Golf · Scoring guide
How do you keep score in golf?
Count every stroke you make on a hole, add any penalty strokes, and write that number on the card once the ball is in the hole. In stroke play the lowest total over the round wins; in match play each hole is won, lost or halved, and the player who wins more holes wins the match.
Golf scoring at a glance
| Question | Stroke play | Match play |
|---|---|---|
| What you count | Every stroke on every hole, added up for the round | Strokes on each hole, only to decide who wins it |
| Who wins a hole | Nobody: every stroke goes into your total | Lower score wins the hole. Same score: the hole is halved |
| Who wins | Lowest total score wins | Lead by more holes than remain |
| Finishing each hole | Every hole must be holed out | Not needed: a putt or a hole can be conceded |
| A tie at the end | Playoff or scorecard countback, as the Committee decides | Extra holes, one at a time, until there is a winner, unless the competition allows a halved match |
| How a result reads | A total such as 74, or a score to par such as +2 | 3&2, 2&1, 1 up |
How do you count strokes on a hole?
Each stroke counts 1. A stroke is any forward swing made to hit the ball, so a complete miss counts too, while a practice swing does not. Keep counting until the ball drops into the hole: the tee shot, every shot to the green, and every putt.
Penalty strokes go into the same count. The ones you will meet most often:
- Ball lost or out of bounds: 1 penalty stroke and replay from the previous spot, known as stroke and distance. Hit your tee shot out of bounds and the next ball you hit from the tee is your third shot. You get 3 minutes to find a ball before it counts as lost.
- Taking relief from a penalty area (water, or any area marked with red or yellow stakes): 1 penalty stroke.
- Most other breaches of the Rules (the general penalty): Two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play.
In stroke play you must finish every hole. If you pick up and tee off on the next hole without going back to hole out, you are disqualified. Friendly groups sometimes agree a limit per hole instead; the official version of that is the Max Score format, where the committee sets the cap.
What is par, and what are birdies and bogeys?
Par is the score a scratch golfer is expected to make on a hole. Most holes are par 3, 4 or 5, and the par of the course is simply the pars of its holes added together. Each hole score has a name based on how far it is from par:
| Name | Score against par | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hole in one (ace) | Holed with the tee shot | A 1 on a par 3 |
| Albatross (double eagle) | 3 under par | A 2 on a par 5 |
| Eagle | 2 under par | A 3 on a par 5 |
| Birdie | 1 under par | A 3 on a par 4 |
| Par | Level with par | A 4 on a par 4 |
| Bogey | 1 over par | A 5 on a par 4 |
| Double bogey | 2 over par | A 6 on a par 4 |
| Triple bogey | 3 over par | A 7 on a par 4 |
During a round, scores are usually shown against par rather than as raw strokes: E, -2, +3. E means even (level) par, -2 is two under and +3 is three over. To work it out, add up the pars of the holes played so far and take that away from your strokes.
How do you fill in a golf scorecard?
- Write in the players. The card already lists each hole's par.
- After each hole, agree the scores. Each player's strokes, penalty strokes included, go in that hole's box. In a friendly round one person usually keeps the card for the group; in a competition your marker records your score.
- Add up each nine and the total. The front nine (holes 1 to 9) and back nine (10 to 18) have their own subtotal boxes.
- Check and sign. In a competition the marker certifies the hole scores and you sign the card before handing it in. Check every box first. A higher hole score stands; a lower one is disqualification.
Worked example: four holes of stroke play
Alex and Sam play a par 4, a par 3, a par 5 and a par 4. On the par 5, Sam's second shot finds the water, so Sam takes relief with 1 penalty stroke and scores 7.
| Hole | Par | Alex | Sam |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 (5) | 4 (4) |
| 2 | 3 | 2 (7) | 3 (7) |
| 3 | 5 | 5 (12) | 7 (14) |
| 4 | 4 | 4 (16) | 3 (17) |
Each cell shows the strokes taken on that hole, with the running total in brackets. Sam's 7 on the par 5 includes 1 penalty stroke for relief from a penalty area.
The four pars add up to 16. Alex took 16 strokes (a bogey, a birdie and two pars), so Alex is even par, shown as E. Sam took 17 (two pars, a double bogey and a birdie), so Sam is +1. In stroke play Alex leads by one stroke, and every stroke from here to the 18th green still counts.
What is the difference between gross and net scores?
Your gross score is the number of strokes you actually took. Your net score is your gross score minus the handicap strokes you receive, which lets players of different standards compete on level terms. Handicaps are worked out under the World Handicap System, run by the R&A and the USGA. This guide sticks to gross scores, and so does the app.
How is match play scored differently from stroke play?
Match play is head to head. You still count strokes, but only to settle each hole: the lower score wins the hole, and the same score halves it. The match score is how many holes one player is ahead, such as 2 up, or all square when level. The match ends as soon as someone leads by more holes than are left, which is where results like 3&2 come from.
Here are the same four holes, Alex against Sam, played as a match:
| Hole | Hole won by | Match | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam | Sam 1 up | Sam's par 4 beats Alex's bogey 5 |
| 2 | Alex | All square | Alex's birdie 2 beats Sam's par 3 |
| 3 | Alex | Alex 1 up | Alex's 5 beats Sam's 7, but it is still worth only one hole |
| 4 | Sam | All square | Sam's birdie 3 beats Alex's par 4 |
Stroke totals after four holes: Alex 16, Sam 17. The match is level all the same.
In stroke play Alex is one ahead; in match play the two are all square. Sam's double bogey cost two strokes on the stroke play card, but in the match it lost just one hole, exactly as if Sam had lost it by a single stroke. That is the big difference between the formats. A disaster hole stays on a stroke play card for good, while in match play you can concede the hole and start again on the next tee.
For the details, read match play scoring for up, down, concessions and how a match finishes, what 3&2 means for every possible result, and dormie for the moment a leader can no longer lose.
Are there other ways to score a round?
The most common alternative is Stableford, which scores points on each hole against a fixed score, normally par: 2 points for a par, 3 for a birdie, 1 for a bogey and 0 for anything worse than a bogey. Highest points total wins, and a bad hole scores zero rather than wrecking the total.
How the app handles it
Choose stroke play, match play or Stableford over 18 or 9 holes. Stroke play takes 2, 3 or 4 players. After each hole you enter every player's score against par, from a hole in one up to 8 over par, and on iPhone you can set each hole's par from 3 to 6 (the default is 4). Each player's card shows total strokes and score to par, the status line shows holes played (such as Thru 3 of 18), and the lowest total is marked as leading. Scores are gross only: there are no handicaps or net scores, penalty strokes are simply part of the hole's count, and a stroke play tie ends as Tied, with no playoff or countback. Match play is singles: after each hole you tap the player who won it, or Halved hole. Undo removes the last hole entered.
Questions
Does a missed swing count as a stroke in golf?
Yes, if you were trying to hit the ball. A stroke is the forward movement of the club made to strike the ball, so an air shot counts as one. A practice swing does not, and nor does a swing you deliberately stop or steer away from the ball.
How many strokes is out of bounds in golf?
One penalty stroke, and you play again from where you last hit, which is why it is called stroke and distance. Off the tee, that makes your next tee shot your third. Where a course has adopted Model Local Rule E-5, meant for casual and club golf, you can instead take 2 penalty strokes and drop in an area that stretches from where the ball was lost or went out across to the nearest fairway, not nearer the hole.
Is there a maximum score on a hole in golf?
Not in standard stroke play: every stroke counts until the ball is holed. Competitions can use the Max Score format instead, where the hole score is capped at a limit the committee sets, such as double par. For handicap purposes, the most you count on a hole is net double bogey: Par + 2 + any handicap strokes received.
Do you have to putt out in golf?
In stroke play, yes: every hole must be holed out, and missing one is disqualification. In match play, no: your opponent can concede a putt, and the conceded putt still counts as a stroke in your score for the hole.
Last reviewed September 25, 2026
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