Golf Scoring Explained: Stroke play, match play, stableford and more

First played in the 15th century, golf is one of the world's oldest sports.

We look at the various scoring systems across different formats below.

Stroke play

While in most sports, the aim is to score as many points as possible, in golf, the objective is to shoot a score as low as possible.

Typically played over 18 holes, each hole has a 'par' score, which is used as a guide for how many shots should be taken to complete the hole.

Par - A score of par is attained when taking the number of strokes equal to a hole's par score. For example, on a par-four hole, if you take four strokes to complete the hole, your score for that hole will be par.
Birdie - A score one stroke lower than par. For example, taking three strokes on a par-four.
Bogey - A score one stroke higher than par. For example, taking five strokes on a par-four.
Eagle - A score two strokes lower than par. For example, taking two strokes on a par-four or, more commonly, taking three strokes on a par-five.
Double-bogey - A score two strokes higher than par. For example, taking six strokes on a par-four.
Albatross - Also known as a double-eagle, a score three strokes lower than par. Exceedingly rare, an albatross typically requires a hole-in-one on a par-four or taking two strokes on a par-five.
Triple-bogey - A score three strokes higher than par. For example, taking seven strokes on a par-four

Although scores worse than triple bogey are extremely rare, it is possible to score a quadruple bogey (four over par), a quintuple bogey (five over par) and so on.

It is also possible to record a condor, which is four strokes better than par, though this has never been achieved in a professional tournament.

Match play

Unlike in stroke play, where each stroke counts towards your score, match play sees golfers compete head to head to win individual holes.

The lowest score on a hole wins the hole (if scores are the same from both teams, the hole is halved), and the match typically continues until it's impossible for the other team to win or tie.

For example, in an 18-hole match, if a player leads by three holes with two holes to play, they are deemed to have won the match '3 & 2'.

Stableford

Rarely used in professional tournaments, Stableford is an adapted form of stroke play, where values are assigned to scores.

A bogey is worth one point, par is worth two points, a birdie is worth three and an eagle is worth four. The benefits to Stableford is one terrible hole doesn't ruin a round, and players can pick their ball up and move to the next hole once it's impossible to score any points.

There is also a modified Stableford scoring system, where par is worth zero points, a bogey is minus one, a double-bogey is worth minus two, a birdie is worth two, and an eagle is five.

This rewards more aggressive play, as a birdie and a bogey is worth more than two pars (which are worth the same in standard Stableford).

Liam Williams

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