USGA RULE OF THE WEEK

WEEK 19 — HOW TO DECIDE TIES

The Committee in charge of a competition (the "Committee") is responsible for establishing the conditions under which a competition is to be played. Since there is always the possibility of a competition resulting in a tie, the Committee is responsible for determining how ties will be resolved.

The only restrictions placed on the Committee when resolving ties is that a match that ends all square after the stipulated round must not be resolved by stroke play and that a tie in stroke play must not be decided by a match. Regardless of the method used to decide ties, the Committee must announce the manner, day and time for deciding the tie, whether the competition is played on a scratch or net basis.

While the final decision concerning the method to be used to decide a tie is left up to the Committee, the USGA has provided recommendations in Appendix I; Part C for resolving ties in both match play and stroke play. If a match is all square after the stipulated round, the USGA recommends that the match continue on a hole-by-hole basis until one side wins. If the match was a handicap competition, handicap strokes should be assigned to the play-off holes in the same manner that they were assigned during the stipulated round.

If two or more competitors are tied for the low score in a stroke-play competition, the USGA recommends that a play-off be conducted over 18 holes or a smaller number of holes as specified by the Committee. If the competitors are still tied after the play-off, a hole-by-hole play-off should be used to determine the winner. Ties in a handicap stroke-play competition, should be decided using the percentage of handicap equal to the percentage of holes being played. For example, if the play-off is to be conducted over 9 holes, then 50% of the Course Handicap should be used, while for a play-off over 3 holes, a competitor with a Course Handicap of 12 strokes would receive 2 strokes (one-sixth) in the play-off.

If it is not feasible or possible to conduct a play-off, the USGA recommends that a matching of score cards be used to determine the winner, first looking at the best scores for the last nine holes. If competitors are still tied after using the last 9 holes, then determine the winner on the basis of the scores for the last 6 holes, last three holes, the 18th hole, 17th hole, etc. This is a very typical and acceptable approach for many club events.

In conclusion, we cannot overemphasize the importance of having published prior to the competition the method to be used for deciding ties on the entry form and the Notice to Players. Such publication will allow the Committee to avoid suggestions that favoritism or bias was used in determining the winner.

Reprinted with permission from the USGA.