I’m not bothered what the Rules say – It’ll always be ‘all square’ for me

Steve Carroll

Can you get your head around tied or will it always be all square? Where do you stand on this all square golf debate?

Some habits prove hard to break. I refereed an international contest – England U16 girls against Switzerland – and part of my duties involved radioing scores and the status of matches after the completion of each hole.

It went something like this: ‘Game 2, hole 5, England win, match all square’.

Can you see the error I made? If you watch any big match play event on the TV now, and particularly the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup, it will leap off the page.

Yes, it’s the all square vs match tied debate. Why did this need to be changed?

All square golf debate: Where do you stand?

It happened with the publication of the new Rules of Golf in 2019. All square, along with a couple of other cool match play terms – who ever tires of saying ‘dormie’? – disappeared from golf’s official lexicon.

So a match that was all square is now ‘tied’, though a tied hole can still be known as “halved”.

The logic behind the change appeared to be about employing more commonly used language. Would it make the game easier to understand for a casual audience?

Ah, yes. Growing the game. I’m not sure what was particularly difficult about all square as a term of reference. Surely no one has ever sat at home scratching their heads and frantically googling to end their confusion.

But now TV graphics and commentators trot out ‘tied’.

Except I can’t, and I won’t. Some things just live on and this is one of them. Do you think they’re saying ‘tied’ in the club knockout? No, they are saying all square.

This is not a one-person protest. I’m not going to be gluing myself to the club driveway, or spraying paint all over a golf course.

Golf’s glorious terminology, though, is worth preserving. It’s part of its history. It’s what makes the game great.

And so I’m not fussed it’s no longer in the rule book. I don’t care if everyone else’s hands are ‘tied’. I’m never going to stop calling it all square.

Now have your say

What do you think of this all square golf debate? Does it really matter, or are you with Steve and refuse to bark out ‘tied’? Let him know with a comment on X.

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About the author

Steve Carroll

A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long.

A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.

Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men’s Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.

A part of NCG’s Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He’d like to tell you he floats around 10. The reality is more like 13.

Steve plays at Sandburn Hall, in York, and is a country member at Close House in Newcastle. He has served on various club committees during his time in the game, and is the current Rules Secretary at Sandburn.

Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NCTJ exams at Darlington College of Technology. He began his career working on weekly papers in Newcastle, before joining the York Press in 2001. After five years as a news reporter, he joined the sports desk – specialising in horse racing and snooker – and was Digital Sports Editor when he joined National Club Golfer in 2016.

What’s in Steve’s bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Odyssey 2Ball Microhinge putter.

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