GAME FORMATS

  •  INDIVIDUAL STROKE PLAY  

    Stroke play is an 18 hole cumulative score competition where the golfer with the best overall net or gross score after 18 holes wins. In stroke play you are going up against the course and trying to out play your fellow competitors.

     

  • TWO-PERSON TEAM STROKE PLAY
        • Foursomes  Also known as alternate shot, is  using only one ball per team and taking alternate shots until the hole is completed. Both players take turns in teeing off on each hole. For example player A will take the tee shot on odd-numbered holes, andplayer B on even-numbered holes.
        • Four Ball All players play their own ball. After each hole, the low score is counted as the team score. Same as 1 Best Ball of 2.
        • Pinehurst Both players tee off, then they switch balls. Player A plays Player B’s drive, and vice-versa. Each player hits the second shot. They then select the best of the second shots, and from that point until the ball is holed they play only one ball in an alternate shot format.
        • Scotch Players alternate hitting the same ball. Player A tees off,  player B hits the second shot,  player A hits the third shot, and so on until the ball is holed. To this point, the definition of Scotch is the same as that of ordinary Foursomes; however, players do not alternate hitting tee shots as they would in Foursome. If Player A teed off on the first hole and Player B holed the final putt, Player B would not tee off at the second, meaning that Player A could, in theory, play every tee shot on the round.
  • TEAM INDIVIDUAL STROKE PLAY

The basics of play are that each player in a team plays and records scores as in Individual Stroke Play. The team score for each hole is then calculated as some combination of the individual net or gross scores.

        • Best 1 of ( 3 or 4) On each hole, team consisting of 3 or 4 players records lowest player net or gross score (best ball). The sum of these scores is the team’s score.
        • Best 2 of (3 or 4) On each hole, team consisting of 3 or 4 players records two best balls The sum of these scores is the team’s score.
        • Best 3 of 4 On each hole, team consisting of 4 players (foursome) records three best balls. The sum of these scores is the team’s score.

Games variants can combine all these formats. For example:

2BB on par 4, 3BB on par 3 and 5, 4 BB on 18 – playing foursome will record two best balls on all par 4, three best balls on all par 3 and 5 and four scores will be recorded on 18. hole.

Optional features could be BONUS and MERCY where:

        • BONUS can allow a team to record all additional sub par (net or gross) results above the required number of results on a hole.
        • MERCY will set the maximum score for a player to be recorded.
  • SKINS

The Skins game format can be played individually or as teams. For a Skins game each hole is worth a skin. The golfer with the lowest score on a hole wins the skin. If two or more players tie then no skin is awarded. At the end of the game, each player is paid based on the number of skins the player has won. The value of a skin is the total skins’ pot divided by the number of skins won. Most often, skins is played without handicaps. That is, gross scores on a hole are used to determine if a skin is won. However, where handicaps are used, “Net Skins”is also possible.

  • MATCH PLAY

Match play is a hole-by-hole competition where the golfer who makes the best score on the individual hole wins that hole. The player who wins the most holes throughout the match is the winner. In match play you are going up against your opponent in head to head competition.

 

  • TWO-PERSON TEAM MATCH PLAY

    Two-person Match play is a hole-by-hole team competition where the team who makes the best score on the individual hole wins that hole. The team who wins the most holes throughout the match is the winner. All Two-Person Team Stroke Play Game Formats can be used for Two-Person Team Match play.

    • STABLEFORD

    The Stableford format is a stroke play tournament that can be played as an individual or team event using a points system in which the goal is to gain the highest score. A Stableford uses a points system established in the Rules of Golf, under rule 32, and are as follows:

          • More than 1 over fixed score (or no score returned) – 0 points [Double Bogey or Worse]
          • One over fixed score – 1 point [Bogey]
          • Fixed score – 2 points [Par]
          • One under fixed score – 3 points [Birdie]
          • Two under fixed score – 4 points [Eagle]
          • Three under fixed score – 5 points [Double Eagle]
          • Four under fixed score – 6 points
    • SCRAMBLE

    Scramble tournaments involve teams of 2, 3, or 4 golfers. In a Scramble tournament each team member tees off on every hole. After the initial tee shots, the team selects the best shot out of their teammates and then each team member plays their next shot from that spot. This continues throughout the rest of the shots on the hole including putting. A player is allowed to place the ball within one club length of the spot of the best shot, but not nearer to the hole. The scramble is often played as stroke play event with the team with the lowest cumulative score after 18 holes winning.

    Optional feature can be STEP ASIDE:

          • STEP ASIDE All players tee off on every hole and the best shot is selected. The player whose shot is selected steps aside for the next shot. All other players then play the next shot from the position of the selected ball. The same procedure is used on all shots, including putts. The process continues until the ball is holed and starts over at the next hole.
    • SHAMBLE

    A Shamble format tournament can be played with teams of 2, 3, or 4. In a Shamble each golfer tees off on every hole. The team then selects their best drive and each team member plays their second shot from there. After the second shot each golfer plays their own ball for the remainder of the hole. For example, players A & B are on a team, both A & B tee off, A hit the better drive so they select to take their second shot from A’s spot, both A & B hit from A’s spot, and play their own balls throughout the rest of the hole.

    Optional feature can be LIMIT ON DRIVES  or SELECTED HOLES ONLY where:

          • LIMIT ON DRIVES will set the minimum or maximum  number of drives that team can use from each player.
          • SELECTED HOLES ONLY Players take advantage of Shamble format only on preselected holes with scoring game format remaining the same.