Match Play - Giving Putts

[golfnutt]

[ QUOTE ]
"In the leather" means?

[/ QUOTE ]

Within the grip of the putter. Put the head of the putter in the hole and lie it down and anything between the hole and the grip is good.

[Number7]

Well i am pretty easy going in matchplay, but if the guy is a prick and ask me to tap everything in, i just say, why dont we just put out on the rest of the holes and avoid incidents at anytime.
I hate that situation "ehat are you doing" - "oh i thought you gave it" it ruins any match.

Besides when he miss the put, he can`t blame you, the rule was not made to "protect" the guy from missing a short one.
Here he proves you made the right choise, esp giving the all square and about to loose the 14th hole.

[TripleH68]

Here is the story of Jack Nicklaus and the most famous gimmie in the history of golf:



"I don't think it took a lot of guts," Nicklaus said years later. "I just think it was the right thing to do, and I would do it again if faced with the same situation. I believed then, and still do now, that sportsmanship is as much a part of the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup as great competition." The '69 Ryder Cup was filled with great competition. Of the 32 matches contested, 17 went down to the last hole. Of course, what was most memorable was what occurred on the last hole in the last match, just past 6 p.m. on a cool day in late September.

The pivotal duel of the Ryder Cup was a seesaw affair in which neither golfer was able to forge more than a onehole advantage. The two men were all square heading into the final three holes, but Jacklin, the reigning British Open champion, bogeyed the 16th to fall one back. He leveled the match again, however, at the 17th when, after barely getting a 2-iron onto the green of this par 5, he nailed a long eagle attempt from 50 feet away. "It was one of the putts of my life, one of those you dream about making," Jacklin said.

When Nicklaus, playing in his first Ryder Cup, watched his eagle try from 20 feet slide by, everything rode on the par-4 home hole. The pressure was stifling. As they marched up the fairway, Nicklaus asked Jacklin if he was nervous. "I'm bloody petrified," the Brit replied. Nicklaus responded, "If it's any consolation, I feel exactly the same way you do."

Their approaches were sensational given the tension. Jacklin's 8-iron halted 30 feet beyond the hole. Nicklaus countered with a 9-iron 10 feet nearer. Jacklin's birdie attempt was on line but short, giving Nicklaus a chance to lift America to victory and avenge a 4 and 3 defeat to Jacklin in their morning singles match. Going for the outright win, the Golden Bear stroked his putt much too hard, leaving himself 4 1/2 feet for par. After studying the comebacker tediously, Nicklaus, who struggled with his putting in the morning setback, knocked it in the cup, then picked up Jacklin's marker. Nicklaus extended his hand and said, "I don't believe you would've missed that, but I'd never give you the opportunity under these circumstances."

Reports from Southport indicate that teammates fumed over Nicklaus' decision. The American captain, the late Sam Snead, expressed a slammin' sentiment: "All the boys thought it was ridiculous to give him that putt. We went over there to win, not to be good ol' boys."

The tie meant that the Americans would retain the cup, but Leo Fraser, president of the PGA of America, seemed in tune with the young American. He presented the Ryder Cup to his British counterpart, Lord Derby, and it was displayed in the United Kingdom for a year. Nicklaus' recollections of the moment confirm his decision was not made on a whim and that he grasped the ramifications of his actions beyond winning and losing that particular match.

"I gave Tony Jacklin the putt because he was a hero in Great Britain," Nicklaus explained. "He was the only Englishman to have won the British Open in many years. I felt that he was so important to the game of golf and what the sport meant in Great Britain. I didn't think it made any difference as it related to the matches, because we were going to retain the Cup either way. I just felt it was the right thing to do."

Jacklin, who beat the U.S. twice as captain of what in 1979 became the European squad, sent Nicklaus a letter of appreciation after the matches. The gravity of Nicklaus' actions has never diminished in his mind.

"It was the greatest single sporting gesture in golf," Jacklin said. "If there was a greater one, I don't know of it. Jack never lost sight of the big picture."

[golfnutt]

Hmmm...I guess it was Nicklaus' choice to concede the putt, but I can understand why his teammates were upset too.

[fatshaft]

[ QUOTE ]
And another tactic is to give all shorts putts early and then make them putt long ones near the end of the match.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Aces McGee]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
And another tactic is to give all shorts putts early and then make them putt long ones near the end of the match.

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never played a serious match play match in my life, but this strikes me as poor form.

-McGee

[golfnutt]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
And another tactic is to give all shorts putts early and then make them putt long ones near the end of the match.

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never played a serious match play match in my life, but this strikes me as poor form.

-McGee

[/ QUOTE ]

Nah, people understand near the end that they aren't going to be given as many putts because each hole becomes astronomical in value. With three holes left, losing one hole leaves you crippled. It isn't like stroke play where you can get two or three shots back on a lucky hole.

Matches are much more friendly in the beginning. You have a lot more time to come back from a deficit. Last match I was two down at the turn and didn't really think too much of it. Being one down going into 15 though was a lot more worrisome.

[DrVanNostrin]

[ QUOTE ]
It was a club match and they are supposed to be friendly, but it is still competitive.

[/ QUOTE ]
The problem is people taking things like this personally. It's a competitive match and you want to win, there's nothing wrong with that.

[Mr. Met]

unless your playing for money or for the club championship concede the putts, you dont want other people doing it to you from now on and its probably not worth that reputation around the club