One of golf’s big strengths is that there are many forms of play or scoring methods that you can select from, either when playing in groups or individuals. Not only does this make the sport diverse, but it can also assist with pace of play, make the game more attractive and socially attractive to new fans. There are two basic forms of playing golf, Match play and Stroke play, but in addition to this there are multiple varieties of playing and scoring, therefore golf scoring methods can be split into two categories, individual and team play.
Individual scoring methods include:
Stroke Play
This is the simplest and most used form in professional competitions, in stoke play the player with the least number of strokes required to complete the course is considered the winner, every player is competing against the whole field.
Match Play
This form is used less often in professional golf, but it can be found more often in amateur golf, usually the player is competing against another player or a team against another team. In match play each hole is contested individually, the player who takes the lowest number of strokes on that hole wins the hole, if the number of strokes is even, the hole is considered to be halved, the player who wins the most holes win the game. Should there be less holes left to play than are required for a player to lose the lead, the game is considered over, and the remainder of the holes are not played.
Stableford
In Stableford play, players are awarded points for each hole. The number of points received is based on the number of strokes taken to finish the hole compared to the par of that hole, which is adjusted up or down depending on the player’s handicap. Unlike most scoring systems in golf, the player with the most points wins the game.
Team scoring methods include:
Foursomes
This is played between two teams of two players, each team only has 1 ball, and the two team members take turns hitting alternate shots using it. Player A tees off on the first hole, then player B takes the next shot, player A then takes the third and so on. Irrespective of who putted the ball, player B will tee off on the second hole, player A the third, etc. Foursomes can be scored using either stroke play or match play.
Four Ball or Better Ball
This is also played between two teams of two players, each player has their own ball, and the team takes the score of the lowest scoring team member for each hole.
Greensomes
This method is similar to Foursomes, except both players tee off and the best shot from the two is chosen. The player with the weaker first shot takes the second and plays alternates from there.
Bloodsomes
This is a variation of Greensomes where the opposing team chooses which tee shot play should continue from. The player whose tee shot was not chosen plays the second and plays alternates from there.
Scramble
This is a method whereby each player in the team (usually 4 players per team) tees off. The best shot is chosen, and the location of the ball is marked. All team members then take their next shot from the marker, this allows the team to take the best shot from 4 every time, resulting in much lower scores. For this reason, the handicap for the team is 1/10th of the total combined handicaps of the players, Scramble is scored using stroke play.
Texas Scramble
Texas Scramble uses the same rules as Scramble but adds an extra requirement, the team must take at least 4 tee shots from each team member, this stops the issue of always choosing the player who has a significantly better tee shot, over the weaker players.
