Match Play

For a match play competition, customarily the number of players or teams in a flight should be placed in the appropriate draw of 8, 16, 32, or 64 (see below). The players or teams in each flight may be determined based on Handicap Index or Playing Handicap. In which case, if there are to be flights of 16, the 16 players with the lowest handicaps (or the 16 teams with the lowest combined handicaps) should comprise the Championship Flight, the next best 16 players or teams based on handicaps should comprise the First Flight, and so on.

Another commonly used method of determining the players or teams for each flight is a stroke-play qualifying round or rounds. If this method is used and there are to be flights of 16, the 16 players or teams with the lowest scores in the qualifying competition should comprise the Championship Flight. If there are to be flights other than the Championship Flight, the 16 players or teams with the next lowest scores should comprise the First Flight, and so on. It is recommended that a tie for last place in the Championship Flight be decided by a hole-by-hole playoff and that players should be advised in advance as to the time and place of the playoff. If a playoff is not feasible, ties should be decided by matching scorecards.

In the case of a handicap match-play competition in which flights are to be determined by a qualifying round, the qualifying round may be conducted at scratch or on a handicap basis. If it is desired not to have high and low-handicap players competing against one another in matches, qualifying at scratch is recommended. Although the draw for match play may be completely blind or certain players may be distributed (seeded) throughout different quarters or eighths, the General Numerical Draw is recommended if flights are determined by a qualifying round. When using the General Numerical Draw, each player is assigned a number based on the player’s qualifying score. The lowest qualifier is no. 1, the second lowest qualifier is no. 2, and so on. Under the General Numerical Draw, players are paired by number for matches as follows:

UPPER HALF	LOWER HALF	UPPER HALF	LOWER HALF
64 Qualifiers		32 Qualifiers
1 vs. 64	2 vs. 63	1 vs. 32	2 vs. 31
32 vs. 33	31 vs. 34	16 vs. 17	15 vs. 18
16 vs. 49	15 vs. 50	8 vs. 25	7 vs. 26
17 vs. 48	18 vs. 47	9 vs. 24	10 vs. 23
8 vs. 57	7 vs. 58	4 vs. 29	3 vs. 30
25 vs. 40	26 vs. 39	13 vs. 20	14 vs. 19
9 vs. 56	10 vs. 55	5 vs. 28	6 vs. 27
24 vs. 41	23 vs. 42	12 vs. 21	11 vs. 22
4 vs. 61	3 vs. 62	16 Qualifiers
29 vs. 36	30 vs. 35	1 vs. 16	2 vs. 15
13 vs. 52	14 vs. 51	8 vs. 9	7 vs. 10
20 vs. 45	19 vs. 46	4 vs. 13	3 vs. 14
5 vs. 60	6 vs. 59	5 vs. 12	6 vs. 11
28 vs. 37	27 vs. 38	8 Qualifiers
12 vs. 53	11 vs. 54	1 vs. 8	2 vs. 7
21 vs. 44	22 vs. 43	4 vs. 5	3 vs. 6

For purposes of determining places in the draw, recommendations can be found in the "Official Guide to the Rules of Golf, Committee Procedures, 5G(1)."

Note: If there are insufficient players to complete a flight, byes are used to complete it. If there is one bye, the player in the no. 1 position in the draw should receive it. If there are two byes, the players in the no. 1 and no. 2 positions in the draw should receive them, and so on. If the competition is made up of numerous flights, the Committee should fill in as many flights as possible before using the byes. The byes should be used in completing the last flight.