Well I have to admit, the landslide results of NEOHgolf.com’s first-ever web poll surprised me just a bit.
When I put the poll topic together, personally I guessed that 2-M Scramble would be the winner. Outside of the big annual city/county championships, the size of the fields attracted for events in the 2-player scramble format are consistently the largest for the region’s amateur events. So I guessed that the poll would reflect 2-M scramble as the favorite format preference once the votes were counted.
Cue the loud buzzer noise.
42.6% of respondents preferred Individual Stroke Play, crushing 2-M Better Ball in the runner-up spot at 15.9%.
Heck, even 2-M Jumble beat out 2-M Scramble.
Perhaps a good percentage of the 176 players who posted a preference to the poll are strong players who would rather go it alone? Or perhaps the fields are biggest for the region’s “majors” because it is truly preferred? You’ll have to draw your own conclusions.
Also interesting, no one gave any love to the 5-Player Scramble format. A big zero. Interesting result, given that we over-subscribed the field for the Boulder Creek 5-Man under that format.
Finally, I must to admit to a polling error that perhaps caused three players to choose “other format” for their vote. Canton’s Nick Lambos was one of those three “other” votes, as he pointed out that I missed listing the competitive format he prefers: match play. At first I thought “duh, I shouldn’t have missed that one” but then I realized that the format is rarely used anymore, which is why it didn’t cross my mind. But it is used for many private club championships throughout Northeast Ohio, so thanks to Nick for pointing it out. And if Nicky is hounding you on the first tee somewhere for a match play wager, keep his vote in mind.
The final vote breakdown for the Favorite Tournament Format poll:
Individual Stroke Play 75
2-Player Scramble 22
2-Player Better Ball 28
2-Player Jumble 27
3-Player Scramble 11
4-Player Scramble 10
5-Player Scramble 0
Other Format Not Listed 3
TOTAL VOTES CAST: 176
Watch for the next poll question to be posted very soon. And if you have an idea for a poll question, email Northeast Ohio Golf…
