Your opponent is way up in the match but has to leave. What do you do if she offers a tie?
Golf has always been grounded in good sportsmanship. There are all sorts of examples of respectable conduct naturally occurring during a round – things such as agreeing to play out of turn when it has no bearing on the outcome, tending the flag for a group, or helping an opponent find his or her ball. Most matches start and end with handshakes (even when you want to strangle someone with your putter).
All of this is great for the game, but it turns out there are times when trying to be nice or polite can actually land a golfer or golfers in violation of the Rules of Golf. For instance, before a round starts – so there are no hard feelings if one side of a match is a little stingier than the other with conceding putts – you and your opponent/s are not allowed to predetermine the length of a putt that would automatically qualify as holed. If you did come to an agreement that any putt “inside the leather” was considered good, and you started a match in some formal competition, both sides would be disqualified for purposely ignoring a rule. Another thing you can’t do is decide to employ a Model Local Rule when it’s not enacted by the course or committee. An example would be, as a way to save time, allowing anyone who hits a shot out-of-bounds to use the new lateral-relief-local-rule option. It’s a tough break, but you’ve got to replay from the previous spot, even if that means walking all the way back to the tee.
Where things tend to get a little confusing is what is allowed in terms of concessions in matchplay. Back to the scenario presented in the headline, your opponent has a big lead with a handful of holes to play. The loss looks inevitable (along with paying out the $20 you bet on the match), but then your opponent informs you she has to leave early. Instead of taking your money, she graciously offers to call the match a draw. Should you agree to it and save 20 bucks?
Strictly speaking under the Rules of Golf, the answer is: don’t be a sucker.
While this might seem like a generous offer, your opponent actually must forfeit the match for leaving early. She should be paying you. If you want to let her off the hook for the $20, that’s your business (and we salute your kindness) – but you’re still the winner. Keep in mind, so long as it doesn’t delay a competition, you can both agree to stop a match for any reason and start it up again at another time (Rule 5.7). However, if she wants to stop and you don’t, the match must keep going or she loses.
It’s also important to note that while you can concede a stroke, a hole or even a match, you can’t concede multiple holes at one time as a way to speed up the outcome.