Dust Shaker Match Play Championship 5/17/14 Central Park Schenectady

[kenjiac]

2014 Dust Shaker Match Play Championship! May 17th, 2014 at Central Park in Schenectady, NY

There are a few items that I want to take an extra opportunity to point out:

•Due to the strict player limits for these brackets, it will be in your best interest to sign up ASAP. Registration will be handled through this website; and the pre-reg should be up and running shortly. You can also pay myself or Kenji Cline directly. I will also create a wait list for each field in case people drop out closer to the event. If your desired field is full, you can choose to risk the wait list or pay the extra amount to move up if the next highest field still has openings. If you chose to move up and then decide you'd rather be on the waitlist, you will be put at the end of the list as of that day regardless of when you signed up initially.

•Refund availability is as follows: If you have paid and need to back out, you will get a full refund if requested by May 9th. From May 10th to May 14th, requests to back out will be granted a 50% refund. No refunds will be granted for the 48 hours prior to the event (May 15th and 16th.) I'm not trying to be a jerk about this, but 63 other players will count on you to show up so things move smoothly.

•Also, due to the amount of matches and payouts that need to be played during a single day in May, this tournament will not have many "extras." We will have a $2 buy-in for an Ace Pool, and there will be several CTP holes for cash or prizes. No raffles, no jumbo-putts (I'm sure you're mourning the potential loss of another beer koozie), etc. I want to focus on the matches and the fun of playing head to head. And with championship matches to watch, we'll need all the daylight we can get.

•This tournament is cash payout for all divisions. Every dollar that is not going towards set-up, supplies, etc. will end up back to the players. We will also have big-board brackets posted so that everyone will be able to check in on them and see who beat who.

•This will only be implemented if needed; but if there is an uneven field that will require the bracket to have byes, we will have "bye-ins." You will have the (voluntary) opportunity to pay an additional fee for a chance at a first-round bye. We will randomly draw names from the players who paid in until all byes are filled. Any fees collected for this will go straight to the payout for that field. Any players who earn a bye will be awarded points equal to a win.

To my knowledge, this is the first Match Play tournament that we've had in the Capital region. It's going to be a unique and interesting way to have a one-day Match Play event. But all you'll need to do is show up and play. I'm hoping that you are as excited about it as I am; and we'll see you there!

Basic format:

I'll try and break it down as simply as possible from a player perspective. There is going to be a lot of shuffling and reshuffling going on to ensure every player gets at least 36-holes in, but that's for me to worry about. If you saw my spreadsheets and brackets, your head might explode. So here's all you need to know:

There are two different sizes of fields, a 16-player field and a 32-player field. However, no matter which field you are playing in, your matches will progress the same way. You will be placed on a card with two matches. It will be a shotgun start, with all matches beginning at the same time. You will play two matches in a row, without needing to come back to the pavilion after the first 9 holes. So, after the first 9-hole match is completed, you will just change up your card so that the two winners of the first match will now play each other (since on a traditional bracket, they would be playing each other next anyways), and the two players who lost will play each other. That way, your card will play all 18 holes in a row before coming off the course.

After the first two matches, we will have our lunch break. Then the exact same format will be implemented for the afternoon matches. After the third and fourth matches are done, everyone will come back in again and the final matches will be set. There will be 3 final matches; one for each bracket. Players not in the championship matches will be more than welcome to stick around to watch any of the final matches. However, Central Park is not a very 'open' course. Spectators will have to take great care to not be a distraction or in the way. They will also have to defer to the players in the final matches if they are asked to move, quiet down, etc. Likewise, final match players will have to take responsibility for their play. Wait as long as you need to be comfortable with taking your shot, ask (NICELY) for a spectator to move, etc. I'm pointing this out now because I don't want to hear a player complaining about the gallery being the reason they just lost 7-2. Touring Pros play nearly every tournament with spectators, so you can too.

Tiebreakers are, of course, a necessity for Match Play. But we also need to make sure we don't interrupt the flow of 64 players each playing 4 matches on the course at the same time in the span of one day. So tiebreakers will be handled with CTP holes. Holes 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 will be designated as CTP holes. With this set-up, during your match you will play exactly 3 of these CTP holes regardless of what hole you start on. (For example, if your first match is holes 3-11, you will play the 3, 6, and 9 CTP holes) Whichever player wins best 2 of 3 of these CTP holes DURING your match will hold the tiebreaker win. That way, no extra holes are needed in the case of a tie, and the next match can proceed for all players without disruption. Hole 12 will implement a 2nd shot CTP for the Am and Rec divisions. Hole 15 will be played from the whites and will implement a 2nd shot CTP for all divisions.

Ties in the championship matches will be settled with sudden death holes until one player wins.

If it seems confusing, trust me that it works out smoothly as far as the brackets are concerned. If you need it broken down in a nutshell:
•Play your assigned 9-hole match.
•Mark the 3 CTPs during the round in case a tiebreak is needed.
•Reshuffle your card so that the winners play each other and losers play each other.
•Play second 9-hole match.
•Mark the 3 CTPs during the round in case a tiebreak is needed.

That's it. That is as basic as you'll need to worry about. That's two matches, lunch, two more matches, and then everyone can watch the Championship matches. Simple, right?

Now, the only variance between the two different fields is how the first two rounds are calculated for payout and bracket purposes. The 32-player Am Field will work as a standard single-elimination bracket. 32 players will become 16, 16 will become 8, etc. This is how the payout will be calculated for this field.

The 16-player fields are a bit trickier since they still need 4 rounds of play, and we want to avoid first-round byes. So, the 16 players in each of the Pro and Rec fields will be placed into four pools of 4 players each. Essentially, each card will be a pool. After the first two matches, 2 players will be taken from each pool (based on points explained below) and they will create the 8-player bracket for the two afternoon matches. Again, this is just for payout purposes. Every player is still going to play 4 matches, even if you lose every one. And even if you lose, there will still be opportunities for some cash or prizes.

Every player will accumulate points throughout the tournament. You earn 10 points for winning a match. You earn 1 point for every hole you win in a match that you have lost. Points will determine the top 2 players from the morning pools for the Pro and Rec divisions, and also some additional prizes/payouts so even if you don't win all your matches you may still leave with something.

In the 16-player divisions, the two players who move out of each pool in the morning rounds will be determined in this order:
•Total Wins
•Total Points
•CTP wins
•One sudden death hole
•Sudden death CTP

I know it's a lot to sort out. If you have any questions or want clarification, feel free to ask here or contact me. I want all the players to be as comfortable with the format as possible on the day of the tournament so I don't have to spend a lot of time going over the specifics that morning.

Tourney Central will be at the stadium tennis courts near hole 6, 7, & 8

Sign Up Online Here

Pre Reg List Here

 

[kenjiac]

Does the DGCR community have any feedback/thoughts on our tournament? What do you think?

 

[ferretdance03]

I wish I lived close enough to play, looks like a blast, I love match play.

You format/info looks pretty solid.

 

[kenjiac]

Matt is the mastermind. He did a great job figuring it all out. Now we just need to sell out for it to run smooth.