2 match-play gimme strategies you’ll see at Presidents Cup—which is right for you?

We’ve written about gimmes a few times recently at Golf Digest, and for good reason—golfers take a lot of them. In fact, the data shows we’re raking away far too many putts, while our Sam Weinman explains that the decision is a bit more socially layered.

But these stories follow the assumption that you’re playing a typical weekend round with buddies. How does the gimme calculus change when there is a more meaningful match, say, at your club championship, or better yet, at the Presidents Cup?

In these matches, unlike a weekend game where relationships supersede competition, winning is the sole barometer of success. Whether an opponent is pissed off at your gimme gamesmanship is hardly a concern this week at Royal Montreal, and if you find yourself in a similarly intense match, you might agree.

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That’s why we’re covering the two main gimme strategies players use to gain an advantage on the greens, as well as a few light-hearted tips that you can try.

Gimmie Strategy No. 1: Give 'em all early

Let’s say you haven’t played golf in a month. How small does the hole look? Without the confidence of having seen putts go in recently, you have that extra bit of uncertainty, and you end up missing tons of these shorties in your first round back.

That’s the idea behind this gimme approach, where you are generous with your concessions early and become a stickler late. This is perhaps the most popular method that you’ll see with tour pros. Golfers using this strategy will give nearly every short putt on the front nine.

Of course, how wide that initial circle of friendship is will be different depending on skill level. For reference, PGA Tour players make roughly 92 percent of their putts from three feet, so using this strategy, players might concede every putt within three or four feet.

The stats are a little murkier for the average player, but the typical make-rate for an 80s shooter from three feet is around 65 percent. So to use the “give ‘em all early” strategy against this player, you might give every putt inside two feet, instead of three.

Once you hit the back nine, however, you begin to make your opponent hit the putts they were previously given. This serves two functions: One, the opponent will likely expect to be given the putt, and when you don’t concede it, they’ll be frustrated and lose focus. Second, since they haven’t hit a short putt all day, they don’t have the confidence of seeing them go in. The hole will look smaller, and combined with their frustration, they might miss.

Pros:

• Maintains good vibes for most of the round, as your opponent will think you’re generous.
• Your opponent will likely give you more putts early as well.
• Amps up the pressure on your opponent on the back nine, which could lead to a miss.

Cons:

• If you give too many putts early, you might get too far down in the match to come back.

Gimmie Strategy No. 2: Putt 'em all early

If you’re a real gamer and don’t mind a little awkwardness, then this approach might be best for you. Instead of giving every short putt early, you concede nothing outside of about a foot or two. For better players, it might be to putt everything outside two feet, while for 80s or 90s shooters, you might have them putt everything outside one foot.

Take this approach for about seven holes and then reevaluate. If the player is missing a lot of these really short putts, you’ve likely built up a solid lead, and if not, then you know that you need to keep making them finish everything out.

If, on the other hand, your opponent is confidently knocking all of these in, feel free to be a little more generous in the middle part of the round. You can always tighten up the circle again toward the end of the match.

This approach is often very effective for a couple reasons. First, as discussed earlier, the average player misses quite a few two- and three-footers, so by not conceding, you’re capitalizing on these misses. The other advantage is mental, as when your opponent misses a really short putt, they will likely get down on themselves … and possibly you. This frustration may lead them to make more mistakes in the coming holes.

Pros:

• Likely to get an advantage early if your opponent misses.
• Opponent will get frustrated and lose focus.

Cons:

• The match might get very awkward if you’re not conceding anything.
• Expect to have to make all your short putts, as well. Your angry opponent won’t help you out.

OK, so those are the two most common gimme strategies that tour pros use and that you should use, too. Here a few other tips you can try if you’re really desperate to win.

Disclaimer: Though these tips will help you win, they may endanger your reputation. Tread lightly.

• Choose chaos: Keep your opponent on edge by randomly conceding a longer putt, say four feet, and then make them putt a one- or two-foot slider on the next hole.
• Good-Good: Offer it whenever you can, partly to not have to hit short putts, partly to annoy your competitor.
• … Oh, that’s good: You know you’re going to give them the two-footer but let them go through their routine and address the ball. Then you chime in.
• Weirdly calculating: Not all short putts are equal, of course. A dead straight uphill four-footer might have a higher make percentage than a two-foot sliding putt with five inches of break. You know this, and you concede/don’t concede putts accordingly.
• Who’s away??: In match play, whoever is farthest must putt first, so you take this very seriously, measuring any putts that are remotely close. See disclaimer above.