The Offline Matchplay League 2008.

The mode of play for each match will be stroke play. At the conclusion of the season promotion and relegation from the division will be applied ready for the next season .

Each venue will be pre-selected by myself and .lts files / mops will be created for each of the Season weeks.

Files and Forfeit

The only files required to be sent in for each match will be the score text file and the .ver file. For the purposes of the holes for and against system, where a match is forfeited, due to a player missing the dealine the opponents scores per hole will compared to the par for each hole and awarded a point for on each hole where par is broken, the minimum score would always be 1-0.

I have mentioned that the .lts file will be set up to record each game, this should be saved if you forget to save the scoretext, it is a safety net and need only be sent in the circumstances mentioned.

Should a player miss three consecutive events they will be dropped from the Season's fixtures.

The Divisions

Where possible the divisions will be populated to the maximum of 8 players. All new players to the league will be placed in the lowest division.

WireLS Rules

All general rules of WireLS regarding chipping and putting etc. also apply to the Offline League.

Online Play

Although the league is broadly an offline event I have no objection to players who are due to play each other playing their game online as long as no person is made to feel obliged to do so. With this in mind I will make available a MOP and pin settings alongside the .lts files.

When files are received they will then be compared to arrive at a result. Winning players will be awarded 3 points losing players 0 points, if a game is tied each player will receive 1 point. The league will also use a holes for and against to separate players with the same amount of point, firstly by hole difference and then by holes won.

New for Season 3 in 2008 is the Offline Matchplay League Cup, essentially the competition has a football feel about it what with the scoring and Division / playoff set-up, so to complete the overall look and feel, four weeks into every Season there will be a League Cup, all players currently playing in that particular Season are entered automatically

The Cup competition will take place during weeks 4,6,8,10 and 12 in Season 1, weeks 18,20,22,24 and 26 in Season 2 and finally weeks 32,34,36,38 and 40 in Season 3. The schedule for any given Season will be adjusted so that all players only play a single game during these weeks, that one single game will be used for the League Cup, so long as they are not "knocked out".

How it works: there will be a draw at the start of each season, to determine the top 16 seeds, the seeds will be separated for the round of 32 matches. This should in theory mean that the top seed will face the second seed in the final. The seedings are based on the number of holes won and lost in the previous Seasons matches. Where there are not 32 players playing in any Season there will be bye's into the round of 16 matches. The competition is played on a one game winner goes through knock-out format. Once the pairings are decided, the two players scores are compared to determine who won each hole, with the player who scores the most holes progressing to the next stage of the competition.

In the event of a draw in any match there will be a replay, each players scores form the following week will be compared to determine the winner, in the event of a draw there will be a penalty shootout, the scores from the first 5 holes played during the replayed match will be compared the player with the most holes won, wins and progresses through to the next round, in the event of draw it goes to sudden death with a "next holes wins" scenario.

At the end of each season promotion and relegation will be carried out for the top and bottom players in each division, new players will also be entered at this time ready for commencement of the next season. There will also be a series of play-off matches, to add a bit of drama to the proceedings. The Forum will contain full details nearer the end of each Season. The object of the competition is for players to simply enjoy the game while hopefully giving encouragement to all to improve in their chosen style of play.