Formats and scoring systems in golf

The two basic forms of competition and scoring are Match Play and Stroke Play.

The Match Play competition is played hole by hole. The side (player or team) with the fewest number of strokes (net or gross) wins the hole. The match is won by the side that wins the most number of holes.

In Stroke Play the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. The side (player or team) with the lowest total score (net or gross) wins.

Stableford, Par and Bogey competitions are forms of Stroke Play in which golfers play against a fixed score at each hole (par). Par and Bogey competitions incorporate the main attribute of Match Play (winning or losing of holes) into a Stroke Play competition.

Go to Stroke Play scoring description

Go to Match Play scoring description

Many formats of golf competition can be played under Match Play or Stroke Play rules. Some of them are listed in Rules of Golf and Rules of Handicapping, so they are called the “official” formats. The official tournament formats are listed in the table below.

Official formats of golf
Format	Scoring system
Format	Matchplay	Strokeplay
Best Ball	YES	YES
Best 2 of 4	NO	YES
Four-Ball (Better Ball)	YES	YES
Foursomes (Alternate Shot)	YES	YES
Maximum Score	NO	YES
Par/Bogey	NO	YES
Three-Ball	YES	NO
Threesomes	YES	YES
Scramble (Captain's Choice)	YES	YES
Single	YES	YES
Stableford	NO	YES

Other tournament formats that are not listed in R&A and USGA publications are “non-official”, but popular with golf societies. There are tournaments:

Ambrose,
Blind Bet (Tee Box Lottery, Tee Box Draw, Random Tee Challenge),
Blind Nine (Blind Holes, Mystery Nine, Surprise Nine, Hidden Nine, Secret Nine),
Chapman (Pinehurst, American Foursome),
Flags (Tombstone, Gravestone),
Florida Scramble (Dropout Scramble, Step Aside, Stand Aside, Stand Out),
Eclectic (Ringers),
Greensomes (Canadian Foursomes),
Gruesomes (Bloodsomes),
Irish Four Ball (Irish Stableford, Arizona Shuffle, 1-2-3 Best Ball, 4-Man Cha Cha Cha),
Irish Match Play,
No Alibis (Wipe Out, Play It Again Sam, Criers and Whiners),
Modified Stableford (Murphys),
One-Person Scramble (One Man Scramble, Single Person Scramble),
Patsomes (Patsome, Fourball-Foursome-Greensome),
Portuguese Caddy,
Russian Stableford (Multiplier Stableford),
Scotch Foursomes,
Second Ball (Next Ball, Second Best),
Shamble (Bramble),
Strike Three (Odd Fellows, Red Light, Throw Out 3, Best 15 Holes)
String (Stringball, Piece of String),
Switch,
Texas Scramble,
Worst Ball (Reverse Scramble, Opposite Scramble, Bizarro Scramble, Bloodsome Scramble).