Courtsey of Jason Logan, Managing Editor of SCOREgolf: http://scoregolf.com/blog/jason-logan/2009/May/My-Turn-On-PowerPlay%20Golf.cfm

Barbs
My take on PowerPlay Golf: One, I’m a big proponent of any format that gets golfers out of the stroke play rut. Two, PowerPlay golf isn’t meant to be quicker than nine holes of stroke play, the impression with which some have apparently been left. It’s designed to entice people into playing just nine holes (a thought to which a lot of golfers turn up their noses) by adding in extra value. Three, will it succeed or fail? I don’t really know, but should it not catch on in Canada, what’s the harm? It’s not like it’s a huge cost to the golf course operators who are giving it a day in court. And four, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. As co-founder Peter McEvoy said last week at Copetown Woods GC, it hasn’t “contaminated” the game at all. And he’s right: it’s just a different way to gamble. Um, I mean score.

Courtsey of Jason Logan, Managing Editor of SCOREgolf: http://scoregolf.com/blog/jason-logan/2009/May/My-Turn-On-PowerPlay%20Golf.cfm

Courtsey of: Peter Mumford, Ruminations from the Cart Barn Blog: http://www.fairwaysgolf.ca/blog/2009/05/29/powerplay-golf/

Former British Amateur champ and Walker Cup Captain Peter McEvoy was in town this week to officially launch PowerPlay Golf and explain his concept to the media at Copetown Woods, a very strong public course just west of Hamilton, where GM Barry Forth has signed on to become the first PowerPlay Golf site in Canada.

PowerPlay Golf was dreamed up by McEvoy and a partner back in the UK to stimulate play on a public course they managed. The idea was to offset the time and cost of play with something that delivered all the positives of golf but could be played in far less time than a traditional 18-hole round.

McEvoy explained that the idea originated with other sports like cricket which used to take five days to play and alienated all but the hard core cricket fan. In today’s faster paced world, he suggested, people want a quick fix but if you’re going to take something away from them, then something has to be added back to compensate. Cricket came up with something called 20/20 cricket which can be contested in a few hours but adds a few twists to sweeten the excitement level.

In golf, McEvoy says, it’s not enough to just shorten a round to nine holes. You need to add something to compensate for the loss of the other nine. Hence PowerPlay Golf - a nine hole game with the added excitement of two flags on each green and the chance to gain additional points for scores made on the more difficult hole positions. (and the potential for even more betting.)

The basiscs of PowerPlay Golf are pretty simple. It’s a 9-hole game using the Stableford scoring system to record points for each net score. A bogey is 1 point, par is 2 points, a birdie 3 and an eagle 4. Each green has two flags - a white flag representing an accessible pin position and a black flag denoting a more difficult one. During the round, each player has three “PowerPlays” in the first eight holes and an optional fourth PowerPlay on the 9th green. When a player calls a PowerPlay he then plays to the black flag and his points are doubled for that hole. So a net par becomes 4 points, a net birdie 6 points and so on. No points are lost for net doubles or worse. On the 9th, if a player elects to use his final PowerPlay, the major difference is that points can be lost for a net double or worse. (you wouldn’t think that any self respecting golf scribe could make a net double but it could happen in theory if you snap hooked your drive and then perhaps pumped a pair into the pond fronting the green.)

I was paired with Jason Logan from Score Golf and freelance writer Rick Young as we each tested PowerPlay Golf for the first time. Before I heard about PowerPlay Golf, the idea of two flags on a green seemed gimmicky but right off the bat we all found that you really only focus on the flag you have chosen and the other is forgotten. It’s usually best to choose your PowerPlays where you get strokes so you can really pile up the points. The game was simple to grasp and the added excitement of making net birdies and eagles with double the points really added some pressure.

It took the three of us just under two hours to play nine holes and I think we all felt we had completed a game. I certainly didn’t feel cheated that I had only played nine as I might have if PowerPlay weren’t involved.

The strength of PowerPlay Golf is that it utilizes the basics of golf but the scoring and potential for wagering add excitement. The 9-hole format obviously takes less time and because it’s a net game, it can be played competitively by anyone.

If there is a downside to PowerPlay it is that North Americans are not up to speed on Stableford scoring. We still think most often in terms of score not points. That downside should be short lived as more golfers experience PowerPlay golf. Course operators need to print special cards that permit the recording of gross score, net score and points. Players eventually will ask how many points did you make as opposed to what did you shoot.

Personally, I enjoyed PowerPlay Golf and think it is something I could play on a regular basis. It will be interesting to see if it catches on with golfers generally but there’s no doubt it’s a viable alternative to those five hour rounds.

Note: In addition to Copetown Woods, PowerPlay Golf is being introduced at Caledon Country Club, Braeben Golf Club in Mississauga and Peninsula Lakes Golf Club in Niagara.

Courtsey of: Peter Mumford, Ruminations from the Cart Barn Blog: http://www.fairwaysgolf.ca/blog/2009/05/29/powerplay-golf/

PowerPlay Golf Notice: THIS BLOG CONTAINS INACCURATE REFERENCES TO POWERPLAY GOLF RULES

Courtesy of Chris Henry, Eagle Par Birdie Golf Blog: http://www.eagleparbirdie.com/50226711/a_first_taste_of_powerplay_golf.php

I’ve been a proponent of PowerPlay Golf for quite some time now. And I’ve been a supporter based on the theory of this first new twist to the game in decades.

But I hadn’t actually played the format until this week.

Canadian PPG representative, Barry Forth, general manager of Copetown Woods Golf Club outside Toronto, hosted a media day to formally introduce the concept to about 25 members of the Canadian golf media on Tuesday.

Copetown is the first club in Canada to introduce the format to recreational players.

On hand was Peter McEvoy, the creator of the format and a man whose amateur career was so stellar that it earned him an OBE from the Queen. McEvoy had flown over from the UK to explain the concept and the plans for making PowerPlay Golf a truly global game.

That is already a reality in many ways. There are now 21 countries involved, or more specifically, at least one golf club in each of those countries has become the first venue for the concept.

I won’t rehash the idea here. Visit the PowerPlay Golf website for more details if you haven’t read my previous posts.

During the press conference, there were several points that became clear. Made-for-television tournaments involving professional tour players are essential to the success of PPG and are indeed in the works with IMG, the global sports marketing company. And PPG is working with the national golf body in each country to help firmly plant the seeds at the recreational level.

So the strategy - or is it a hope? - then is this: the pros embrace the idea, play for money in made-for-TV tournaments organized by IMG and recreational golfers then buy into the concept as well.

In the end, any success will ultimately depend on how golfers like playing this unique version of the venerable game which uses the Stableford scoring system.

And that brings us back to our first taste of it on Tuesday at Copetown Woods west of Toronto.

We played the back nine in threesomes, starting on the par 5 tenth hole, 471 yards from the blue tees. I forgot to declare on the tee that I would go for the black (PowerPlay) flag on that hole and smoked my tee shot. My second rolled off the back of the green only about 25 feet from the black flag. Except I was going for the easier white flag pin placement.

First lesson: remember to declare on the tee!

What felt odd was how our threesome broke apart on the green to putt out. One or two of us might be putting to the white pin position while, elsewhere on the green, another would be putting out at the PowerPlay pin location.

A small observation perhaps but it felt unusual.

I will say this in hindsight: for two or more casual golfers playing this format, try the match play format first. I have a feeling that PowerPlay Golf would be a ton of fun using match play rather than stroke play, Stableford point scoring and factoring handicaps.

You and your partners will know where you stand on each tee because the player who scores best at the PowerPlay pin position will win the hole. In the case of a tie such as when two players par or birdie the black flag, then you could use the closest-to-the-hole method to decide the winner.

Otherwise, the format becomes tricky. You need to know the Stableford scoring system, you need to know your handicap (what a chance for serious sandbagging) and then you must add up your net points at the end of the round to settle up.

At any rate, the PowerPlay golf version of the game has serious merit. It’s new and I think that given time, some of the tricky bits in the rules will be ironed out.

The best part is that you won’t - or shouldn’t - pay any more to play 9 holes of PowerPlay golf than a straightforward 9 and it will be a lot more fun.

Courtesy of Chris Henry, Eagle Par Birdie Golf Blog: http://www.eagleparbirdie.com/50226711/a_first_taste_of_powerplay_golf.php

Courtesy of: Rick Young | http://scoregolf.com/blog/rick-young/2009/May/Power-Play-a-Unique-Golf-Alternative.cfm

Over my standard cup of Nabob this morning I started a list of the various formats of golf I’ve played over the years. Right now I’m up to 26 although I’m pretty sure I’m missing a few of the more obscure ones (yes, a number of the formats have a gambling element which I won’t deny).

The latest is a nine-hole game I played Tuesday at Copetown Woods Golf Club in Copetown, Ont., called Power Play Golf, an idea conjured up in part by former world amateur champion and British Walker Cup captain Peter McEvoy.

You may have already heard of it. It’s been written about over the last few months in a number of publications and is also in test pilot mode at Mississauga’s Braeben Golf Club, Caledon County Club, Peninsula Lakes and at Copetown Woods by operations manager Barry Forth, who acquired the Canadian rights to the game which has now surfaced in 21 countries.

I myself was going to write more about Power Play back in November when Forth contacted me. Admittedly, I was having trouble getting my head around the concept. In this case I wanted to experience this new way to play before talking about it here or passing judgement on its merits.

McEvoy’s idea for Power Play focused primarily on the time constraints of a sport which for many people is the No.1 reason they don’t play or don’t play more often (followed by cost). It’s exclusively nine holes and uses modified Stabbleford points for scoring. Players choose between two flags — a more accessible white or a tougher to get to black flag called a Power Play flag. If you make a net birdie or better on a Power Play hole (which you have to designate before you tee off) you get double points. Three designated Power Play holes must be taken with the final hole being an option for a fourth. There is a match play element as well as a shootout version.

The idea actually was born from a failed attempt at a six-hole course in North London followed by a focus on faster versions of cricket and rugby.

“If you play something less you have to add something back in,” said McEvoy, who flew in from London for the media event. “It’s a dynamic change. We needed to play fewer holes to play more quickly.”

Along with my SCOREGolf editor Jason Logan and Peter Mumford of Fairways Magazine we went around in about two hours. Granted, that might be just under the norm for half a round but Power Play is a different game which, quite frankly, didn’t have me thinking about the other nine holes I didn’t play. Chalk up one for Power Play right there.

The governing bodies of golf around the globe, while perhaps not ‘firmly’ behind McEvoy and Power Play just yet, seem to at least be in his corner. Peter Dawson, executive director of the R&A has been supportive as has the Chinese Golf Association and others. The Royal Canadian Golf Asssociation’s Peter Palmer and Matt McKay were on hand at Copetown Woods indicating our governing body’s willingness to be open minded about new ideas. McEvoy has also been in conversations with USGA executive director, David Fay.

What do I think overall? While it was a tough, tough day to play Tuesday I see upside in the Power Play concept. For me it was extremely refreshing. Admittedly, it might take a bit to get into initially but once you do there’s a chance for this to become exceedingly popular with golfers, head golf professionals and course owners. Not sure how greens superintendents are going to feel about two holes in nine of their greens but they’ll no doubt get used to it if it helps promote the sport and helps fill empty tee sheets especially at off-peak times. Power Play is capable of that. It’s a good game. It’s fun. It’s not a huge investment ($500 for the licensing fee and $100 for the kit) and if you have 27 holes or an academy nine you can probably leave Power Play up all the time.

If it grows there is another element to consider: professional tour validation and involvement. Already there is talk about 16 player tournaments and a television component. To that end McEvoy has teamed up with IMG.

I won’t dispute this is break away from traditional golf as we know it. So what? It’s still golf. McEvoy mentioned yesterday about skiing and how its spawned things like snowboarding and other forms. Will this take time to become ingrained into the game? Sure, and perhaps it will never become what snowboarding is to winter enthusiasts. But that’s not really the goal right now. The idea is to boost the game’s popularity around the globe.

“I don’t see this as competing with other formats of the game,” McEvoy said. “We’re not contaminating the game at all. Power Play is an alternative, something new and different for golfers to try.”

Courtesy of: Rick Young | http://scoregolf.com/blog/rick-young/2009/May/Power-Play-a-Unique-Golf-Alternative.cfm

Written by David Burtell

OAK Royal have left themselves a mountain to climb in their bid to be crowned the region’s inaugural winners of the PowerPlay Golf inter-club matchplay competition.

They head for the hills to face Lobden, perched high in the Pennines, for the return leg on June 7 after losing the first by two points at their Withnell home.

But whatever the outcome the revolutionary risk-and-reward game, in which players are offered a choice of two flags on each green, will be the real winner.

Oak Royal team captain Chris Kenyon, a former Lobden member, said: “It was an enthralling match but their players had the advantage of lower handicaps. We are working on a different strategy for the next leg so it’s not over yet!”

Neal Lever, his opposite number, enthused: “The whole day was well organised and the matches were played in the right spirit. Oak Royal’s hospitality was second to none and the course was fantastic, especially when you consider it’s only been open two years.

“Our players thought the seventh hole was a fantastic par five with a ditch to cross and protection of a water hazard all around the green. The greens are true and will get faster as the course matures.”

Meanwhile, the two clubs are hoping to form a league with other PowerPlay Golf centres in the region.

SCORES (Oak Royal first): John Grecic bt Andrew Jackson 1h; Malcolm Crowther lost to Neal Lever 3&1; Chris Kenyon lost to Glenn Shields 4&3; John Hollinghurst halved with John Deasey; Peter Greer lost to Gareth Roberts 4&2.

Written by David Burtell