Your opponent is right there next to you. You get to see exactly how well or how poorly he is playing, and he gets to watch your game, as well.
That makes match play a different ballgame, literally and figuratively. And, in ways large and small, it changes the way golfers approach the match.
Here is a look at how strategy and tactics can change in match play:
One on One
Match play adds nerves and gamesmanship to golf. Both are likely to increase, because the one player you must beat is right there next to you. Take a lead and you're likely to feel more relaxed. Fall behind and you're likely to feel much more pressure.
Match play is usually played more aggressively than stroke play from the very first shot. You want to put the pressure on your opponent early, then keep it there.
But there are certainly times when it's best to be conservative, and some golfers believe the best initial strategy is to play your normal game until someone wins a hole. That approach is akin to giving your opponent a chance to make a mistake. Most believe, however, that falling behind early is too big a risk, and so aggression is called for from the first tee.
A player with a lead will generally play more conservatively; a player trailing will usually become more aggressive. Either way, match play requires that you react to your opponent's successes and failures.
Reactionary Golf
What do we mean by reacting to your opponent's play? The object in match play is to win individual holes. If your opponent hits a fantastic shot, that forces you to try to hit an equally good shot.
If your opponent chunks a shot into a pond, that gives you an opening to play safe. In match play, it doesn't matter if you take 8 strokes to play a hole ... if your opponent is taking 9.
Your decisions on the types of shots to play are directly related to your standing in the match (ahead or behind?) and on the hole (sitting pretty or in pretty bad shape?).
On the Green
The way that match play affects a golfer's strategy is perhaps best showcased on the green.
Let's say you've got a tricky downhill putt. In stroke play, you would be very careful not to run the putt way past the hole, because in stroke play, a high score on an individual hole can ruin the round.
But in match play, how aggressive you are with this putt depends on how things stand on this one hole. If your opponent has already holed out and your putt is to halve the hole, you must be very aggressive with the putt. If you run it 10 feet past, it doesn't matter - the hole is lost whether you miss by 10 feet or 1/10th of an inch. If your opponent has a short, easy putt remaining, you must try to make the putt - but you must temper your aggressiveness just a little bit. There's always a chance your opponent will miss his short one, and you want to be able to make your comebacker.
If your opponent has an equally difficult putt remaining, then be more careful with your putt. Running it way past the hole, leaving yourself a difficult comebacker, is a bad play when a halve is otherwise the most likely outcome of the hole.
Conceding Putts
You should go into your match expecting to have to make every putt. Don't expect your opponent to concede anything - be prepared to hole out everything. Your opponent may, in fact, offer concessions at various points, but you must be mentally prepared if he doesn't.
By the same token, you must decide how to approach concessions for your opponent. Of course, offering your opponent a concession increases the odds of his condeding some of your putts, too. Fail to concede an early short putt and you opponent may not concede anything to you.
But what do you know about your opponent? Is he a good putter? Bad? It matters. A great putter is probably going to make those short putts anyway. So pick a distance - say, 2 feet - and, at least early in the match - concede any putts within that distance.
But if your opponent is a terrible putter, make him putt everything outside 6 inches.
Some experts at match play believe you should concede every short putt early in the match. If it meets your length criteria, concede it. Why? So you can stop conceding later in the match at a critical juncture. Say the match is all square on the 17th hole, and your opponent faces a 2-footer with a little break. You've conceded every 2-footer today, but this one you're going to make him putt. The fact he hasn't had to make any of these in the match to this point increases the odds he'll miss this one.
Of course, at no point do you want to concede a putt when you believe there's a realistic chance that your opponent will miss it to give you a win or a halve, and only rarely would you concede a putt that gives your opponent the hole (if the putt is 3 inches, yes; 2 feet for the win, no).
