Have More Fun With These Golf Game Formats (2024)

Stroke Play

This is the most common format, where the player with the lowest total score over 18 holes wins. Stroke play is about playing each hole with the fewest strokes possible.

How to play Stroke Play:

In stroke play golf, the goal is simple: take the fewest strokes to get your ball in all 18 holes. Each player starts at the teeing ground and hits their ball towards the hole. They keep hitting their ball until it goes in, counting each stroke along the way. After finishing a hole, they record their score on a scorecard and move on to the next hole. At the end of the round, all the strokes are added up, and the player with the lowest total score wins.

Now, sometimes golfers play with handicaps. A golf handicap is a number that represents a player’s skill level, with lower handicaps indicating better players. In stroke play with handicaps, players subtract their handicap strokes from their total score. This allows players of different skill levels to compete more fairly against each other. The player with the lowest net score (total score minus handicap) wins.

Match Play

Match play is more about head-to-head competition! In this format, players compete against each other hole by hole, and the player who wins the most holes wins the match.

How to play Match Play Golf:

In match play golf, it’s all about winning more holes than your opponent. Each player tees off, plays their ball until it’s holed, and then compares scores. The player with the lower score wins that hole. If the scores are tied, the hole is halved. You keep track of who’s winning by how many holes they’re “up.” The match ends when one player is ahead by more holes than there are left to play. Unlike stroke play where the total score matters, match play focuses on each hole individually. You can even concede a hole to your opponent if you think they’ll win it. This format adds a unique strategic element to the game, as sometimes playing it safe and halving a hole is better than risking a high score and losing the hole.

Stableford

This format awards points based on the score for each hole, with the player with the most points at the end of the round winning.

How to play Stableford Golf:

Stableford is a different way of scoring in golf where you earn points based on how well you play each hole, rather than counting your total strokes. Essentially, the better you score on a hole, the more points you get. This can be done as 1v1, 1 vs. many, or as combined team scores.

Stableford Scoring:

• Albatross = 5 pts
• Eagle = 4 pts
• Birdie = 3 pts
• Par = 2 pts
• Bogey = 1 pt
• Double Bogey+ = 0 pts

You add up your points throughout the round, and the player with the most points at the end wins. This format encourages golfers to keep playing their best even after a bad hole, as they can still earn points on the remaining holes.

Scramble

This is a team format where all players tee off, and then the team selects the best shot and all play their next shots from that spot. This continues until the ball is holed.

How to play Scramble Golf:

In a scramble, you team up with other golfers and take on the course together. Everyone tees off, and then you pick the best shot out of the group. From that spot, everyone hits again, always choosing the best shot and moving on from there. This continues until you get the ball in the hole. It’s all about teamwork, using everyone’s strengths, and having fun while trying to get the lowest score possible as a team. This format takes the pressure off individual performance and makes golf more enjoyable, especially for those new to the game!

Best Ball

This is another team format where each player plays their own ball, and the lowest score among the team members on each hole counts as the team’s score.

How to play Best Ball Golf:

In best ball, each golfer in a team plays their own ball throughout the round. After completing a hole, the team records the lowest individual score among its members as the team score for that hole. This process is repeated for all 18 holes. The team with the lowest cumulative score at the end of the round wins. This format allows for individual performance to contribute to the team’s success, promoting both individual skill and team strategy.

Skins

In this format, each hole is worth a certain number of “skins,” and the player with the lowest score on that hole wins the skins.

How to play Skins Format:

Skins is a golf format where players compete for a prize, usually money, on each hole. The lowest score on a hole wins the “skin.” If there’s a tie, the “skin” carries over to the next hole, increasing the prize. This adds pressure to win the next hole as the pot grows with each consecutive tie. At the end of the round, the golfer who has won the most skins wins the game and collects all the money. Skins is a popular format for adding an extra layer of competition and thrill to a casual round of golf.

Break 50

Can your team shoot under 50 in 18 holes? This translates to an impressive -23 under par on a par 72 course, highlighting the difficulty of this format.

How to play “Break 50” Golf Format:

Played from the forward tees, it demands strategic shot selection and consistent execution. Similar to scramble, all players tee off and the group selects the best shot as their next playing position, repeating this process until the ball is holed. Best played as a team, “Break 50 Golf” requires accuracy, smart decision-making, and a focused approach to conquer the course and achieve this ambitious target score.