Golf Formats Explained

A golf format is the set of rules that decides how a score turns into a result, separate from the rules of how to play a shot. Two golfers can hit identical shots all day and still be competing under completely different terms, because the format, not the swing, is what decides who wins. The four formats below cover almost everything a club golfer will ever sign up for, and each one rewards a different kind of round.

Knowing which format you're playing before you tee off changes more than the scorecard. It changes which misses are worth protecting against and which risks are worth taking, which is why a golfer who plays the same way regardless of format is leaving shots on the table in at least one of these four.

Stroke play

Scoring: Stroke play is the format most golfers learn first and the one most major championships use. Every stroke taken over 18 holes is added together, and the lowest total wins. There's no cap built into the format itself on how many strokes a bad hole can cost you, which is exactly what makes one disastrous hole so damaging to an otherwise solid round.

Handicap allowance: The World Handicap System recommends using 95% of a player's Course Handicap for medium-field stroke play events, though Committees can use 100% for smaller fields under 30 players. If you're posting a score for handicap purposes rather than playing in a competition, there's also a per-hole cap worth knowing: our guide to the net double bogey rule covers how that posting limit works, which is a separate thing from any maximum-score format a Committee might set for actual play.

Strategy: Because every stroke counts toward one cumulative number, stroke play rewards damage limitation over heroics. A 160-yard (146m) approach that misses the green into a bunker is a far smaller problem than the same miss compounding into a double or triple bogey from trying to force a hero shot back into contention. Our guide to avoiding big numbers walks through the escape-priority thinking that keeps one bad swing from becoming a card-wrecking hole.

Match play

Scoring: Match play strips away the cumulative scorecard entirely. Two golfers, or two teams, compete hole by hole, and whoever takes fewer strokes on a given hole wins it; tie the hole and it's halved. The match is decided by how many holes are won, not by the total strokes taken across the round, so a golfer can lose by eight strokes on paper and still win the match if those strokes land on the wrong holes.

Concessions are unique to match play. Under Rule 3.2b, a single stroke can be conceded at any point before the opponent's next stroke, a whole hole can be conceded any time before it's finished (even before it starts), and the match itself can be conceded any time before the result is decided. Once given, a concession is final; it can't be declined or taken back.

Conceding a hole also ends it immediately, which is why match play rounds often finish faster than stroke play rounds between the same two players. There's no reason to finish out a hole that's already lost, so a group that's comfortable conceding freely can play 18 holes in noticeably less time than a stroke play field working out every putt to the bottom of the cup.

Handicap allowance: The WHS recommended allowance for singles match play is 100% of the difference between the two players' Course Handicaps, with the higher-handicap player receiving strokes on the holes ranked hardest for that difference, though Committees can set their own for a specific competition.

Strategy: Match play rewards aggression that stroke play punishes. Since only the hole in front of you matters, a risky line off the tee or a bold birdie attempt only costs you that one hole if it fails, not your whole round. It also changes how you read your opponent: a 4-foot (1.2m) putt you'd always hole out in stroke play might be worth conceding to your opponent once the hole's already decided, since finishing it out changes nothing about the result.

Stableford

Scoring: Stableford, covered under Rule 21.1, converts your score on each hole into points against a fixed target, normally par, rather than counting strokes directly. The points table rewards good holes and caps the damage from bad ones: more than one over the target scores zero points, one over scores one point, matching the target scores two points, one under scores three points, two under scores four points, three under scores five points, and four under scores the maximum of six points. In a handicap event, points are counted on your net score after handicap strokes are applied, so a net par is worth two points. Under Rule 21.1, failing to hole out simply scores zero for that hole, which means a player can pick up as soon as a hole is out of reach.

Handicap allowance: Individual Stableford typically uses 95% of a player's Course Handicap, the same allowance as stroke play, though Committees can set their own for a specific competition.

Strategy: The points cap is what makes Stableford the format to play when you want a score that doesn't fall apart. One blown hole costs you zero points and nothing else; it doesn't carry forward the way an extra stroke does in stroke play. That's also why it's the format I'd point a nervous beginner toward first, since the worst a single hole can do to the scorecard is a shrug, not a number that haunts the next tee box. The practical result is that Stableford rewards going for it on the holes where you're inside your comfort range and playing conservatively, even taking a zero, on the ones where you're not.

Scrambles

Scoring: A scramble is a team format covered under Rule 21.5, which groups it with other forms like greensomes and leaves the specific adaptations to a Committee's local procedures. Every player on the team tees off, the team picks whichever ball they like best, and everyone then plays their next shot from that spot. The process repeats shot by shot until the ball is in the hole, so the team's score for the hole is whatever that single best-ball sequence adds up to.

Handicap allowance: The WHS recommended allowance uses a sliding scale based on team size, ranking players from lowest to highest Course Handicap, though Committees can set their own for a specific competition. A two-player team applies 35% of the lower handicap and 15% of the higher. A three-player team applies 30%, 20%, and 10% in that order. A four-player team applies 25%, 20%, 15%, and 10%.

One important limit: scramble scores can't be posted for handicap purposes under World Handicap System rules, since a scramble is explicitly listed as a format where a player doesn't play their own ball throughout the hole. A club or Committee ultimately decides which formats are acceptable for posting and how to handle edge cases, but a scramble itself isn't one of them.

Strategy: Shot selection is the whole game in a scramble. Because only the single best ball advances, a team can afford to let its longer or more aggressive hitter take a genuine risk off the tee, knowing a safer second option is sitting in the fairway if the risk doesn't pay off. The same logic carries into the green: once one player has a two-putt locked in from 15 feet (4.6m), the rest of the team is free to fire at the pin rather than play safe to the middle.

It's also the format that evens out a wide spread of ability inside one team. A beginner's job on any given hole might simply be to find the fairway and let the stronger players take it from there, and that beginner's tee shot still counts just as much toward the team's options as anyone else's, provided it's the one the team picks.

Other team formats

Foursomes and four-ball are the two other team formats you'll run into regularly at club level, though neither made our main four since both are variations on two-player team play rather than standalone scoring systems.

Foursomes (also called alternate shot), covered under Rule 22, has two players sharing one ball, taking turns hitting it until the hole is finished, with one partner teeing off on odd holes and the other on even holes. The WHS recommended team handicap allowance is 50% of the side's combined Course Handicap difference, though Committees can set their own for a specific competition.

Four-ball (also called best ball), covered under Rule 23, has both partners playing their own ball throughout, with the better of the two scores counting for the team on each hole. The WHS recommended allowance is 90% of Course Handicap in four-ball match play and 85% in four-ball stroke play, though Committees can set their own for a specific competition.

Comparing the four formats

Picking the right format for an event usually comes down to what kind of result you want out of the round. A club championship or qualifier wants stroke play's unforgiving total. A head-to-head grudge match wants match play's hole-by-hole drama. A mixed-ability field at a society day or corporate outing wants Stableford's points cap or a scramble's team structure, since both let weaker and stronger players compete on the same card without either side having a miserable time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a golf format?

How does match play scoring work?

What handicap allowance should a scramble use?

Can a scramble score be posted for handicap purposes?

What are Stableford points based on?