Competition Formats

Stroke Play is most likely the format you’re most familiar with, as it’s the format used in most professional and recreational golf.

In stroke play, a player or team of golfers compete against each other for the lowest score in one round or multiple rounds of play.

In “Match Play,” players compete against one another to make the best score on individual holes in head-to-head competition.

The player who wins the most individual holes wins the match.

“Skins ” is a format similar to match play, where players win a “skin” for winning individual holes.

However, some skins games also offer skins for achievements like landing a tee shot on the green (A “Greenie”) or other feats.

If a hole is tied in skins, that skin usually carries over to the next hole.

The player with the most skins at the end of the round wins.

In a “Scramble” format, teams of 2-4 golfers tee off and choose the best shot from their group.

From this chosen shot, all team members will then hit their next shots within one club-length of the selected shot.

On each subsequent shot, players continue picking the best ball from where they will all play.

A “Texas Scramble” works the same way as a scramble but has additional rules for the tee shots your team can use.

Often, a team is required to use at least 4 drives from each team member over the course of the round.

Some “Texas Scramble” tournaments don’t allow you to play the same team members tee shot on two consecutive holes.

In a “Shamble,” a team of golfers selects the best tee shot to play from like in a scramble.

Unlike in a scramble, however, after playing from the best tee shot, team members continue playing their own ball for the remainder of the hole.

Typically, scoring in a shamble uses a team’s lowest score for each hole or their lowest 2-3 scores.

“Best Ball” or “ Better Ball” is a team tournament format where each team member plays their ball from the tee until they get it into the cup.

The team will then use the lowest number of strokes any member of their team made for their score on that hole.

“Stableford ” is a golf points system that can be used for competition between individual players or teams.

The individual or group with the highest score wins.

The Stableford scoring system gives points for the following accomplishments on each hole:

• 0 Points – Double Bogey (Two strokes over par)
• 1 Point – Bogey (One stroke over par)
• 2 Points – Par
• 3 Points – Birdie (One stroke under par)
• 4 Points – Eagle (Two strokes under par)
• 5 Points – Albatross/Double Eagle (Three strokes under par)
• 6 Points – Four strokes under par

While these point values are the standard of the Stableford point system, tournament organizers may choose to change the number of points awarded for each achievement.

In an “Alternate Shot” format, teams of 2 golfers alternate between every shot.

Regardless of who completed the previous hole, players alternate who starts each hole with a tee shot.