Competition formats
Parful runs this, with a caveatChapman match play
Also called Pinehurst® match play, Chapman system match play.
Chapman match play, also called Pinehurst® match play, is pair against pair: both partners drive, each plays the other's ball for the second shot, the pair chooses one ball and the other partner plays the third, alternating in. Each pair plays off 60% of the lower Course Handicap™ plus 40% of the higher, with strokes on the difference.
- Played as
- Pair against pair; two balls for two shots, then one ball per side
- Team handicap
- 60% of the lower Course Handicap™ plus 40% of the higher, rounded
- Strokes
- The higher pair receives the difference, by stroke index
- Hole result
- The lower team net wins the hole; equal nets halve it
- Level after 18
- Halved in a cup; sudden death in a knockout
- Runs on
- Club knockouts and cup sessions
How Chapman match play works
Two pairs play a match. On every hole both partners in each pair drive, then swap: each plays the second shot with the partner's ball. The pair chooses the better of the two balls after those second shots, and the partner who did not hit that second shot plays the third. From there the pair alternates on one ball to the hole. Each side records one score per hole; the lower net wins the hole, equal nets halve it, and the match ends when one side leads by more holes than remain.
The choice comes one shot later than in greensomes, so a pair is judging two approach shots rather than two drives. The partner who will hit the third shot is fixed by the choice, which is the tactical heart of the format: a pair often carries on with the ball that leaves its better short-game player with the next stroke.
The team handicaps and the strokes
Each pair's team handicap is 60% of the lower Course Handicap plus 40% of the higher, rounded to a whole number, the same split as greensomes. A pair on 3 and 13 gets 1.8 plus 5.2, a team handicap of 7; a pair on 9 and 19 gets 5.4 plus 7.6, a team handicap of 13. The strokes are taken on the difference: the higher pair receives 6, on stroke index 1 to 6, and the lower pair plays off scratch.
Parful applies 60% to the lower Course Handicap by default and a club can change the pair's handicap rule in the competition settings; the strokes on the difference follow whichever rule is in force.
How a match ends, and what happens all square
Parful walks the holes in order on net and stops when one side leads by more holes than remain, reporting 3 and 2, 2 and 1 or 1 up. A hole counts only when both sides have a score for it. Level after eighteen is a half in a cup session; in a knockout the match goes to sudden death by default and the result is entered when the extra holes are played. Playing the third shot with the wrong partner is a breach of the order of play and costs the general penalty, which in match play is loss of hole.
How Parful runs it
Choose Match play Chapman when you build a club knockout, or Chapman as a session format in a team cup. Each pair scores on its own team card, one number per hole; Parful builds the two team handicaps, takes the difference, places the strokes and derives the match state as the cards fill in. The result feeds the bracket or the cup scoreboard in match notation.
Chapman match play is a Parful Clubs format, on club competitions and cup sessions, and is not offered on Events. The team card carries no individual scores, so side games that read a player's own ball are unavailable; a Custom bet is the one side game the pairs can carry. Which ball was chosen is kept by the pair, not recorded. Nothing from the match is posted to a handicap record.
Worked example
A worked example: two pairs, front nine
Pair A, Cy and Dot, play off Course Handicaps of 3 and 13: 60% of 3 is 1.8, 40% of 13 is 5.2, team handicap 7. Pair B, Eli and Fay, play off 9 and 19: 5.4 plus 7.6 is 13. The difference is 6, so Pair B receives a stroke on stroke index 1 to 6, which on this front nine is holes 2, 4 and 7.
| Hole | Par | Stroke index | Pair A gross | Pair B gross | Pair B stroke | Pair B net | Hole | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Halved | All square |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 5 | Halved | All square |
| 3 | 3 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Pair A | Pair A 1 up |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | Halved | Pair A 1 up |
| 5 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Pair B | All square |
| 6 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | Halved | All square |
| 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 5 | Halved | All square |
| 8 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5 | Pair A | Pair A 1 up |
| 9 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Halved | Pair A 1 up |
- Pair A plays off scratch for the match. Its team handicap of 7 is only the baseline the difference is taken from.
- On hole 4 Pair A's gross 4 was matched by Pair B's net 4. Without the stroke Pair A would be 2 up.
Common variants
- Greensomes match play
- The choice is made after the drives rather than after the second shots. Same 60/40 split. Parful runs it on club competitions and cup sessions.
- Foursomes match play
- One drive per hole, alternating by hole, no choice. 50% of the combined Course Handicap™. Parful runs it on club competitions and cup sessions.
- Chapman stroke play
- The same game ranked against the field on the team card. Parful runs it as the Chapman format on clubs and events.