Congratulations Ben and JJ, and commiserations to Darren and Javier. You came up against an extremely strong US team, and as Ben says, the margins are very small at this level.
Overall match score now: Team USA: 6 - Team ROW: 3
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Ben, I too wish we'd been playing 18s. 9 holes doesn't quite feel like a proper game. And, especially given all the trials of getting 4 people together, we might as well play for longer than 45 mins!
I'm very tempted to do 18 holes for the Alt Shot in the next edition of this, but perhaps reduce the shot timer to 60 seconds.
And, I'd even like us to consider doing 18 holes for the Fourballs as well, perhaps with 45 second shot timer. Since we'd be playing it in practice mode, if anyone got their two shot time penalty it would only impact one player's score from a 2-person team on whichever hole the penalty was exacted. In addition, perhaps we could do it as two 9s, where players take a 5 minute break in the middle, to allow computer reboots etc (& bathroom breaks!) so that disconnects are less likely. That would also give each player a fresh start if they had experienced a time penalty.
To me, 18 holes also makes for a true experience of the course, and a fairer way to see who are the better players.
Any thoughts from participants this year? Do you think we could manage 18 holes in all series next time?