Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelican86
I glanced through the rules and I don't see anything that explicitly forbids it. It's obviously a huge advantage, since your "caddy" can tell you what clubs he's hitting, you can discuss putts, etc., but what's stopping you and your friend's opponents from doing the same thing? It's weird that there's nothing (as far as I know of) that specifically says that a caddy cannot also be a player. But I have to imagine that any sane person running a tournament wouldn't allow you to do that.
Out of curiosity, is it standard for a club tournament to pair two matches together? Seems odd to me but I guess if the course is crowded it makes sense.
I thought it was strange too. I'd much rather play in 2-somes.
There was definitely a good bit of info you can gather though because you were paired with the group of your next opponent (winners of both matches play in next round).
Being able to scout 18 holes of your next opponent and seeing their weaknesses (i.e. being outdriven rattling them mentally or sucking on short putts) really changed my approach.
I'll try to find someone on Twitter or in a golf magazine who might have insight on this ruling.
My only argument in favor of it being allowed is that matches are considered mutually exclusive to one another. If I just pick up my ball at any time on a hole in stroke play, I'm DQ'ed, whereas in a Match Play, I just lose the hole. Same goes that some match play events allow you to play whenever you want, by a certain deadline, as long as you and your opponent are playing at the same time.