Hi OeJ,
Wow, I'm seriously impressed by your 35! A par ranked round with starters from the tips and tourney greens on BPB b9 is mighty good shooting!!!
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So, obviously, the idea of an individual 'ranked strokeplay round' as the backup plan has its flaws:
1. It may no longer be an even playing field (which was one of Shoe's original goals); if the two players are in different tiers they'll be playing from different tees (which can make a huge difference).
2. There's no way to know what equipment has been used at the time of play.
Shoe, I hope you'll allow me to make a couple of suggestions:
If the players have both made a genuine attempt to communicate and connect, then offer these options:
1. Play the round as practice strokeplay with a MARKER instead: post in this forum asking for an available player, outlining the times you can play. There are enough people here that love this challenge that many markers would likely come forward. For full transparency (and to prevent a friend helping a player make multiple attempts at a good score, the player should also post in the thread in advance to indicate when they are playing).
In addition to the scorecard, the player should take a 'bag shot' (see this example below) from one of say, the last 3 holes. That way, there's some proof that can be matched against the scorecard. (To get a bag shot, just hover over the club selection, and then capture with print screen key, or with a Mac, command-control-shift-4). A full pic also shows the playing conditions (ideally, you can do chip view on a green, and then have proof of green speed, wind, and lie conditions as well, all in one shot).
My suggestion would be that the pics be uploaded to a hosting site, and then the links only sent to members@worldgolftour.com for Shoe's attention. That way, the uploads have already been done, and Shoe can post both players pics together more quickly in the forum. (Also, I think we in the community should verify everything is correct, saving Shoe the time and trouble.)
I think it would be most fun if the cards are sent separately to Shoe, and it's only when he posts both players' pics in the forum that the field can see the result. You could even decide to still make it matchplay, based on each player's scores on each hole. (But have a tie-breaker rule in place as well, e.g. best overall score, then most birdies etc).
2. A second option would be to allow the player to play alone (without the verification of a second-party), but then I think you should consider mandating the bag shot for clubs and conditions.
Thanks for reading,
Corwyn
P.S. You may wonder why I'm posting here, not even being in the tourney! I love these Starter events, and was disappointed not to be in this one. I'd happily be a marker if that option is chosen. I was on vacation when this one begun and thought I'd signed up in advance via the previous tourney, but I hadn't been clear enough. Shoe, please do sign me up for the next one. Thanks!
Also, for anyone interested in future Starter play, watch out for a Tough-It-Out special event, a Merion US Open, with starters and uneven lies, in late summer, early autumn.