Calculate Golf Scores

Here are the main rules for calculating golf points for you.

How to calculate scores in Match Play?

For beginners, Match Play is the best way to understand point counting on each hole. The concepts of penalties and Par are placed in the background in this part. All you need to do is complete a hole with the fewest strokes than your opponent and win it . Your final objective will be to win Match Play by winning more holes than your opponent. Is that clear ?

Let me simplify it for you: in Match Play, the player who wins the most holes wins the game . So, on an 18-hole course for example, if you win 10 holes against 8 for your opponent, you win the game. And you win a hole if you complete it with fewer strokes than the opposing player.

For example, if you complete hole 3 with 4 strokes against 7 for your opponent, you win the hole. There is a tie if you and your opponent complete the hole with the same number of strokes. This has happened to me often, so I wrote down “AS” – which stands for Equality – under the corresponding hole on my scoreboard.

Also read: 6 tips on how to play tennis

In Match Play, I always write down the winner of each round, and therefore each hole, to be sure I know my position in the game. It helps me see if I still have a chance of winning the game by counting the number of holes played and those left to play. If, after the 14th hole, for example, I blame my opponent for 5 holes, I prefer to admit my defeat and ask for revenge or return to the practice to work on my swing.

Calculate points in Stroke Play

In stroke play, the player who hits the fewest strokes on the entire course is declared the winner. This course is divided into part “outward” and part “return”, usually holes 10 to 18 for the return phase and 1 to 9 for the outward journey.

The winner in stroke play is declared the winner who has the LESSEST scores at the end of the round trip, ie an entire 18 holes.

In Stroke Play, the calculation of scores formally follows the main rules of the International Golf Federation as follows:

• Each stroke, even the missed attempts to reach the ball, after the placement of the tee are calculated;
• A stroke corresponds to a point to be mentioned on the scoreboard;
• Par is defined as any hole with a number of reference points or strokes;
• If I hit the ball with the number of strokes in Par, my score is Par;
• I mention 1 point in addition to Par on the scoreboard, if I win with a stroke over Par;
• The same principle is applied, when I play a hole with 1 or two strokes below Par.

Count points using the Stableford method

It is essential to know the Par of all the holes on the course. With this formula, I no longer have to mention all the strokes for each hole, but only the scores “won” per hole. Here is how the winnings are classified:

• A successful hole in Par, gives me 2 points on my card;
• I win 1 point if I put the ball one stroke over Par;
• I win 3 scores with a stroke below Par;
• If I complete a hole 2 strokes below Par, I score 4 points on that hole.

With the Stableford method, whoever registers the MOST scores wins the game .

Also read: Combat Juggling | Combined Driving | Cricket | Croquet | Cross Country | Cross-country Skiing | Curling | Cycle Ball | Cycling | Dancesport