and
show the way to other golf clubs in the
interest of fair play.
I think it would be appropriate to put a
question to the members along the lines
of: “If you tied for first in a club comp (Club
Championship excepted, which would be
played off ) would you prefer the result be
determined via the countback process or
would you prefer to be declared an equal
winner?”
Imagine the angst if the Club Champion
was decided by countback!
Bruce Ferrall
An Owlbatross?
The golf club at Charlestown, NSW, has the
third hole as a Par-5 with a protected nature
area to the left side well before you reach
the fairway. From the tee this is reachable
only with a fierce duck-hook travelling a very
short distance.
One of our members in a recent Saturday
comp scored a fair dinkum OWLBATROSS
with his tee shoot by bringing down to
ground a native owl by waking it up from its
slumber in the trees.
A closed US Open
Once again those of us who cannot
afford or refuse to pay for Foxtel were
deprived of seeing this year’s US Open.
We have the world number one golfer
and many other good Australian golfers
playing in one of the world’s best
competitions yet we’re not be able to
watch it. Instead we have to put up with
repeats of repeats of the usual rubbish
from the states. No wonder TV stations
are laying off staf