The Beauty of Match Play

It is comparable to taking your defender one-on-one-but using a much smaller ball.

It requires the attitude of a penalty kick-only with a putter.

It is kind of like that moment when it is just you and the safety-except you are down 1 with a 3-footer for birdie.

Ah, the beauties of match play-that other form of golf that replaces the typical war among many with a battle between two.

"I think it is more of a mental battle, a head-to-head battle," Texas A&M junior golfer Andrew Parr said. "Stroke play is a mental battle between yourself and the course but in match play you throw in the other factor of having a guy to go up against. Usually the guy who is mentally tougher is going to win."

Unlike in stroke play where the golfer who posts the lowest score is victorious, match play requires a golfer to win more holes than his opponent, individual scores notwithstanding.

"Well it is easy to forget your mistakes [in match play]," Texas A&M women's golf coach Jeanne Sutherland said. "Soon as you lose a hole, that is over and the next hole is your complete focus, so you do not ever carry any baggage with you in the round."

Junior Andrew Parr's length off the tee has helped him to extensive match play success.

Besides your bag of clubs, of course. And by utilizing a certain one of those, Parr is quick to 'drive' fear into his match play opponents.

"He hits the ball a mile and I think for his opponents, that is a little bit intimidating," Texas A&M men's golf coach J.T. Higgins said. "He also makes a lot of birdies and that fits match play real well too. It puts pressure on your opponent because sometimes they know that they have to make birdie just to halve the hole."

Parr, a native-Canadian, reached the semi-finals of both the 2002 Ontario Match Play Championship and the 2002 Canadian Amateur.

"I just try to think about the shot at hand," Parr said. "I totally take the stroke play aspect out of it since it obviously has no impact on the match. I think if you can detach yourself from hole-by-hole results or where you stand in the match, whether you're up or down, I think it is going to serve you best."

In preparation for a match play tournament, Coach Sutherland increases her golfers' short-game practice time and encourages them to battle till the end.

"I think it is very important to understand that nothing is over until everything has been holed out or given," Sutherland said. "Because you can look like you're losing a hole or winning a hole, and then the other person could hole out or hit a ball out of bounds, so it isn't over until it is over."

Match play situations have a Terminator-like affect on sophomore Ashley Knoll.

"I don't talk to my partner at all and when they hit a good shot, I don't really say 'good shot'," Knoll said. "It's like a mode that I jump into when I'm playing match play. As soon as I get to the first tee, it's like shake their hand, 'good luck', and that's it."

Her game face works. Match play has treated Knoll like second-year seasons have Coach Fran. She has qualified for two U.S. Amateurs venturing to the quarterfinals in 2003. Last year, while a freshman at Oklahoma State, she went undefeated at the Hooter's Match Play Championship to lead the Cowboys to victory.

Sophomore Ashley Knoll turns on the intimidation during match play scenarios.

"I was pretty much playing awesome and just plowing through everybody that I played," Knoll said. "I like to try to win right off the bat. I feel that if I can get 2-up within the first five holes, then I've got it."

Such a great start requires an aggressive attitude. Parr, Knoll, and the coaches alike agree that match play allows for more gambles than typical stroke play.

"[Match play] allows you to be more aggressive and take some chances you normally wouldn't take," Knoll said. "Whereas in stroke play you just try to stick to a game plan; in match play there is no game plan. You're always changing your game plan. You have to adjust."

However, Coach Higgins believes that becoming too focused on your opponent and not concentrating on your own game plan can be a hindrance.

"I think the teams that do the best job of sticking to their game plans are the ones that have the most success," Higgins said.

Most collegiate golf tournaments use the stroke play format. The Hooter's Match Play Championship in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida is a change of pace for Aggie golfers who are used to spending their in-season weekends hacking away for the lowest scores. Furthermore, the few match play tournaments they do play in the summer are usually individual tournaments that do not require the Ryder Cup-like comradeship needed this weekend.

"As a team, it is a pretty unique format," Higgins said. "I think it will apply a lot more pressure than stroke play, knowing that your point and match directly affect the outcome of the team. But, you know, that is a great experience for them, and it is going to be a lot of fun."

Coach Higgins believes match play is more entertaining for fans as well.

"I love match play," he said. "There are so many things that we could do differently to just make it so much more exciting for fans and people to get involved in college golf. Stroke play is hard to follow in the team format and is just not nearly as exciting."

Parr sees a resemblance between match play and having a breakaway in hockey, a sport he played in high school.

"It's maybe a little bit [comparable] with the mind games and the fact you are trying to do something," Parr said. "[The goalie] is trying to obviously stop you. In a hockey situation, all the guys are working together just trying to win all the little battles. And I think from the team aspect, that helps you a little more in terms of a head to head situation."