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Match Play Golf Competition Format

April 16, 2007 | under Beginners, Golf Swing, Golf Game, Golf Rules |

Generally, you will see two of the most common golf formats of competition in major golf tournaments.  The two formats are Match Play and Stroke Play.  These are basically scoring systems of golf in determining how the tournament is played. 

In the PGA, there are a number of tournaments that adopted the Match Play format.  The most prominent being the Ryder Cup and also the WGC-Accenture World Matchplay Championship. Stroke Play are used in the other Majors in the PGA tour; such as The Masters and the US Opens, etc.

In Match Play, the competition between players are determined by the highest number of holes won.  The unit of scoring in this format is the hole; unlike in Stroke Play, the unit is strokes.  Every hole is a separate competition.  This format is typically use for play among golfers in the same flight.  The score from the previous hole is not carried forward to the next.

On each hole, the golfers play as normal.  The player with the lowest score will be awarded the hole and scores a point.  If both players tied on the score, then the hole is said to be halved.  That is, half a point is awarded to each player.

At the start of the game, the players are said to be “all-squared”.  This means they have the same number of points.  As the game progresses, points are awarded to each player.  For example, if player A wins 3 holes, player B wins 5 holes and both tied 1 hole, player B is said to be “2-up” after 9 holes of play.

The final score of the game are displayed by “X holes”.  This means that 18 holes are played and the player has won by X number of holes.

In some cases, you may see scores like player A wins “3 and 2″, instead of “3-up”.  The “3 and 2″ score at the end of the game means player is “3-up” with 2 holes to play.  In this situation, the last 2 holes are not played as player B has not way of winning the competition since he is 3 holes down with 2 holes to play.  Mathematically, he can only obtained 2 points maximum over the last 2 holes which he will still lose by 1 hole.

Occassionally, you will be “19″ as the final score; as a matter of fact, the number can be any number greater then 18.  This means that both players are tied after 18 holes of play.  Holes played after the 18th hole are played under the “sudden-death” format.  That is, the first player to win a hole wins the compeition.  However Ryder Cup, do not play this format.  If both teams are tied after 18 holes, each team (US, Europe) is awarded half a point.

Next, I will share on the other scoring formats in golf….

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3 Comments so far

  1. Stroke Play Scoring System : Learn Golf with Me on April 17, 2007 6:03 am

    […] Stroke Play like Match Play is a scoring system used in the game of golf. Stroke Play is the most common scoring system used in professional tournaments.  Tournaments such as US Open, The Masters, and The Open Championship used this format. […]

  2. Stableford Scoring System : Learn Golf with Me on April 18, 2007 5:15 am

    […] The stableford is a scoring system just like match play or stroke play, used to track scores of players to determine the winner of a tournament.  The stableford scoring system is mostly used in club competitions.  […]

  3. Foursomes and Four ball Golf Competition Formats : Learn Golf with Me on May 4, 2007 6:35 am

    […] There are two common golf competition formats that you normal see are the Foursomes and Four Ball formats.  The foursomes and four ball are normally played in teams and can be played in a match play or stroke play format.  Ryder Cup is one of the tournaments that have the Foursomes and Four Ball competition. […]

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